Monika’s story
“Community is a big part of the allotment, you feel part of something. I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere before but here everyone feels included, everyone supports each other.”
When Monika moved to England 19 years ago, she began working as a nursery nurse but felt a pressure to prove herself and quickly progressed in her career.
Even before the pandemic, Monika was working from home and felt isolated and cut off from her family in Poland. With limited support, the pressure of juggling family and work commitments began to take its toll and Monika was signed off work with stress and depression. Two family bereavements that followed made life harder for Monika and her family.
Determined to find ways to reconnect with her community and with nature, Monika joined Walton Charity’s Community Allotment. During lockdown, when she couldn’t physically visit the allotment, she joined the weekly Zoom sessions and began to feel herself again.
“It was little things but for me being at home they meant a lot. Things like making pom-poms, which I had never done before, brought me and my daughter so much pleasure. I was always so busy, reaching for targets and running between work and school, I had forgotten about this part of life.”
Initially, Monika had been looking for ways to help her community but she didn’t realise how much being part of the Community Allotment would help her.
“My confidence had crumbled and my self-esteem went down. Bereavement didn’t help. My social circle was quite narrow before so it was really nice to meet people from different paths of life and refresh my interest in cooking, crafts and the outdoors. I needed that. I was stuck before, like a horse with blinkers, I had neglected the social side of life. Now I can sit back and see the bigger picture.
“Community is a big part of the allotment, you feel part of something. I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere before but here everyone feels included, everyone supports each other.”
When Monika was ready to return to work, she wanted to do something more community-focused and help other people who had been in a similar situation to her. She found a role as a Social Prescriber Link Worker and is looking forward to supporting other people and sharing what she has learned.
“My mindset was always to look at the goal. Being from a different country, I always had a chip on my shoulder and felt I needed to prove myself. This drove me to my crisis. Now I feel like I don’t have to keep fighting and proving myself. I don’t want to keep chasing goals, I want to have a better balance.”