THANKS to the support of mental health charity Mind, Jill Walker is a different woman to who she was nine months ago.

Back then she was suffering from depression so severe she contemplated suicide.

But after receiving support from counsellors and staff at North Staffs Mind, based in Marsh Street, Hanley, Jill says she feels as though a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

The 53-year-old, of Ash Bank, Werrington, told how weekly sessions on Tuesdays with counsellor Kathryn Harding helped her see she has a future.

Jill said: "I definitely would not be here today if it wasn't for Mind.

"They make you feel like you've had a weight lifted off your shoulders.

"I would've run through coals to get there on a Tuesday."

Jill has nominated Mind in the Charity Champion category in The Sentinel's Our Heroes awards.

She added: "People don't know about mental health and that's why I wanted to nominate Mind.

"It's not always someone who's flipped a lid. It's an illness and you can't help it.

"These people have pulled me out of the gutter and that's why I'm so grateful."

Friend Fred Salmon, aged 69, of Collis Avenue, Basford, said: "Jill goes every Tuesday and every time she comes out of there she's a different woman.

"Last year Jill sent me a message on the phone saying she would end it all.

"But since she's been going to Mind she's a different person altogether."

The operations director of Mind, Alan Embury, of Victoria Court, Leek said it was "the biggest compliment".

The 43-year-old added: "If someone says our service has fundamentally changed their lifestyle, it's a compliment.

"We're not shouting about how good we are, but we're promoting a service that will make significant change in the lives of people."

Jill's counsellor, Kathryn, of Rough Close, said: "It's great that there's recognition and it's good publicity for the agency. It feels strange, but it's great.

The 47-year-old added: "Achievement isn't what we're about.

"Clients come to us because they're stuck emotionally and my real aim is to help them come unstuck so they can move on in a happier frame of mind.

"I get a huge amount of satisfaction from clients finding their own way and answering their own questions.

"It's about helping them with that stuckness and the confusion they feel and exploring the way together so they can find other choices that feel right."

Jill is currently trying to raise awareness and funds to repay the charity - as well as donating her own cash to Mind.

She said: "Kath's given me my self-worth back and without it what have you got?

"To me, Kathryn has been an inspiration."

Kathryn added: "It's fantastic that we are getting some help to make a difference."