After decades working in the restaurant industry, Gateshead 's Wendy Ritchie ditched the pots and pans and became a peer supporter, helping others with their mental health.
Now working at the Newcastle Recovery College, Wendy, 42, has urged other people with lived experience of mental health to sign up as peer supporters as part of an NHS drive to recruit a new team in Gateshead.
Wendy told ChronicleLive : "I have suffered with mental health issues from a young age. It was nothing to do with my upbringing, but I struggled. And at the time, the GP didn't really have much to offer.
