Former Leeds woman sends 1,000 'letters of hope' around the world from Australia

Abbie Williams, 25, started the venture after moving to the Gold Coast in Australia three years ago.

People request letters from Abbie for multiple reasons.

She then puts pen to paper to hand write the personal notes before sending them in the post - a project which is entirely self-funded and in her free time.

Since then, Abbie has written thoughtful letters across the globe - reaching out to people in the USA, Spain and New Zealand.

Lockdown has been a very tough time globally - with the increase in request for letters evident.

Abbie said: "The idea behind Letters of Hope is to show people in their darkest hours that there are good people, people who care, and people who will take time out of their day to make them happy.

"I want to break the stigma around mental health and truly make an impact."

Abbie puts her own motivation and determination down to personal struggles with depression and anxiety.

She said: "It's given me a compassion and empathy for other people that I would hate to waste.

"My letters are my outlet for spreading that compassion."

Abbie, who grew up in Leeds before emigrating, has helped hundreds of people in a variety of situations.

She said she receives many replies which make it all worthwhile.

She added: "I remember one of the very first letters I sent.

"It was a father who requested a letter for his teenage son and was totally at a loss for what to say to him.

"I was contacted by him months later to say that my letter had him in tears and his son reads it every single time he is down.

"I received a lovely email from a girl I wrote to who had been unable to leave her house for weeks due to depression.

"I opened my emails to a selfie of her with my letter with the hugest grin.

"My letter gave her the courage to get up out of bed.

"She took herself to her local shopping centre and gave herself a pamper day and really looked after herself.

"It was wonderful to hear."

Abbie has now revealed to the Yorkshire Evening Post that she has sent more than 1,000 letters as part of the project.

She added: "I am so proud and happy to have sent that many letters and one thing that is clear through what I do is that mental health does not discriminate.

"It doesn't matter who you are, where you are from, how much money you have, what job you have, how things look on the surface, my letters have taught me we each have our own battles in life and it's really important to be kind.

"You have no idea what someone might be going through. I can't wait to continue my little project."

Abbie said at her lowest, it felt like the world was "full of evil."

However, she added: "I hope by doing what I'm doing I can prove otherwise because people out there really do care that you are alive and really do want you to be okay.

"Even when it really doesn't feel that way."

You can request a letter either by emailing [email protected] or using the Contact form on: https://www.xlettersofhope.com/

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Thank you

Laura Collins