SPRING 2022 Christian faith-based Women’s Centre, providing a supported living service on a farm in Devon, for women who have had various life controlling issues such as drugs and alcohol addiction, depression, domestic abuse.
Unlocking people... releasing potential
Faith
HOPE & LOVE AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE
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News Inside
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Cooking4Life
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Resident Stories
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Volunteers welcomed
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WHAT IS GILEAD
Gilead Foundations provides a supportive home setting for women to have the opportunity to become free from their addictions and emotional difficulties through discipleship and mentoring. The new discipleship programme not only introduces residents to the person of Jesus Christ, it also explores what the Bible teaches us about life. This includes a morning devotional that is Gospel centred and a dedicated teaching time each day during the week. The teaching subjects cover a range of topics such as new life in Christ, forgiveness, dealing with difficulties, overcoming fears, failure, and temptations and many more. Not only are we teaching our residents about the practices of Christianity such as communion, prayer, and worship, we are also teaching them through example, and we have dedicated evening chapel services where these practices can be demonstrated and experienced by staff and residents. We believe that true freedom and transformation comes through Jesus and that there is life and healing found through His word and in His presence. Located on a farm we use practical work projects to enable residents to enjoy and learn new life skills and to gain training and work experience in horticulture, catering, and farming. This helps the ladies to get ready for future employment and independent living and ultimately change their lives for the better. This is a safe space for women to heal and grow: our residents get involved with everything from milking to egg collecting, and we have a great horticulture and gardening programme – the ladies get to sow, cultivate, and eventually harvest and eat their own produce.
COOKING 4 LIFE Last year we were fortunate enough to receive grant funding from the European Social Fund and the Education and Skills Funding Agency to run a Cooking 4 Life project. The ladies now take part in a program of classes, where activity is tailored to their abilities so that they can be actively involved no matter their level of experience or knowledge. Here they learn to work individually or as part of a team, to improve their communication and social skills and build their
self-confidence in a safe and supportive environment. They learn how to plan their weekly menus, how to budget and save money wherever possible by using seasonal produce, especially that grown by the ladies in the polytunnel and raised beds, how to make edible Christmas presents to save money and general family cooking. They learn it is important to have a go and how to deal with the successes and failures that go together with everyday cooking.
The ladies are responsible for planning, preparing, and cooking the lunch and evening meal for themselves and their support workers and during the project a café style dining system catering for volunteers and other staff on a donation basis has been set up. The ladies have had input into setting a four-week rolling menu of lunch and dinners, with an emphasis on nutritional meals using seasonal produce. Whilst working in the kitchen the ladies learn how to work as a team,
helping each other when the needs arise i.e. at busy times when there are several in for lunch, to prepare them for potential work in catering. The residents are also learning about the correct portion sizes to serve and eat, the way digestion works and what each part of the digestive tract does, combining this with teaching on nutrition so they learn what to eat, how much and why a balanced diet is essential to maintain their mental and physical health.
RESIDENTS STORIES “
We had a young mum staying with us who tells her story
I struggled with alcohol addiction in the past, and what I initially used to give me some Dutch courage to overcome my social anxiety, slowly turned into a full alcohol addiction with drunken binges.
is to eat a nutritional diet and what each nutrient does. I am still on my journey, but I have changed and look forward with hope to a new life with my child.”
- Lou
I was desperate to move out from my relative’s home and into independent living with my child and tried very hard to stay dry. I engaged with various organisations including a mentor to help me steer clear of alcohol, but the anxieties came back, especially when situations upset me, leading to more alcoholic binges, until I realised that I could not go on any more like that – it was affecting my child and seriously affecting my health. I was desperate to sort myself out. Through a church contact, my community mentor found out about Gilead Foundations and gave them a call. One of the support workers at Gilead Foundations explained the process of working through the issues that cause the addiction. I like that we are learning to budget, learning about what is a healthy portion size, how our digestive system works and how important it
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I come from Edingburgh and arrived 4 weeks ago. I immediately felt very welcomed and soon felt a sense of belonging. I have never been to a place like Gilead before and many things are very new to me like working with the animals. I am learning about plants, watching seeds grow and learning new skills. I really enjoy being here.”
- Susan
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Seven months on now and my journey at Gilead Foundations has come to a successful and happy end. WOW. What can I say? Well, let me begin by saying I now have a new life and I am excited about my future. I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity and love and support to get me to where I am today. I am pleased to announce that I am now volunteering at Gilead and I am happy to be putting my experience into a positive and rewarding role, and to be here to help women like I once was. I am proud to say I am living proof that this is a truly amazing place and the place to be for any women out there that need a new start in life. Thank You Gilead Foundations once again, and Thank You for the commitment and love to all in Grace Lodge”.
- Dee
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I arrived from Swansea only a week ago. My mind was all over the place and was emotional. I suffered from binge drinking and drug abuse, and did go through rehab previously, but needed more support. I feel this is a kind and loving place and feeling more settled every day. I have been cooking and getting involved in the devotional times. I also enjoy learning about horticulture and today am learning about all different types of potatoes. “
- Lucy
VOLUNTEERS WELCOMED Without our volunteers we couldn’t do what we do! A massive thanks goes to all who come out and give their time to support our residents in gardening, arts and crafts, cooking, taking devotions and covering shifts. Our newest volunteers are Niki and Dee.
NIKI SAYS...
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It has been a blessing to volunteer at Gilead and witness the spiritual growth of the women and the team. I have loved being a part of a space where there is regular devotion to God, prayer and song. We have fun times, laughter over food, days out in nature and chats on regular walks. The team are hardworking and compassionate. Every day is different. I have had the opportunity to share a poetry activity, lead a devotional, help in the garden and kitchen and be a listening ear. It is just the beginning of my journey here, but I look forward to witnessing what God will do here as we journey from one season to the next.
There are many areas which need maintaining, we would love more volunteers to join our team, especially those skilled in gardening, building, maintenance, or carpentry. A regular one day a week for instance could make a huge difference here! We must rely on donations to continue providing the work experience and give support to our ladies. Gifts towards running costs would be very welcomed. We are thankful for people in the community who fundraise for us! Here is a picture of the amazing Christmas lights from Oak Road, Okehampton who raised £968.63 for us and the same amount for another charity. Thank you so much!
Devon County Council supported us in the way of a grant to help us prepare for and support our residents while they were isolating due to the Covid virus. This helped us buy bedding, a washing machine, paying utilities and to give extra support.
Other ways to support us Buy a gift from our Amazon wish list
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Contact us For more information or to arrange a visit
Donate through Paypal Giving Fund
01837 851240 www.gilead.org.uk admin@gilead.org.uk
Send a gift through the post
Risdon Farm Jacobstowe Okehampton EX20 3AJ
Set up a monthly standing order paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/203824 (no charge for donor or charity)