Woman fundraises for the charity that helped her

A woman who previously struggled with mental health problems and substance misuse has fundraised hundreds of pounds for a charity that helped her tackle her issues.

Jodie Prin first came in to contact with the Oxford-based charity Elmore Community Services four years ago whilst "struggling with lots of different issues", she told the BBC.

Fast forward to today, and she has come full circle, now helping the charity's fundraising efforts - which she said had been "brilliant".

"What Jodie's done is very special," the charity's chief executive, Andrew Grillo, said.

Elmore aims to engage people with multiple support needs, who may slip through the net of services, to "make a positive impact on their lives".

Ms Prin, who is from Oxford, said the charity "came into my life at the right time to help me progress" and to "continue the positive changes" she had begun making.

"[It helped] keep me engaged in other services around Oxford and make sure I was getting the right help for the issues that I was experiencing at that time," she explained.

Almost half-a-decade on from her first interaction with the charity, she decided to thank the charity for its support by launching a fundraiser.

"It was a really good day, and it was great to see the wider community come out and support what we were doing," she said.

She added: "It's not only helped the charity, but its helped me to realise that now I'm on to my next chapter."

Mr Grillo said it was "amazing to hear" stories like Ms Prin's, saying: "It's the point of our organisation to support someone so that they feel able to make those changes, so they feel empowered."

"For someone to be in a position and want to and achieve that giving back is fantastic, and is a real show of the work that Jodie has put in and where she has got to," he added.

When asked if she had any advice for people in a similar situation to her four years ago, Ms Prin said: "Sometimes it's better the the devil you know than the devil you don't, but I can tell you now the devil that you don't know is worth finding out what's on the other side."

"I'm hoping the future that's in front of me is better than the past behind me," she added.

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