Arose From The Concrete offers various workshops that involve a core of creative writing for personal development & wellbeing. I deliver my workshops and programmes in the heart of communities or by bringing my resources to Schools, YOTs, Secured Units, PRU's, Community Centres, Youth Hubs or any venue that needs me
Arose From The Concrete offers various workshops that involve a core of creative writing for personal development and well-being. Following an initial activity, such as a small group discussion of a piece of writing, you are then encouraged to write, possibly using a line you have chosen from the reading or an image or object,
Positive affirmations, clearing writing, visualisation and voice exercises are also woven into the experience to create a rich fabric of tools enabling you to express emotions through creativity, which helps with communication and portraying thoughts more coherently helping you on the right path in your life. Timed free writes in a group will encourage you to find words to express yourself, recover old memories and to find your way through writing choices quickly and fluidly. There is then the option to read the writing to the group.
I feel from personal experience hearing yourself read your piece of creative writing to others in a supportive setting can definitely bring fresh insight to old ways of acknowledging certain confidence or communication issues whilst developing their creativity, life skills and self-esteem, with many of my participants gaining the confidence to get into further education or employment
ABOUT ME
Ok so I will just start by telling you all a little bit about my younger years, I can say I came from a toxic unsettled way of life. I was a young carer from the age of 9 and ended up expelled from school in year 8, then eventually ended up at a pupil referral unit in Norwood until I eventually ran away from home at 14. I was living homeless at my friend's house for a couple of months before ending up at an organisation in Brixton Hill (I think it was called Home and Away) and was referred to the housing services in Brixton where I was eventually placed in my first hostel in Acre Lane. I went back and forth through a few hostels and bed and breakfasts throughout the years, until I eventually received a letter from Lambeth offering me my flat just 3 months after my 17 birthday.
I was working as a 16/18-year-old Halfway House support worker for a few years then one night finally decided that I wanted to try and go to uni to do a BA Hons in Creative and Professional Writing via the clearing process in my late 20,s this however required me to do a foundation degree which was supposed to last a year, it turned out to be a big culture shock for me and my year turned into 2 lool, but I managed to persevere through it all and eventually got on my required course and surprisingly after my first year managed to gain enough credits to get into a uni that had turned me down previously. Looking back, I'm actually very happy that I had to take those steps in my journey because those 2 foundation years came to teach me so much about my inner strength, whilst also being able to learn about many interesting modules and subjects that I would never have thought about studying beforehand.
Since 2013, I have been helping young and vulnerable people from unsettled backgrounds express emotions through creativity, enabling them to fulfil their hidden potential by engaging them with music and other creative arts. I create a safe space for them to break free from any fears and barriers they face, with many themes varying from mental health issues to loss, empathy and optimism enabling them to see that they have the potential to become whatever they want to be whilst overcoming any personal issues they may be dealing with in life. I feel that every person has creativity embedded into them and using creative formats to express any hidden or confusing emotions I feel is amazing for self-development and progression.
"We don't pay to much mind about speaking or writing the Queens English at my workshops, I'm more into their creativity etc and less into all the logistics combined within it's more personal and real to me dat way and seems to be working" JE
I try to incorporate certain things that I know would have benefited me from the ages of 12 to 19, stuff that definitely would have helped my internal self-development in those Mentz times. stuff that I feel would have made a big impact on me and made me understand and acknowledge my potential better, enabling me to take a different path than the one I was cold-heartedly bopping thru with an ice pack on my shoulder. What a lot of people are failing to understand is how hard it is to be out on the roads when your so young or from an unsettled background, you basically feel like the whole worlds on your shoulder, cause whose there to show u there's a different way whose there that really has your best interests at heart how do u express all these emotions??? You just stay in a confused survival state and may have to end up going down paths that you've always known and understood even if they are maybe the wrong ones.
When it is all said and done youths are our future and people from unsettled and vulnerable backgrounds matter, we need more money spent on resources and formats that protect, support and will be beneficial for them now and in the long run. I feel we need more understanding and less stereotypical biased witch hunts.
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE WORKSHOPS
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE
4 week programme
(2 hour sessions per week)
Plant
Water
Groom and Bloom
Harvest
LETTERS FROM MY FATHER
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE
Using personal experiences of my childhood whist delving into letters of my father and mines correspondence whilst he was incarcerated we explore loss and self-development amongst other themes
WHAT IS CREATIVITY
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE
WHAT IS CREATIVITY
Creativity is everywhere and creative writing is one format which is being used in numerous ways throughout many amazing industries, time to get those negative prior experiences of English education out of your mind as we explore how versatile and exciting Creative Writing really can be
TODAY WE WILL REMEMBER
TODAY WE WILL REMEMBER
TODAY WE WILL REMEMBER
Take a delve with me into the amazing world of past poets, authors and artists discovering different themes, metaphors and other creatively interesting stuff along the way
JOURNALISTICALLY ME
TODAY WE WILL REMEMBER
TODAY WE WILL REMEMBER
Learn about people in the creative sectors who have used confessional writing forms and how expressing these types of writing forms through creative writing in journal formats can be very therapeutic way of expressing any emotions
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE KIDS
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE PODCAST
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE PODCAST
4 week programme
(2 hour sessions per week)
Plant
Water
Grow and Bloom
Harvest
(formulated into a child friendly programme)
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE PODCAST
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE PODCAST
AROSE FROM THE CONCRETE PODCAST
COMING SOON!!