Through Voices for a Better Future, Rikki finds support, strength and connection. Through shared lived experience, the group can walk a path together.
Being part of Voices for a Better Future has felt like opening a box of Quality Street — all different shapes, all different colours, all individuals who somehow found themselves in the same place. Our paths never crossed before, yet 40 or 50 years ago each of us walked away from the lives that hurt us.
In Voices, I never felt alone. Speaking about my past helped me walk back into those memories as the grown‑up me, finally seeing the bigger picture and finding the missing pieces of the jigsaw. It gave me a confidence I had always questioned. This group has been a home for my heart and my head to heal. It helped me step out of that lifelong alert mode.
Through grounding, acceptance, and the healing I found at places like Lendrick Lodge, I learned that understanding my symptoms is part of understanding myself. And the truth is this: I never wanted to reach the finishing line on my own.
Healing isn’t something I want to keep to myself. My tears have been the water that mixed with the cement — building something that will last, not just for me but for the people coming behind me.
Lived experience groups matter because those of us who have walked the long road can turn back, wait for the others, and walk with them. It would feel wrong to leave anyone on this path alone. That’s why Voices has been so important to me — it’s where healing becomes something we share.
Below: Rikki shares his Reiki certificate, an important part of his healing journey.
