We work with some incredibly talented people, many of whom have been through life-changing events that have led them to need our support. It's why we do what we do.
To demonstrate what we mean, listen to Jamie, an ex-service user of our STARS (Supporting Treatment, Accommodation & Recovery in Suffolk), project, read some of his poetry on Radio Suffolk: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fxql7j (Listen from: 4:03)
Here's one of his poems:
RECOVERY TO ME Recovery to me is a major turning away from the way I used to be. I need to steer clear of the thin ice, it's everywhere! To use my empty days for something valuable. I'm 46. My life has drifted past like it's in some sort of amnesiated fog. The weeks zoom past like they're lamp posts when you're speeding on a motorway. I know somewhere in front of me there is some sort of brick wall. I want to make up for lost time, as impossible as that is. What I mean is, I want to wring more meaning and - difficult to say what the word is really but, 'gold' out of my twisted existence. I'm not so much talking about cash flow. That would be good also, after all I'm on benefits. What I mean is, we're back to that word again - meaning. Richness is also a word that fits. Anyway, that's why I art and craft. That's why I practice calligraphy and lettering. That's why I juggle for hours everyday. That's why I try to paint and draw. I emphasise the word 'try'. It alleviates and soothes. It chucks much needed cooling water over my flames of distress. Steam shoots from the pressure cooker in my head and light shines into the dark cracks of my being, insight. My empty gap, to a point, gets filled. It's not gone, but at least its hungry belly is satisfied. Both the gap of my empty days and the gap within that pains me. I think of myself as a word-man, a word crafter. I like to produce beautiful words both in meaning and presentation. I am a describer of things, often bizarre. My artistic output satisfies me, so does the process. I know other people enjoy it, and for some, it comes to them as some sort of buoyancy aid or life raft just as it does me. This only amplifies my satisfaction. It feels good to help others. In physical reality I spend most of my time solitary, but I do like to mingle and ally with similars, mostly through my Facebook group, Distressed Butterfly presents Words and Images. I will now endeavour to keep moving forward along a tricky path, seeking my true north. Wordz by DISTRESSED BUTTERFLY.