LIFE ’ S RICH TAPESTRY
At the centre of the exhibition is a large board displaying a colourful mosaic of artwork . Admiring it are three people who are each a part of its story , Jane , Trish and Zahra
‘ This ring symbolises my connection with recovery , and my recovery is a symbol of my connection back to my family .’
ups and helped get them into treatment . One of the clients I worked with is now also a peer mentor because I shared my story with her . Another is now a family worker , and he and his wife talk freely about their story in front of people .
I ’ ve had so many benefits from this . I ’ ve stood in front of the board of Turning Point , and the trust board from the NHS . I ’ ve become a national award-winning peer mentor . And there ’ s an ego in there that needs feeding !’
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THE ART STUDENT
I ’ ve been going to the art group from the beginning , about a year now ,’ says Jane . ‘ It was the result of a coffee morning – my keyworker said I might want to go to it , so I thought I ’ d see what it was like . I hadn ’ t done art before – I was an advisory teacher for people with special needs before I retired .
I ’ ve always seen art and music as very good for people with special needs . And the good thing about the group is it ’ s so diverse , people from all different backgrounds . We all get on really well . Trish is fantastic and galvanises the whole thing – you walk in , sit down , and feel part of something . It ’ s about learning new skills – printing , string work , clay , neurotrophic art , pointillism . You can give it a go and if you don ’ t like it you can try something else – but I ’ m amazed at the skills people have got that they don ’ t realise .
Everybody feels included and relaxed really . Somebody might turn up , sit down and just want to be in a safe environment . But nobody wants to leave !’
THE INSPIRER
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I began as a peer mentor , then started the creative
workshop as part of my role ,’ says Trish . ‘ It ’ s really successful and I love teaching people new skills . I started the group to fill people ’ s days , to make them feel good about stuff they can achieve – something new , something they never thought they might be doing .
We started trying different things and covering different artists – we always think of something else to do . Even if people don ’ t join in at first , everyone gets up to something eventually !
We talk about everything and we laugh a lot . We try to stay away from politics and religion , and glorifying drugs and alcohol , but anything goes . People really look after each other and buy each other presents , art materials and so on .
It ’ s about anything to keep people interested and filling up their days . I don ’ t know many people who can go away and live somewhere else to stay away from temptation – that ’ s really hard . So you have to learn to stay where you are and put in place things to help you thrive .’
I ’ d like to start another group for women – it ’ s very tough for them coming out of recovery and back into society . They could update their skills , do some clothes-making , make themselves feel good .’
THE SUPPORTER
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It ’ s basically using art as a form of therapy ,’ says Zahra , partnerships manager . ‘ It ’ s about welcoming people and letting them know recovery isn ’ t just about drink and drugs , it ’ s about expressing how they ’ re feeling , their emotions . And you don ’ t have to do that through talking , you can do it through other forms of expression . That ’ s why art is so important and why Trish came in with the idea of doing that .
People don ’ t have to come in and do art – they can just come in an and observe what ’ s going on and what other people are doing – that ’ s part of it as well , being in the room . It ’ s unhealthy for people to rely on one service for the rest of their life – they need the skills to go on and have a life outside .
We want to keep the group going for as long as the clients want it , and are always encouraging other clients to come in . We ’ d like to expand it beyond art therapy as we were talking about music therapy and how important that is – anything we can do that ’ s outside the normal realm of recovery .’
JULY / AUGUST 2024 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 19