A MENTAL health worker who has helped people to make their marathon dreams come true is preparing for his own attempt at the milestone feat to raise funds for a struggling charity.

Matthew Kerry, support worker at Vale of Clwyd MIND for 15 years, will run the Manchester Marathon in April to raise much-needed donations for the mental health charity which has suffered from a lack of government funding grants in recent years.

Matthew, 42, from Denbigh, is an experienced runner and has already completed the 14 Peaks and Rat Race long-distance obstacle course, but will take on the marathon for the first time in the hope of raising £2,000 which would help to pay for the services the charity provides to vulnerable people across the county.

He said: “I have helped others get to where they need to be to run a marathon but I’ve not done it myself yet.

“Every year more and more funding is being taken from healthcare services and it has affected Mind, so it is becoming more attainable to acquire funding through our own means.”

The charity owns properties which it lets to vulnerable people and reinvests the profits to train staff and provide activities to bring people back into society after difficult periods.

Matthew said: “Hopefully the money raised from the marathon will help to fund the services Mind offers to vulnerable people in the county, like days out which gives them the chance to relax and their carers a much-need break.

“We find a lot of young people today are ‘dual diagnosed’ with drug and alcohol problems that have caused mental health difficulties, but more staff training needs to be done in this area, but we need the funding.”

Matthew has taken to North Wales’ great outdoors to train, making use of the hilly terrain around Denbigh – Prion, Llanrhaeadr, Saron and Henllan – which he believes will give him the edge on the 26-mile and 385-yard Manchester route, said to be the flattest marathon in the UK.

The experienced mental health worker also voiced the importance of fitness to improving overall well-being and has encouraged members of the public to join Mind’s upcoming fitness bootcamp in Trefnant.

He said: “I think we all mildly suffer from mental health problems at some point through our lives, and now a lot of people are suffering after Christmas and New Year has passed; it can be a low point.

“Taking service users walking gives them motivation and a feel-good factor, it makes a difference. It leads to a better outlook and now is a good time for anyone to start and to build their confidence up to the summer.”

MIND will be running the bootcamp at Trefnant Village Hall on Sunday, February 3. For more information visit the event Facebook page.

To donate to Matthew’s cause, visit the fundraiser Facebook page.