VAMHN'S ECR BURSARY WINNER lorna hill DISCUSSES HER ATTENDANCE AT THE "Let This Poem Be A Hand Upon Your Shoulder" workshop

​Have a read below to see what our ECR bursary winner Lorna Hill did with their award money. To find out how you can apply to our ECR Bursary Scheme click here.

​I was delighted to receive the VAMHN ECR bursary which enabled me to attend two of Charmaine Pollard’s online poetry therapy workshops.

I am the founder of Sharing A Story CIC, a social enterprise in East Lothian, and for the past few years I have been working on a freelance basis running creative sessions in my local community, with a particular focus on those at risk of social isolation. This has included survivors of domestic abuse, people with mental health conditions, the elderly and people living with dementia. I have really noticed how these groups have been adversely affected by Covid-19 and the impact this has on their mental health. 
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As a creative facilitator I am keen to support participants in the best way that I can and know the importance of developing my own participatory and professional development too. Charmaine is a leading and respected expert in the field of creative writing for wellbeing and her workshops were encouraging, nurturing and aptly titled: Let This Poem Be A Hand Upon Your Shoulder. It was a gentle reminder to me about the importance of self-care and taking time to develop my own creativity and energise my own facilitation skills ahead of a new project I will soon be leading for Women’s Aid East and Midlothian.