YSJ Prison Partnership Project & Changing Lives

For my Independent Practice and Research module (IPaR), I decided to take part in the YSJ Prison Partnership Project and their 'On the Out' project.

On the Out:

Alongside Jessica Robson, I co-facilitated weekly creative arts workshops with a small group of women at one of Changing Lives' residential sites in order to allow creative freedom and exploration, build confidence, reimagine identity, improve skills and bond different communities.

The 'On the Out' project was created for women to creatively work with other women from different communities in and around York. This feminist practice allowed participants to feel safe amongst their peers to work together to challenge societal issues and explore their life stories and identities.

  • Feminist practice brings "fresh perspectives to bear on old questions and ask new questions about ourselves and the social worlds within which we interact" (Harding and Norberg, 2005: 2110)

This project focuses on using creativity, not as therapy, but in a therapeutic way that may help the recovery process for the women involved. It is vitally important to give access to creative arts to those who don't have easy access as:

  • Creative applied theatre practice "supports self-esteem, builds confidence, manages anger, heals sociopsychological wounds, creates new approaches to learning, promotes participatory community development, and/or can operate constructively in the face of all kinds of traumatic experiences" (Thompson and Schechner, 2016: 12).

Please find here the link to the Changing Lives website if you would like to access their services, or just are curious about what they do! https://www.changing-lives.org.uk/

Throughout the project, it was essential to plan each session thoroughly and in a trauma informed way. This meant selecting material very carefully to avoid topics that could be triggering for the women, and also plan activities they will be interested in and keep them engaged. Although planning was a vital part of the process, it was equally, if not more important to sometimes read the room and abandon the plan to fit the needs of participants in the space - having strong attunement.

  • "having good attunement means a facilitator can listen well, accommodate moods and the group atmosphere, and respond to individuals and the energies of the workshop" (Hepplewhite in Preston, 2016: 177).

The need for changing the plan or changing the style of delivery could be simply due to how the women are feeling that day, or low attendance numbers, but could also be because of levels of intoxicity and substance abuse, mental or physical health issues, hard relationships, and family disruptions. Due to the unfortunately chaotic lives of the women at Changing Lives, this happened multiple times throughout the process. For example, there were occasions where participants were heavily intoxicated due to alcohol dependency, therefore I had to change the plan to suit their needs, and also the needs of the non-intoxicated participants in that moment. Similarly, there were times when some participants were feeling very anxious, so the plan was changed to be delivered gently and activities made to be less intimidating.

This project was a great success for both me as a facilitator and for the women involved. This comes down to the amazing work of Jessica Robson and her guidance to me, as well as the fantastic input from participants throughout the entire process. I am extremely thankful to both Jess and the women, and hope to work with them again in the future.

Prison Partnership Project:

Since taking part in the Prison Partnership Project in 2nd year, I knew I wanted to be a part of it for my IPaR because it had such an impact on me. Through the mediums of art and creative writing, I was able to deeply connect with other women which was extremely powerful and at times, emotional. There is something very special about women working with other women, hence why I wanted to continue working in this way.

I had decided to plan and deliver a series of workshops for a group of women in HMP New Hall, however due to Covid-19 restrictions set by the Ministry of Justice, I was unable to fulfil this so decided to develop some creative booklets for the women to complete to which I would make a video response to. I also decided to send these booklets into HMP Askham Grange as I believe it could help improve the welfare of the women as being creative can be therapeutic and improve “self-esteem and self-confidence” (Heenan, 2006, p.184). In a similar way as when creating material for the 'On the Out' project, I created these booklets in a trauma informed way, and ensured to avoid topics that could be triggering such as relationships and motherhood. I have yet to receive the booklets back, however I hope the women enjoyed them and were able to get lost in the world of creativity to distract from their everyday regime. Please see below a copy of one of these booklets.

As a practitioner, I have gained an abundance of skills and techniques from these projects and have gained a deep knowledge of working in the realms of vulnerability, the criminal justice system, domestic violence, familial and relationship breakdowns, homelessness and alcohol and drug misuse. Although it has at times been challenging, this has been the most rewarding project I have taken part in over my time at York St John University and has really solidified what direction I want my career to go in. I want to work with vulnerable women to allow them to explore creative arts as "art has the power to transform lives" (Dick, 2011: 5) and I want to empower the women to believe in themselves, reimagine their identities, and boost their recovery process.

Please see below my IPaR Catalogue Document that shows my entire process and thinking.

IPAR Catalogue Document.pdf
New Hall Creative Booklet.pdf

Bibliography:

  • Arts Alliance. Dick. N, Ellis. J, Gregory. T (2011) Demonstrating the value of arts in Criminal Justice. Clinks. Available at: https://www.artsincriminaljustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Demonstrating-the-value-of-arts-in-Criminal-Justice.pdf (Accessed 19/05/21)

  • Harding, S. Norberg, K. (2005) New feminist approaches to social science methodologies: An introduction. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 30(41).

  • Heenan, D. (2006) ‘Art as therapy: an effective way of promoting positive mental health?’ Disability and Society. 21:2, 179-191. doi: 10.1080/09687590500498143

  • Preston, S. (2016) Applied Theatre: Facilitation. Pedagogies, Practices, Resilience. London: Bloomsbury

  • Thompson, J. Schechner, R. (2004) 'Why “Social Theatre”?' TDR/The Drama Review. 48: 3 (183), pp. 11–16. doi: 10.1162/1054204041667767