Tomorrow's Women

TOMORROW’S WOMEN AND CITIZENS THEATRE EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH THE ARTS

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WELCOME TO TOMORROW’S WOMEN Hello and a very warm welcome to Tomorrow’s Women Glasgow (TWG). This booklet has been created for us by The Citizens Theatre to showcase some of the amazing outcomes both women and staff have experienced since our inception in 2013.

TWG is Glasgow’s community justice centre for women and our main aim is to reduce women’s offending whilst supporting them to turn their lives around. We are a multi-disciplined team including social work, nursing, housing, psychology and the Scottish Prison Service. We also work very closely with external agencies such as Citizens Theatre, Third Sector organisations, housing providers and colleges.

The women come with a multitude of complex issues including repeat offending, housing needs, addictions, bereavement, physical and mental health problems, trauma, domestic abuse, historical abuse, social isolation - to name a few. We work from a trauma informed, assertive outreach model which includes establishing safety, building trust and working together. Service user involvement is at the heart of what we do. Women have individual workers but also attend activity based groups that you will read about throughout this booklet.

We hope you enjoy reading about the work of Tomorrow’s Women.

Please contact us on 0141 274 6052 for more information.

Anne Gallacher Tomorrow’s Women Team Leader

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CITIZENS & TWG PARTNERSHIP The Citizens Theatre has a long-standing history of working with women across Glasgow. For the last three years we have delivered a bespoke creative programme in partnership with Tomorrow’s Women. Our weekly workshops and theatre productions aim to empower and foster resilience and to ignite strength and hope in the women who take part in our creative interventions. Artistically, we explore innovative ideas that encourage women to shine on stagegiving them a platform to celebrate their creativity.

We are delighted to showcase the incredible portfolio of work, created by Tomorrow’s Women which highlights the continued relationship between the two organisations. This booklet is a celebration of the continued partnership between the two organisations.

Elly Goodman, Carly McCaig, Carol Laula and Ailsa Munro - Citizens Learning Team

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TOMORROW’S WOMEN ACTIVITIES The Tomorrow’s Women team run drop in sessions for women engaging with the service. Here are some examples of the activities that are delivered each week for women to take part in.

COOKING GROUP- Armed with a portable kitchen and utensils generously donated by the Soroptomists, Fiona Mooney from the team has introduced a thriving cookery group. The course aims to teach practical cooking skills to the women.

We’ve had a fantastic uptake on the class so far and each week we try to teach simple dishes you can make on a budget. We’ve made apple crumble, curries, stir fry, bruschetta and bread & butter pudding to name a few! The class has worked wonders for building confidence and teaching practical skills for the women we support.

ART COURSE- Glasgow Kelvin College artist, Karen Campbell, delivers a weekly arts course where the women can learn basic sewing, knitting, crochet, as well as applique, painting, drawing, mosaic, collage and more. In addition, the women have created banners, one of which was for the Citizens Theatre play. The classes form part of an SQA Communications qualification with 18 women gaining this since 2017. Two women progressed on to college courses in 2018 and several to other further education courses.

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ACUDETOX SESSIONS- Acudetox is a therapy which involves inserting acupuncture needles in five points in the ear. Each acupuncture point is linked to certain parts of the body and also connected to emotional states. Once pinned, a period of time is spent in meditation or “chi gong” which brings a state of relaxation and peace. Our women enjoy the sense of relaxation it brings them and also report improvement in sleep as one of many other benefits.

HISTORY OF CRIME WORKSHOPS- The History of Crime and Mental Health Workshops are designed to give service users an understanding of the past and how it has influenced the current treatment and care of prisoners. The sessions are facilitated by Criminologist Kitty McLauchan and Kate, our Mental Health Nurse at Tomorrow’s Women. Recently, we visited The National Records of Scotland, where there was an exhibition of prison life. The trip proved to be very insightful and enlightening, but also thought provoking.

Feedback from Tomorrow’s Women Activities’ participants:

“I really enjoy taking part in the workshops and always leave feeling positive and ready for the day ahead” “Its always good to come out of your comfort zone every now and again….a great confidence booster for everyone” “Fantastic! Always leave with a swing in my step, a song in my head and hope in my heart, Thank you” TWG

THE WOMEN OF TODAY Since opening in 2013 Tomorrow’s Women has had a dramatic effect on the women who engage with the service. Service users Rachel and Siobhan share their experience while at Tomorrow’s Women.

RACHEL’S STORY Hi my name is Rachel, I have been working with Tomorrow’s Women after some time in Cornton Vale Prison where I was a first time offender. I have enjoyed a variety of things at Tomorrow’s Women. For example, I took part in six week cooking course where I learned valuable life skills. However, my favourite was attending the weekly creative sessions run by the Citizens Theatre where I wrote and performed a story about my life in front of a big crowd. My confidence has grown, also my social skills have massively improved.

I would not have got this far without the support from staff at Tomorrow’s Women.

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SIOBHAN’S STORY When I first came to Tomorrow’s Women, my head was in a dark place and I had addiction issues. I asked my Drug Worker to refer me to the service. It was the best thing that happened to me, a real-life saver. I’ve gone from being a quiet wallflower, to someone who enjoys really good belly laughs.

The staff go above and beyond for everyone, Tomorrow’s Women really is a one stop shop to some of us that only know chaos on daily basis, with a drug habit or drink problem and yet are still treated with respect. We get one to one with a CPN and take part in group activities so that we have a structure to our week. Attending Tomorrow’s Women has changed my life and I’m in a much better place now.

For more information please contact the Tomorrow’s Women Duty Worker on 0141 274 6052

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SERVICES AT TOMORROW’S WOMEN Given Tomorrow’s Women is a one stop shop, it is not unusual for a woman to be working with two or three workers at the same time. For example a woman could be working with Jacqui, Elaine, Sharon or Fiona (our social work staff) building up trust, getting to know the project, sorting out benefits, emotional support, support to appointments, registering with addictions and GP services. whilst also working with Andrea our housing/homeless advisor. This could be advocating for her at court or housing review, liaising with the homeless casework team or pursuing tenancy transfer.

Most women who attend TWG present with issues such as anxiety, depression, anger, trauma, heightened emotions etc. The allocated worker where appropriate will refer the woman to Elaine or Kate, our CPN’s, who may conduct a mental health assessment before offering a range of treatments from emotional stabilisation to anger/anxiety management and trauma therapy if ready. The trauma therapy is also offered by our clinical psychologist Alison from the Anchor Centre.

In conjunction with the above and when feeling confident enough, women partake in the many activity groups we have on offer as outlined in this booklet.

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SHARRON’S SECONDMENT Prison Officer Sharron McGill has been seconded to Tomorrow’s Women for the last year.

I have been seconded from Scottish Prison Service (SPS) since April 2017. I came here from HMP Shotts working with long term male prisoners but began my career at HMP/YOI Cornton Vale where I worked with women from 2003.

Coming here was a huge culture shock after working in closed prison environments for 14 years which were structured with specific processes that need to be followed.

Working at Tomorrow’s Women has given me the opportunity to visit the women in their homes and to build positive relationships with them and supporting them to make positive changes in their lives.

It has totally changed my perspective of why women end up involved in the criminal justice system. I now appreciate the difficulties women face. I hope to impart my knowledge on to my SPS colleagues.

I am confident that my experience from working here will be the best training I could have for returning to work with women in custody.

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CITIZENS THEATRE CREATIVE WORKSHOPS For many years we have worked in close partnership with Women’s Services. We offer a year round creative programme at Tomorrow’s Women. We also create plays some of which have been performed at the Citizens Theatre. Our plays explore specific themes such as the criminal justice system, routes to positive change and relationships.

The Citizens Learning team are delivering a year round creative residency with particiants and staff members. Each week, women take part in workshops based at the centre in the Gorbals and have recently recorded an album of original songs created in the songwriting sessions.

The group are also involved in creative writing, drama and textile design making sessions.

“Going to the theatre got me out with the other lassies rather than sitting in the house where I sometimes feel lonely and isolated.I couldnae normally afford to go to the theatre so this is a great opportunity for me– I throughly enjoyed it” TWG

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TOMORROW’S WOMEN ON STAGE Our creative writing and plays are devised by the women in our weekly sessions. We have explored a range of material, delving into the complexities of relationships, whether connected to family, friends, or to how we view ourselves.

We Shall Remain was first performed in 2016 at the Citizens’ Studio Theatre. The play gave an insight into past behaviours and the journey from prison to reintegrating back into the community.

I Do was performed in 2017 with a cast dressed in an assortment of wedding dresses. The play focussed on the role of women in today’s society, personal identity, dreams and aspirations for the future.

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“Fantastic performance great message for all cast, hugely positive and enthusiastic for the women involved delighted for everyone for overcoming so many barriers and challenges” “Thoroughly enjoyed the performance demonstrates how working together can really shape lives and give people hope” “Absolutely brilliant, thought provoking, moving and inspirational”

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY On the 8th March every year, women across the globe join forces in recognition of International Women’s Day. Tomorrow’s Women is no exception, we have celebrated the day with a raft of creative endeavours, including, newly written songs, sharing creative writing and making badges and banners.

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TOMORROW’S WOMEN GRADUATES

Linzie “TWG believed in me, picked me up, gave me a shot and I propelled to the best place I’ve been in years. Getting my certificate brought me to tears”

Rosemary “Proud of myself and looking forward to the future”

Charlene “Sad to be leaving TWG but very appreciative of the support and help I have been given by the team”

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WE ARE ALL TOMORROW’S WOMEN Tomorrows hopes are yesterday’s fears, we live our lives with no more tears. No feeling small, we’re standing tall, we’re here for good – and we’ll show them all that, we’re

Tomorrow’s Women

The past is past, doesn’t need to last, we’ve faced our pain to start again, we’ve found the strength of a thousand men and we’re not going back to that place again, because we are

Tomorrow’s Women

All we’ve went through, all we’ve seen, the places where we hated being. The lonely path, the empty life, have torn and cut us like a knife. The highs, the lows, the where to go, with some we really didn’t want to know. Our journeys end – applaud our strength!! We’re on the march round a different bend to

Tomorrow’s Women

So… feel your power, this is your hour, taste the sweet, expel the sour. With hopes anew, sincere and true, we warmly send this bid to you… Join our team, live the dream, make average into life supreme… Fight the fight, set your sight and change the dark to broad daylight. Away with shame, light the flame, learn to love and laugh again…. cos here in this place, we’re all the same, we are all

Tomorrow’s Women