Helen is our Art Co-ordinator for Dorset. She’s been with the Footprints Project since August 2020 as part of our Out of Court Diversionary Team. Since 2022 she’s also been running our highly successful Second Chances art group for women. Here she tells us a bit more about her role as Art Co-ordinator:
Making art and having the space and time to be creative can be extremely helpful for anyone recovering from trauma. The women who come to our Second Chances art group come from a range of backgrounds and have all suffered from issues such as depression, anxiety, and addiction, as well as being impacted by the criminal justice system. They may never have had the opportunity to explore their creativity in this way before.
We work with a brilliant Bournemouth-based artist, Samantha March, to guide group members and help them to create items such as t-shirts, prints, tote bags and bookmarks. Women in the group can keep the items for themselves or we can sell them either via our website or at one of our stockists. Knowing their work is going on sale gives our group members a huge sense of pride and boosts their self-esteem. It’s a joy to see their self-confidence grow as they learn new skills and create beautiful artwork that they didn’t know they were capable of.
When I’m not with the women in the group I am out and about developing relationships with partner organisations in Dorset. We run art groups in conjunction with the Hope Housing charity and have recently begun to stock our products at The Shire Hall museum in Dorchester and the Beech & Barnicott store in Bridport.
I hope that one day we’ll be able to run more of our amazing art groups in more locations across Dorset and help more women to build greater confidence and brighter futures.
