A challenge rooted in hope: Oscar’s firewalk story

“I first saw the firewalk challenge advertised on the CNWL NHS Foundation Trust staff intranet. This is far outside my usual range of questionable decisions, but honestly, the moment I signed up, it felt like the right kind of challenge: something bold, slightly unhinged, but rooted in hope.

As I spend a lot of time supporting people through situations that feel impossible, the firewalk felt like a tiny symbolic version of that. Life has thrown more than enough flames at me already, so doing this on purpose is strangely empowering. It's also surreal, and honestly a bit ridiculous in the best way. Standing there with a group of people all choosing to walk forward anyway feels like the perfect physical metaphor for recovery work.

Working in CNWL, you see every day how much difference CNWL NHS Health Charity makes, especially when services are stretched, and people are struggling with things the NHS can’t always fund. I’ve also been on the other side of services as someone with my own lived experience of trauma, complex mental health and rebuilding a life. When you’ve been through that, you understand how crucial those “extras” are: the things that make a place feel human rather than clinical.

The Charity funds the things that soften services, bring dignity, and remind people that they’re worth investing in. For staff, it helps create spaces that support wellbeing and connection. For service users and carers, it can mean comfort, community, opportunity or simply being seen. Those things shouldn’t be luxuries, I see it as they're part of recovery.

By taking part in the firewalk I’d like people to see that healing isn’t about being fearless. It’s about walking forward despite the challenges (heat). I hope someone who feels stuck or overwhelmed sees it and thinks, “If he can do that, maybe I can face my thing too.” And I want staff to feel proud of what the charity makes possible. We talk a lot about hope in mental health, this feels like a way of living it out loud.”