Sonia Community CIC

Christina ran a debt centre for 8 years. During lockdown, it was a great opportunity for some people to breathe and STOP. For me, I felt I was fighting a war - an invisible war! I witnessed the down-spiralling of people’s mental health, digital poverty, food poverty, sense of hopelessness, sense of fear, sense of desperation and many negative emotions. I witnessed the demands on community and faith groups. The number of times I called the ambulance for crisis, the number of times my clients tried to kill themselves, the lack of safe space, the lack of listening ear, the lack of opportunities shook me. I saw the desperation of what people do to get help and shout for help. There was no hope, no joy. I did the only thing I know. I prayed. I realised the damage lockdown does to mental health, the stress on service providers, increased loneliness, isolation and desperation. It robs us of joy, freedom and the way of life we know. I witnessed the loss of individuals’ confidence, value and dignity. As a community we find ourselves divided, tired and angry. No longer having places to come together, to eat, laugh, learn, play and live together in harmony. The many people I see each day, feel they are a statistic and don’t really matter. So that is how SONIA.community came about. I remembered my own story of how battered I was when growing up and the lack of opportunities I had. But I was given a second chance. Someone sowed an opportunity for me, invested in me, nurtured and affirmed me. Someone believed in me. So I dared to dream and my life story rewritten. SONIA.COMMUNITY's birth is a result of a vision in believing EVERYONE deserves a second chance. SONIA believes in sowing opportunities, nurturing, investing and affirming lives for a graceful new beginnings. SONIA believes in restoring lives, dignity and value together through community. Come on this journey with us to bring hope, joy and love in the community we live and work in. What is your story?