A women’s group in Darwen, who have been meeting up each week, are just around the corner from their second anniversary.
Darwen Ladies 'Stronger Together' Group was set up in June 2021 by Catherine Orford, 57, and was originally designed so she could make friends when she moved into Darwen.
The group, which started off small, now has a large attendance of women who meet up weekly on a Monday evening.
The idea behind the group is to make friends, support one another, have a laugh and help each other when life gets tough.
The group not only meets up in person but they also have a WhatsApp chat so they can keep in contact during the week, sending messages of support and even sometimes pictures of their pets or Christmas trees.
Speaking about the reason she set up the group, Catherine said: “At first because I didn’t know anyone in Darwen at all when I moved here, I joined a walking group.
"After a while myself and a friend decided to go off on our own and so I set up first of all a walking group and got quite a lot of people involved and then I set up the WhatsApp group with it.
"As it was getting towards darker nights we said we were going to have to move inside and we have been inside ever since.
“It’s on a Monday night in Wetherspoons between 7pm and 9pm and in summer we do try and set up walks on another day, but we have done every single Monday since we started.
“The group is here for people who don’t know anyone, people who need some new friends, or for people feeling fed up, lonely and isolated and its just a friendship group.
“We sit there, and chat and we laugh, sometimes we're a bit more serious, people discuss about what’s going wrong in their lives and we give advice.
“I’m not mental health trained but I make it so it's sharing, caring, supporting, listening, and helping each other and that improves your mental health.
“It’s like good friends getting together and we’re all on the same wavelength.
“We support each other, and we rely on each other.”
Catherine said she is ‘astonished’ about almost reaching the second anniversary and the group has done so much for her as well as the many women who attend.
She said: “I just feel absolutely astonished that it’s been received so well and that it is continuing, and we are still getting new people coming.
“I’m just absolutely amazed because I never thought it would get like this.
“I didn’t know anybody, and I’ve got some really good friends now who would help me through anything.
“When my dad died last year in October and I was going to the home every night, the women all got together and presented me with a huge basket of fruit and vegetables and flowers and little treats.
“And one of the women, Angela, came round and batch cooked for me with everything, so I had loads of meals to just get out of my freezer.
“So, its stuff like that, that we do for each other.
“It has just been brilliant and the women in the group are amazing, and I feel very privileged that we have got this far and surprised that we are still going.
“We have definitely achieved changing people’s lives.”
If you would like to join the group meetings or the WhatsApp group, contact Catherine on 07853 011760.
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