August 2020

Hello All,

Write to Freedom is having a charity-wide break from August 10th – 24th. During this time none of us will be checking our emails etc. As core staff members, Ben will be back on the 31st, Jo on the 24th, and Caspar is on sabbatical from office-based work until the end of September.  

Wishing you all a good August whatever it holds for you. We’re encouraging reflections on what is means to break, and disconnect from a particular source of support. Lending an eye towards nourishing the spaces in between all things Write to Freedom.  

When we meet back, it’ll be the Autumn, and there is a lot to look forward to after break. Here’s a breakdown of the upcoming events. 

Our next online retreat is booked for October https://www.writetofreedom.org.uk/online-retreats 

Staff sign-ups for the online Retreat are open. Information and sign up is here: https://forms.gle/Y9paugMi6i9GqpTh7 please reflect on your capacity, willing and ableness, and sign up by the beginning of September, as this is when we will be building the staff team.  

 As always, please spread the word in your community and on social media, to encourage people to sign up.  

• Next Mentoring Day, August 29th, on Dartmoor, and the first one that the Lavender Hill Tribe (June’s online course) can attend. 

• Next Round Table, Tuesday 1st September 7-8pm 

• Next Experience Day, Saturday 19th September, location either in North Devon or on Dartmoor, still to be decided. (in person as it currently stands).  

A note on the Tribe WhatsApp group. In case anyone has previously missed this or would now like to join, there is a Write to Freedom Whatsapp group. This is used mainly for sharing self-created content that is within Write to Freedom’s ethos, and receive reminders of upcoming events.  Please email jo@writetofreedom.org.uk  with your Whatsapp number if you’d like to join the group. 

 
A Tribute to Mel Lamb 
Anyone who has attended an event at High Heathercombe will most likely have met Mel, who cared for the centre for many years. She sadly passed away this July. Have a read of a beautiful tribute to her with words from Caspar and a friend of Mel’s, Dita.  https://www.writetofreedom.org.uk/news-blog/2020/8/5/celebrating-the-life-of-mel-lamb-high-heathercombe-centre-manager 

With summertime blessings

Doug

January 2020

Greetings Tribesters

Welcome to our first update of 2020!
There is detail in here, requests for support, volunteering and dates for activities for you to sign up to. When you have time and space, make yourself a cuppa and make yourself comfy 😊. You may need to read more than once. I often do.
 
The amazing news of our success with the Reaching Communities bid is still settling. Jo McGain, Ben and I are immersed in unfolding and implementing all the work that went into it and the programme development we hope to achieve over the next three years. Personally it’s been a little overwhelming. There is deep gratitude for sure and also now the reality of the work (and pacing) to do.
There is a three stage model around new projects which I thought was spot on:
1)     The ideal
2)     The ordeal
3)     The real deal
The hope is that the ideal is more realistic so the ordeal is less harsh and the real deal comes as soon as poss!
 
A key focus is how can we do this sustainably, keep relations and connections flowing and strong and ensure we work to our individual capacities without burning out?

New Project Co-Ordinator role (title to be confirmed)

Jo M, Ben and I are currently redefining our job roles and spec, working towards creating space for the new role. This will continue to work closely with the community to help people personally and professionally grow. Keep ‘em peeled.
 
Creative Pathways

We had provisionally planned a full, non residential weekend on March 14th and 15th for the next stage of our Creative Pathways programme delivery and development. Due to the scale of work we need to do to get all systems flowing with the Reaching Communities funding, we are now going to make this next step a one day Archetypes training with me and Bethan Evans on:
 
Saturday 14th March. Holne Village Hall 9.30am for a 10am start. Finishes 6pm
For those of you wanting to staff on our next Recovery Tribes residential in April, attending this training and listening to the W2F online Archetypes introduction by Elizabeth Klyne (https://www.writetofreedom.org.uk/archetypes-talk), will be part of your staff application assessment process.

If you want to sign up for the Creative Pathways day (Tribe members only), please email Jo - jo@writetofreedom.org.uk 

There will be an option to stay on the moors on the Saturday night and share a meal and share a walk together on Sunday 15th. We’ll be exploring more of the work we cover on the Saturday in relation to the landscape.
There is good value accommodation at The Dodbrooke Farmhouse next to where Amber and I live. £15 for the night for a bed and bathroom. There are two double rooms and a single. First come first served. 

Judy Henderson: 01364 631 461
There are also the Shepherds Huts in the village

Mind Mapping the W2F Universe!

This diagram is a snapshot from a bigger Mind Map we are putting together to see at a glance what’s happening and who is holding or needs to hold, what.  Where you can see the XXXX in the diagram is where roles need to be taken up either by paid staff or volunteers.
Below the diagram is a more detailed explanation of developments, new structures and roles that are filled need filling.

New Mentoring Days Structure and roles

Ali and Melissa and others have held a lot of the Mentoring Day organising for the last three and a half years. BIG gratitude and thanks for all your hard work and dedication and love!! 😊. It’s great to have others holding this for so many years and its time for them to hand this over to the Tribe. We need your support with this.

Amanda Pugsley has stepped up to be our next Mentoring Day co-ordinator. BIG Gratitude Pugsey!! 

If your co-ordinator time falls on an Experience Day or a Celebration Day you will need to co-ordinate these as well. With support!
Each Co-ordinator role will run for between 3-6 months.

We need a volunteer or a nomination for February’s Initiator/Leader, and for each subsequent month. I’ll be Northing and supporting both roles till end of March. The three of us will meet by Zoom to discuss themes and season and who to invite to step up to hold part of the days. TBA.
 
From April to June, Peter, Melissa or Ali (who TBC soon) will take over Northing for three months. The Northing role will be for three months per person. The idea is to allow those less experienced who want to step up (or to be lovingly nudged 😉) to co-ordinate, initiate/lead, can do this while being properly supported and guided by an experienced member of the team.
 
Those Northing the co-ordinators and initiator/leaders will be offered a remuneration £80 per month if you wish to take it. Any member of the Tribe can step into this paid Northing role when you have a good handle on both roles and you and we feel you are ready.

If you’re taking on a role as co-ordinator or Northing etc, you will be given a W2F email address to use - let us know if you have any issue with this. 
In order to support us all and to ensure safeguarding and container building, going forward all Tribe members will need to let the Mentoring Day Co-ordinator know if you’re coming.
We are hoping to reach further afield and reconnect with those we’ve lost touch with.

We’ll need to know:
·       Transport/lift sharing needs
·       Are you in active recovery from your addiction of choice?
·       Any extra support – where you are in your recovery
 
For the time she’s in her co-ordinator role, Amanda P can be contacted on: AmandaP@writetofreedom.org.uk 

Next Residential

The online application for the next residential (April 24 - 26) will be online within the next two weeks.

Experience Days

Volunteers or nominations open to support elements of the Experience Days. See website for dates - https://www.writetofreedom.org.uk/w2f-events

Celebration Days

We need volunteers to step up or nominations to help build and put on the new Celebration Days. This will be a chance for family and friends to come and celebrate and honour the new members of the Tribe and their journey through the Recovery Tribe residential. There will be a creative element to the days. This could include poetry, spoken word, music - sky’s the limit. Contact Caspar direct - caspar@writetofreedom.org.uk 

One to ones and Training Days

As of February, Caspar will be offering an alternating month of up to 8 one to one, hour long, supervision sessions on Zoom, phone or in person.
The alternating month will be a group training day. Details to be announced on website
February is now open for one to ones. First come first served. Email me direct: caspar@writetofreedom.org.uk 
March’s training day will be the archetype training with me and Bethan Evans.

Monitoring and Logging Volunteer Hours

A big part of the success of the Reaching Communities lottery bid was down to your volunteer hours and what that said about your commitment and the need for what W2F offers in return. Going forward, we are asking that you keep a tally of all the hours you give in service to W2F so we can evidence this at the end of the funding and match it (or go beyond) the average we calculated in the bid.

Please send your volunteer hours to Jo (jo@writetofreedom.org.uk) by the last Friday of each month, for that month.

Evaluation and Evidence Base for our Work

We are meeting with Exeter University this month to begin the process of building a new evaluation and evidence base. Exciting! This will be looking at the journey each of you have gone through so far and capturing that in a way that shows the impact and importance of what we do together. We will also look to capture the experiences and statistics of all new members joining the Tribe in the coming months and years. The data will be gathered by the new paid project co-ordinator, the volunteer co-ordinators and those holding the south on the residentials.
 
Community Consultation

We will continue to listen to your thoughts, feelings, ideas and challenges. We’ll set a meeting up later in the year to discuss this further, exploring where we are with projects and development. Do please email Jo (jo@writetofreedom.org.uk) with any feedback you have at any time. A good guide to submitting this is -

·       What’s your intention with offering the feedback?
·       How could it support you and W2F?
·       Do you need any support or to speak to a member of the staff team?

With love, respect and gratitude,

Caspar and the team

December 2019

Hello All,

Here is the second of our monthly updates with news of activities and events for the Tribe.

As always, if you’d prefer not to receive these emails, please do let me know.

There is a lot of information here, but some great things happening to join, so do read all the way through!

Amazing Funding News!!

We are so delighted to share that we have received 3 years worth of Big Lottery Funding to continue the amazing work that we do at Write to Freedom!!!

This is not currently public news and only for discussion within the tribe. Please don’t share yet with family and friends or anywhere online.

We will send an update in January, once we have the green light to publicly celebrate.

2020 Dates

We have set our dates for Mentoring Days and Experience Days right through 2020. 

For quick reference, here are the first few - 

January 25, Mentoring Day, Dartmoor

February 29, Mentoring Day, Dartmoor

March 28, Experience Day, Dartmoor 

April 18, Mentoring Day, North Devon

All dates for the year so far posted on the website here - https://www.writetofreedom.org.uk/w2f-events

New Mentoring and Experience Day Structure

The Mentoring Days will have a new structure going forward. There will be 2 key roles that the Tribe need to fill and an overall mentoring support and training role held by an experienced leader/initiator.

Role 1. Mentoring Day Co-ordinator. This will involve all Mentoring Day communication with Tribe, organising lift sharing/transport, deciding location of day, collecting dana and feedback/evaluation forms. You’ll need to be able to carry out this role for between 3 and 6 months.

Role 2. Mentoring Day Initiator. On the 8 Shields Compass you will North a single Mentoring Day, creating a theme and seasonal focus and inviting members of the Tribe to hold elements of the day. You and the co-ordinator will work together to run the day.

Role 3. Overall Mentor for the above roles to ensure each is supported throughout. This supporting/training role will be held for three months. The first mentor will be Caspar for Jan, Feb and April 2020.

Taking up these roles will also be a part of your assessment process for residentials and a great opportunity to learn and grow in a supportive atmosphere.

We’ve created a crib sheet for this new structure for you to follow.

If your time in role falls on an Experience Day you will have a separate crib sheet to work from and will also be mentored through that process.

These crib sheets will be available on the website in a private area. We will send a link out for these around mid Jan.

We’re asking the wider tribe to step up to give a break to the amazing few (thank you!!) who have been holding these roles for the last three years.

Please step up for one of the 2 roles so we can get rolling for January 2020. We need a co-ordinator and an initiator for the Jan 25th Mentoring Day.

First Creative Pathways Training

The first Creative Pathways Training weekend will be held on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th March 2020. This will be non residential. We have a provisional booking at Holne Village Hall. There will be camping (!), shepherds huts and B+B’s nearby. We may run this weekend in Exeter or Exmouth if a suitable venue can be found – same weekend. The venue will be confirmed by end of Jan.

Attending Creative Pathways trainings will be a key part of your assessment process for staffing future residentials and a great training opportunity for you to support the Mentoring Days and Experience Days. See Creative pathways blog for more info. 

W2F support and training day for the men of MoMENtum

On Saturday the 15th of February we are hosting an indoor exploration/mentoring day for the men of MoMENtum in Exeter. We need W2F volunteer staff men and women to support the next stage of our work with them. This is part of bringing our work to the wider community. Please contact Jo if you’re interested.

Caspar’s Latest Blog Post

Have a read of Caspar’s moving new blog post, ‘We are the Founding Members’ - https://www.writetofreedom.org.uk/news-blog/2019/12/19/we-are-the-founding-members

Recording of Archetypes Zoom training

Last Saturday we had an introductory talk on the Jungian Archetypes from Elizabeth Klyne.

We recorded this and both the audio and video of this talk is available here on this webpage - https://www.writetofreedom.org.uk/archetypes-talk

Please note that this is for the W2F community only, please don’t share around.

Christmas Holiday Times

Caspar will be away from the end of today (Friday 20th) and back on Monday 13th.

Jo will be away from Monday 23rd and back on Thursday 9th.

Such wonderful news at the end of a challenging, transformational year! 😊

Many good wishes to you all for the festive period,

November 2019

Hello All,

This is the first of a monthly update on any news of activities and events for the Tribe.

As always, if you’d prefer not to receive these emails, please do let me know.

There is a lot of information here, but some great things happening to join, so do read all the way through!

Filming with Caspar We will be starting shooting the next W2F short film on Monday 11th of November in south Devon/Dartmoor. Locations to be announced by end of play, November 6th. The purpose of the film is to inspire new members to join the Tribe, build partnerships, secure funding and spread the message of recovery.If any of you would be up for joining us as crew and/or featured in the film itself, do let us know. We need you 😊.The film will follow another poetic narrative which is almost complete. Will send that out along with locations, on November 6th. We will be working closely with Philip Harris’s drawings based around Dartmoor. The film will focus on transitions from his 2D ‘sketches’ into live action shots of the actual places he’s drawn. Tribe members will appear in each of these live action settings. The poem is a universal one. We will each help tell another beautiful story of healing and recovery. It’s gonna be a beauty. Please email Caspar direct by November 8th at the latest if you would like to be involved - caspar@writetofreedom.org.uk It won’t happen without you 😊

Invitation to join the Trustee AGM next week

The W2F Trustee AGM is taking place next Wednesday 13th in Totnes. 

We are inviting you to join and participate in the meeting, to offer ideas and to see where we are at as a charity, from 6.30 - 9pm. (There will be Trustee only business until 6.30pm.) It is possible to join the meeting either in person in Totnes, or via our Zoom link.

If you would like to join, please let me know.

Upcoming Tribe Events

Tribe Gathering on Zoom - Tuesday, November 19th 7-8.30pm

Please check the website soon, we are hoping to have a special guest speaker for this!

Experience Day, North Devon - Saturday, November 23rd 11am - 5pm

Open to anyone interested in the work that we do! Bring any family (must be over 18) or friends, or pass the details on to anyone you know who is interested in our residentials. All details on the website.

Mentoring Day - Saturday, December 7th 10am - 5pm

Meeting on Dartmoor, as usual.