We hit a low point in our lives... SHEP was there for us

When things go wrong in life, as they sometimes do, it is good to have support to anchor you.

The Social Health and Education Project (SHEP) is one such safety net, and two Cork women, Elena Canty and Aoife Corcoran, have tapped into it to help them bounce back from a low point in their lives.

“I feel at peace with some things in my life now,” says Elena Canty, 34, from Ballyvolane.

At age five, Elena’s Cork parents adopted her from Belarus. Since then, loved and cherished by family, friends and work colleagues, she felt she was living a charmed life, despite being diagnosed with Type 3 osteogenesis, brittle bones and scoliosis.

Then Covid arrived.

“A few years ago, I hit a wall with my condition, then Covid arrived,” recalls Elena, who enjoyed a very satisfying and successful job as an events manager.

“I was forced to leave my job and I was stuck at home, facing many painful months of recovery.”

Elena, always determined to survive and thrive after a rocky start in life, took on the Personal Development programme with SHEP to help her get through a challenging time.

“I had done the free short courses with them over the pandemic before, but I decided to take the leap and do the long one,” says Elena.

“The course took place once a week so there was no major pressure, and it wasn’t very strenuous.”

Was it like being back in school?

Elena laughs.

“It was nothing like being in a classroom at all! We dealt with a range of subjects like dealing with change and grief, different life situations, different relationships, and handling things from your past.”

Elena is in a much better place.

“I feel more at peace with some things in my life now,” she says. “I see things differently than I did before. Doing the course with SHEP, it really made me reflect and just be more mindful of everyone.”

Elena is mindful of living life to the full. She knows the best things in life are free. Blessings are multiple.

“I am blessed with my mum and dad,” she says, “I love being out in the garden with my parents.

“I love spending time with my friends and going for nature walks. Hanging out with family and friends, good people, is good for the soul and good for the heart,” says Elena ,who holds a master’s from CIT in PR, a bachelor’s in business administration, as well as studying marketing in Cork College of Commerce.

“The SHEP course definitely offers a lot of benefits,” she adds. “I think everybody should do it. The facilitators are angels who always made everyone in the group feel heard and safe. It was great to do some classes online as dealing with brittle bone disease is a full-time job.”

Elena is a very positive person.

“I don’t like dwelling on negativity,” she says. “I have to deal with a lot of pain every day.

“You know, there is always good to see in every day, something to be grateful for.”

She has a good motto: “All good things come in small packages!”

Elena describes herself as “34, flirty and thriving!”, and has an uncomplicated view of life.

“Be yourself. Take one day at a time. Life is not a race,” she says.

Meanwhile, Aoife Corcoran, from Nohoval village in Cork, turned to SHEP ten years ago when she started suffering from anxiety and panic disorder.

“I would never have discovered SHEP, only for my mother who was involved with them,” says Aoife, who is mum to 8-week-old Badhbhín.

“She suggested I do the Personal Development Course with SHEP. Mum had got so much out of it; it made sense.”

SHEP provided a safe place for somebody who felt all at sea; who felt at odds with themselves.

“I had a mental health wobble when I was 27/28,” says Aoife.

Like Elena, she had to quit her dream job, working in the United States in cancer research.

“Suffering anxiety and panic attacks, I lost my job. I couldn’t function,” says Aoife. “My confidence and self-esteem took a huge hit. Signing up with SHEP, I felt nervous.”

She felt people who kept ‘face’ had something going on with them too.

“Even though everyone seemed ‘all together’, I think behind the face, there is something going on for everyone,” says Aoife.

“At SHEP, I met people from all walks of life; all demographics. I felt safer in the group,” says Aoife.

“I felt my self-confidence and my self-esteem were restored.”

She felt something else.

“I began to feel normal, to be honest. Sharing similar experiences with the group, having their support and acceptance, really helped me. I didn’t have to hide anymore.”

SHEP helped Aoife stay afloat in choppy waters.

“At the time, I was going through a very difficult mental health period, and I had gone back to living at home.”

Aoife grabbed the opportunity to bounce back from a stormy time

“The course had so many benefits for me,” she says. “Like learning better communication, being vulnerable, managing my anxiety. I didn’t feel like a freak.

“I got the chance to see behind other people’s masks, realising everyone has their own stuff going on.”

Like Elena, Aoife realises that life is not a race.

“I met my husband seven years ago in the same building where I got my new job,” says Aoife, who is Communications Officer with the Environmental Research Unit in UCC.

“We bought our house two years ago.”

And baby makes three!

“Life is so different from what it was 10 years ago,” says Aoife.

She has moved on.

“I did two years of training to become a SHEP facilitator,” says Aoife. “I got so much out of participating; I wanted to give something back. I work so many hours a week part-time with SHEP.

Others who may need to steady the ship can get a lot out of it too.

“The course is a great opportunity for those struggling with mental illness - namely anxiousness and social anxiety,” says Aoife.

“It is wonderful to be around other people and to feel safe again.”

Aoife feels she has all the tools she needs to make life plain sailing.

“During pregnancy, my anxiety flared up,” she says. “I equipped myself participating and engaging with SHEP to help allay my fears and enable me to manage stress.”

SHEP did a lot more for Aoife.

“It introduced valuable people into my life. It helped equip me with skills to manage everyday life. It helped me enhance relationships. It made my world safer.”

Aoife, complete with new baby, embraces life. How does she describe herself?

“Lucky,” she says.

Badhbhín lives up to her name.

“She is a little Goddess!”

SHEP, celebrating 50 years of Personal & Social Transformation, with 28 full-time employees, 300 contracted trainers and facilitators working for it, works extensively in the Munster region and is slowly moving to national coverage.

SHEP offers unique training personal and development programmes:

Low- Cost counselling service

Advocacy

Coiscéim Counselling, lib counselling, and training programme

International Partnership

Earth Aware & Green Spaces for Health. (Environmental Programme).

SHEP choir.

SHEP is a unique Irish community-based, not-for profit, training and development organisation.

See Socialandhealth.com

Phone: 021-4666180

Based at: Ardfoyle, Ballintemple, Cork, T12XDEH2