With funding from "social innovation fund"
Theatre Nemo in and out of prisons Good mental health and wellbeing
“To Care for prisoners with humanity; To promote good mental health and well being
To provide prisoners with a range of opportunities to exercise personal responsibility ,
To reduce offending behaviour and to prepare for release;”
Simply put…..people supporting people
But on release
Fear, anxiety, homelessness, unemployment, Isolation, poverty and loneliness Are just some of the emotional issues facing people leaving prison and entering into a sometimes very hostile community.
What about a Creative Holistic Support Centre? In light of all the evidence regarding Adverse Childhood Experience and the long lasting negative effects of this into adulthood we need to approach these social issues in a much more holistic way. A full all round support at time of need
We need to continue some of the positive results the men & women experience in prison out into the community and build upon what has started in prison instead of talents and self esteem being lost again. Continued support on release will help individuals focus better on their purpose for life and give them a sense of belonging in their community.
What can be done to ensure that individuals with a mental health problem and a history of offending or self harm are able to access appropriate and timely support and care and that all agencies, including those engaging to address the mental health issues, work together with others to maximise benefit and future well-being for the individual?
With funding from "social innovation fund" Theatre Nemo are in the process of engaging many groups involved in some way with community justice, Homeless, addiction services etc. Going out to the groups and holding very creative conversation cafe’s to get their views and ideas for a "Creative Holistic Support Centre" what services would be needed within it and how would it be run what should it look like etc .
Working name for this research / feasibility study is “Join the Dots” We are half way through the 6 month research and feasibility study and the whole process has been very much enjoyed and embraced by all the groups and staff alike and getting very interesting feedback.
All of the people and organisation working on this would love to share our research/ evaluation and evidence of need with you so please do get in touch if you would want to be involved in this exciting vision.
Isabel McCue MBE