On 16th October, the day before my 56th birthday, I will be running my first ever half marathon. I will be running it with a small group of friends who are all over 20 years younger than me. I don't expect to break any records but I do aim to finish. Your support would mean so much to me but also will help to raise funds for Hack Back CIC. At Hack Back we make a massive difference to people's lives but we don't get any grant funding because funders assume the money will be used to support the owls that help us do our work. The health and well-being of the birds, including their food, is provided by Cheshire Falconry. The money raised pays for things such as materials and fuel.
Using the birds makes it easier for people to talk to me. I go from being a psychologist and "professional" to a lady with an owl. For the majority of Hack Back's clients its a lot easier to talk to a lady with an owl. An example is a teenage girl who suffered abuse as a child, which she internalised to such a degree that she was hospitalised on several occasions. With Murray the Owl flying free to her she was able to talk about her experiences for the first time which then allowed the therapy to begin.
We visit people living with cancer and people living with life limiting illness. There is an area of psychology called psychoneuroimmunology which suggests that positive experiences during treatment for cancer and other illnesses can have an impact at a cellular level. We aim to give positive experiences to as many people as possible.
