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A sociable Chesterfield woman who loves nights out with her friends has pledged to stay sober for 100 days to raise money for a charity whose counselling helped her.

Sorèle Diouf, who lives in Newbold, is aiming to draw in £500 for SAIL Derbyshire, a charity that offers support to survivors of sexual abuse through its helpline and counselling.

The 38-year-old mum has vowed to stick to non-alcoholic drinks until her birthday on August 20. Sorèle said: “Anybody who knows me knows that I love drinking, I love dancing and I love going out - I'm very sociable and have a big group of friends. Local publicans need not worry, though, I’m still supporting the local economy... I’m still going out and I love non-alcoholic Guinness!

"What is keeping me going is feeling like I’m giving back to the charity that helped me and having that accountability to make sure that as many people as possible know why I am doing this.”

Sorele Diouf is raising money for Chesterfield based charity SAIL.

While not wishing to talk about the trauma in her younger life that led her to seek support from SAIL, Sorèle was keen to highlight how the Chesterfield based charity’s free counselling helped her. She was counselled over two periods of six months, initially at face to face meetings until the Covid pandemic struck and then via phone calls. Sorèle said: “The counsellors were never shocked by anything I said. They were very good at unpicking things and looking at different patterns in my life. It was great to know that every week I could offload about what had happened.

"I found that it really helped me to understand myself a bit more and to feel proud that I recognised that I needed help and support. I’m a mum and I wanted to be the best I can for my four children.”

Sorèle, who is a nurse at The Brimington Surgery, said: “The NHS, as good as it is, will offer six sessions of talking therapy, if you’re lucky. That is quite a short space of time to build up a relationship if you’re talking about trauma and deep-seated things.

"Anyone who has ever needed any kind of counselling will know that it is very expensive to go private. You can be looking at £50 or £60 a session."

To support Sorèle in raising money for SAIL, go to www.gofundme.com/f/sober-4-survivors. Find out more about the services that the charity provides at www.sailderbyshire.org.uk

Chesterfield woman gives up alcohol for 100 days to give back to charity which supports survivors of sexual abuse