We’re very excited to report on developments from our newly released training, Developing a shame informed approach. Understanding shame was vital for our work in prisons and this online training shares the approach we developed in our RESTORE programme.
We recently presented this work to HMP Women’s Directorate and they are interested in piloting this work in women’s prisons in England and Wales. We are also looking to explore the training specifically in HMP Eastwood Park where we have been working since 2014.
The training builds on and complements the practice of anyone working with trauma informed practices, so if you’re interested in exploring how this training might support your own work do check that out here.
We have also recently started a new online series, Conversations on self-forgiveness. Hosted by our Programme Development Lead, Sandra Barefoot, in conversation with our storytellers, this series explores the uncomfortable questions, complexities and ambiguities that make self-forgiveness so very hard.
The series continues this Thursday with Dunia Shafik & Jacob Dunne who will be joining us to explore how guilt and grief can play an essential role in forgiving yourself.
You can buy tickets for 18th May and find out more information on the full series here.
If you have any questions on the series or any of our work, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.
Thank you so much for your continued support for The Forgiveness Project – we couldn’t do this work without you.
Warmest wishes,
Rachel and all the team at The Forgiveness Project
As we start a fresh year we’ve been reflecting on 2022 and all the work that your donations have supported.
We published the final three episodes of the second series of the F Word Podcast, talking with storytellers from America, England and Australia:
You can explore all episodes of the F Word Podcast here.
We released our Prison Chronicles series on Vimeo on Demand. Exploring the stories we tell – how we shape them and ultimately how they shape us – these intimate conversations reveal an unexpected space where the line between ‘victim/ survivor’ and ‘perpetrator’ becomes blurred and where telling your story can save you from it.
We delivered five workshops on the theme of Making meaning as a foundation for change, in collaboration with the NHS South West Leadership Academy. The workshops offered a deep-dive into how we might heal, restore and return to ourselves. This exploration of how people can create new meaning after harm and pain provided leaders and those they support with appropriate tools to begin this process. - ‘This was an incredibly impactful and unexpected session. The facilitation was amazing and gentle. I would highly recommend.’
We were delighted to be back in person with The F Word exhibition in Sheffield and with our RESTORE prison programme in HMP Eastwood Park.
We held a series of live conversations looking at shame and the profound impact it has on how we understand ourselves and our lives: Speaking the Unspeakable: exploring shame in the stories of our lives. Understanding how unprocessed trauma can often manifest as shame was a huge part of our learning from our work in prisons and these conversations explore this idea of how shame can cut us off from ourselves and others, reduce empathy and impact how we heal. This series is now available to watch on Vimeo on Demand.
We also created and ran an online training, Developing a Shame Informed Approach, which we will be making available to view on demand in the new year.
As well as this our Founder, Marina Cantacuzino, published her latest book, Forgiveness: An Exploration, which unpicks and debates the limits and possibilities of forgiveness and how it can impact on our lives. You can purchase this along with our other books in our online shop.
Thank you again for all your continued support and as always, if you have any questions on our work please don’t hesitate to contact us.
With warmest wishes and deepest gratitude,
Rachel and all the Team at The Forgiveness Project
rachel@theforgivenessproject.com
It’s taken two and half years but in July we were finally able to get back into HMP Eastwood Park and deliver a RESTORE Programme. The programme was delivered within a specific unit supporting women with mental health issues. We had been told they would be joined by women from the main wings of the prison but unfortunately due to rising cases of covid, this permission was withdrawn at the last minute and not all the women who had been recruited to the programme were able to attend.
Although therefore numbers were lower than we would normally have worked with, the intimate nature of the programme proved hugely supportive and powerful for the women.
‘My story is a mess, a nightmare and now a weight has been lifted for the first time and I feel a bit more free from the hurt. This course has given me that safety in a safe way’.
‘This is the most enjoyable course I’ve ever done. It needs to be longer’
‘This course gives you insights, its uplifting on your own journey and the things you struggle with and it gives you strength and courage. Its way better than I expected. I never looked these things before. It’s a journey of self-discovery with meaning’.
‘It’s not threatening this course. I have so looked forward to coming. I felt so at ease, I feel free. I could be myself. The course is friendly, it teaches you, opens your mind’.
‘I realise I don’t have to forgive. I can try. You can forgive and still be angry. I need to take care of my hatred and anger.’
While we are delighted that we have finally managed to deliver this work, with covid continuing to be a serious issue in prisons we know that it might be some time yet before we return. We will of course keep you updated.
And if you’re interested in diving deeper into this work, do check out our Founder, Marina Cantacuzino's latest book Forgiveness: An Exploration. The book explores what forgiveness is and what it most definitely isn’t, how it can be an important element in breaking the cycle of suffering, and ultimately how it might help transform fractured relationships and mend broken hearts.
‘This is an utterly memorable book – beautifully written, fascinating in its insights, and extraordinarily moving. We all need to forgive, and this book, through its recounting of the stories of people who have something really significant to forgive, will be an inspiration to help us reach a state of forgiveness. This is a book that will stay with the reader for a very long time’– Alexander McCall Smith
Thank you again for your support and as always, if you have any questions on our work please don’t hesitate to contact us.
With warmest wishes and deepest gratitude,
Rachel and all the Team at The Forgiveness Project
We are delighted to be able to return to our work with women in prison in July so we look forward to being able to update you on that in our next newsletter.
In the meantime, we invite you to join us for our new programme of work looking at shame and the profound impact it has on how we understand ourselves and our lives - Speaking the Unspeakable: exploring shame in the stories of our lives.
This work developed out of our prison work with RESTORE where we witnessed how the unrecognised roots of shame are often enmeshed with pain and trauma, causing difficulties to individuals and those around them.
As part of this work we will be holding a unique series of online conversations with four of our storytellers who have grappled with shame and its power to twist, disconnect and silence us. The conversations will explore their lives and the insights they have gained as they continue to find a way to navigate their relationship with shame.
You can find our more about the work and the series here.
You may also be interested in watching the Prison Chronicles series which is now available online. These six live conversations were recorded between October 2020 – April 2021. They delve deep into the work of RESTORE, The Forgiveness Project's award-winning prison programme. In conversation with the storytellers as well as a former participant and former officer, these enquiries, like the work of RESTORE, explore our shared humanity and ask us to imagine – if we had lived each other’s lives, would we have done things any differently? Find out more here.
Thank you again for your support and as always, if you have any questions on our work please don’t hesitate to contact us.
With warmest wishes and deepest gratitude,
Rachel and all the Team at The Forgiveness Project
rachel@theforgivenessproject.com
The Omicron variant unfortunately put paid to the plans we laid out in our last report... However, we are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to deliver RESTORE to women in HMP Eastwood Park in the Spring.
2021 was a strange and uncertain time for us all but your support kept us going strong. As well as sharing the stories through our website, books and articles, we ran the Prison Chronicles series exploring our work in prisons - exploring the stories we tell – how we shape them and ultimately how they shape us.
We finalised Season One and launched Season Two of The F Word Podcast. There are now a total of 20 episodes available and the series has to date over 19,000 downloads in 99 countries! The latest episode features Ray Minniecon and is an incredibly moving and powerful conversation about issues around healing and forgiveness in his work highlighting the plight of the Aboriginal people and the Stolen Generations in Australia.
We designed and delivered a new online course, Working with people of lived experience, to participants from the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. Drawing on all our learning and practice of the last 17 years, the course explored forgiveness, restorative narratives, shame and resilience.
The feedback we receive inspires us in our work and we are truly grateful to you all for engaging and connecting with us in this work. While these are difficult days these stories inspire us and stories have the power to change the world.
As 2021 drew to a close, Desmond Tutu, The Forgiveness Project’s founding patron and one of the world’s most humane spiritual leaders, has died aged 90. He was a huge inspiration and he will be missed. You can read our Founder Marina Cantacuzino’s reflections on his legacy here.
Our work is only possible because of your incredible generosity - we can’t thank you enough for your support and your belief in our work.
Here’s hoping for a better and brighter 2022 for us all!
With warmest wishes and deepest gratitude,
From Rachel and all the Team at The Forgiveness Project
rachel@theforgivenessproject.com
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