A new charity is hoping to develop a ’supportive community’ to help people heal and grow from after trauma.

Rather than seeking to manage or treat symptoms such as mental health problems and addiction, the charity Quing seeks to help people overcome these problems.

Graham Clucas of Quing said: ’We do this by developing resources in people’s lives, provide a place that they feel that they belong, develop friendships, innovative peer support and mentoring programs and other positive initiatives.

’Building on what is strong not on what is wrong.

’Anyone who has made the journey of recovery knows that true healing is done by the person, not to or for them.’

Mr Clucas said that he is happy with how the charity has progressed so far and will be holding a series of workshops around the island between now and the end of June.

’With our partner Cormac Russel from Nuture Development, we are training people in asset based community development, developing and growing our strengths (assets) such as our strong sense of community.’

Mr Clucas told The Examiner he started to move towards these methods in 2005 when he decided to move away traditional treatment methods and admits he felt like he ’rattled every time I walked anywhere’.

He believes that he was on a cycle and sought to achieve ’deep healing’ rather than just managing his behaviour.

’Once I made the decision to walk away over the next 18 months I got clean.

’The next 10 years I have spent discovering who I am, training, working, developing new and different relationships and continued by own journey firstly of healing then of personal growth.’

The charity has Douglas North MHK Ralph Peake as its chairman and former MHK Phil Gawne as vice-chairman.

Further information can be found on Facebook by searching ’Quing’ or by emailing [email protected]