In October we announced that Tourettes Action had been successful in securing a grant from the John Ellerman Foundation to fund the new post of Groups Support Officer.

Julie Collier is the new addition to the Tourettes Action team and will be starting in January 2010. You can read a message from Julie below:

"I have been asked to write a few paragraphs about myself, by way of a brief introduction.  I will be starting my new role with Tourettes Action, as Groups Support Officer in January 2010, and I am really looking forward to meeting you over the course of the next 12 months.

For the past 3 years I have worked for a rare disease charity that provides information and support to sufferers and their families, as well as fundraising in order to fund much needed research, with the ultimate goal of ‘finding a cure’.  My role included charity administration, facilitating fundraising, and I was the first point of contact for patients, parents and families who needed information and support.  I organised family meetings around the UK to enable people to meet others who were experiencing similar problems and therefore able to give each other mutual support and friendship.  These meetings proved invaluable to the many families and individuals who attended.

I have suffered with severe eczema all of my life and there have been times when it has been completely debilitating.  However, with the help and support of family, friends, other sufferers and having been given the chance to talk about it, I have been able to overcome many of the associated social and practical problems. 

I know that social websites such as Facebook are a good forum for exchanging information and for socialising with others who are experiencing similar problems.  However, I strongly believe that nothing can truly replace people meeting face to face and having a chat or discussion.  I have also noticed that lots of people on the social networking sites would like to find a Group meeting in their local area. That’s where I come in.

From January 2010 it will be my goal to help and assist in the formation of groups wherever they are needed and to provide support to those groups as and when needed. If you have Tourettes or a member of your family has Tourettes and you are interested in joining a local group for mutual help and support, please contact me.  I will also be looking for volunteers to help coordinate individual groups.

That’s it from me for now.  I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, enjoy the holidays and I will speak to you again in the New Year.

Best wishes to all,

Julie Collier