Professional
Sex, Drugs and Dramatic Arts
Whilst working for the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton upon Trent as a sessional Arts Worker, Linda also began professional work with Derbyshire Youth service in 1991 starting with sessional work in clubs and schools while she raised her young children. This gave her a very wide experience across many different settings of informal education which held her in good stead during her youth service training. Projects she undertook on behalf of the Derbyshire youth service included a special needs awareness project, school and youth club Personal and Social Education, Gateway – a club for adults with learning and physical disabilities, an unemployed club, an arts activity youth club, drugs specialist work and sexual health work as well as working as a detached youth worker, based out on the streets and parks wherever young people meet informally to offer support and friendship.
In the early 1990s Linda volunteered at Derby Aidsline and helped support the move to independence from the Derby City Health Service to become its own charity DDHASS (Derby & District HIV and AIDS Support Services). She became the first Deputy Chair and subsequently took over the role of Chairperson bringing in mentoring into the Charity to support new recruits. After becoming qualified as a community consultant, Linda used her skills to run consultations to improve services for people living with HIV & AIDS.
Linda went on to work part time for Derby Drugline, concurrently with her work for the youth service, helping run the phone line, offering one to one specialist support to drug users and their families, and helping run the needle exchange. She undertook comprehensive period of training through many professional companies to support her knowledge of drugs issues, dual diagnosis (drugs and sexual abuse), suicide, self harm, and other related topics. Linda also undertook her Training Of Trainers qualification and became the trainer for Derby Drugline, training such diverse groups as mental health workers, probation workers and Magistrates in drugs awareness. She always received very good reviews of her training sessions.
Linda Awarded for Excellence in Youth Work
During the 13 years working for Derbyshire Youth Service, Linda gained her Masters degree in Community Education with Youth and Community Development at De Montfort University, Leicester. She received an award from Derby City Youth Service for her outstanding contribution to an innovative project working in nightclubs with drugs, alcohol and health issues. Alongside this project Linda continued to work with Derby Drugline as a drugs worker, and a youth street worker for the county youth service. She was responsible for setting up two brand new innovative projects, the Lifestyles Drugs Project and the Youth Information Shop which both exceeded all expectations and reached targets in half the time allotted. Linda successfully gained a half million pound grant from the government to expand the Youth Information shop within its first two years to include a counselling room and fully kitted medical surgery for young people as well as a crèche and new support project for young parents.
Linda enjoys having a full-to-bursting life, and has voluntarily run community drama projects in church and town, as well as local youth groups in addition to paid work, writing over 100 pieces of music, over 100 sketches and pieces of writing for stage, screen and radio, mostly whilst working full time and enjoying raising her children.
Holistic Healing
In 2004-5 Linda studied and passed a diploma in Indian Head Massage to help combat her own severe depression at that time, and to add to her skills. She had always been told she has healing hands, and now she enjoys being able to offer holistic healing for mind and body, though she mostly only offers massages for friends and people she knows.
Until 2005, these parts of Linda’s life were kept separate through employment and voluntary work; but years of struggling with mental health problems gave Linda more creative impetus and she produced three musicals and numerous radio and other scripts.
Travelling on a Wave of Compassion
In December 2004 a massive tsunami struck SE Asia and almost 200,000 people died across the region. Linda felt called to go and offer her services as she had recently left paid employment with Derbyshire Youth Service and set about trying to find a voluntary placement. Keeping a close watch on all the internet news she narrowed the search down to India and Sri Lanka, but most international charities (INGOs) were flooded with correspondence so finally in frustration Linda wrote to the online newspaper of Sri Lanka asking if they needed foreign volunteers. This produced her first contacts within the country which led to her being invited by Professor Harendra de Silva, founder of the National Child Protection Authority in Sri Lanka and recipient of many international awards for his part in Child protection world wide, to combine her various experiences in youth work and creative arts, and develop a teaching programme on creative therapies for children.
Linda’s first trip to Sri Lanka took place in April 2005, and little did she know the impact this would have on her life, and that of psycho social children’s workers in Sri Lanka. Linda is now a well known person in this field in Sri Lanka, having travelled the length and breadth of the country over 10 visits amounting to more than 2 years of her life, working in every type of setting – from five star hotels, to electricity-less field stations and open air venues, prisons including youth as well as death row, refugee camps, remand centres, army prisoner of war camps, probation and safe house hostels, prison and police officers, senior children and government workers, to war-disabled children. She has developed this work to pioneer the ‘love and laughter’ workshops where children experience games and creative activities designed carefully to promote healing and foster self confidence and hope for the future. The evaluations for these have been amazing including many children saying ‘this is the first day I have ever been happy’. Following on from this work Linda was invited to go to India in 2013 to Andrah Pradesh to some of the most deprived areas working with HIV+ children and those suffering from poverty, where the responses were equally positive and she has been urged to return.
Although some projects help with contributions towards local expenses, Linda and her husband David fund these trips with very little outside funding. Family and church support goes towards raising money for resources used on these trips such as clay, paints, puppets, beads, paper and other creative necessities, but the main expenses including flights and often in-country travel and accommodation are often self funded.
Creating 'Love and Laughter' Workshops
From 2005 – 2012 Linda was able to combine employment in the UK with her work in Sri Lanka, firstly with Leicestershire Youth Service and then with the ACE charity – Ashbourne Churches Ecumenical Youth Worker Project who employed Linda for five years in total, and kindly allowed her time off to continue her much-in-demand work in Sri Lanka. Without their flexibility she would be unable to spend several months abroad each year.
‘Dear madam, It was pleasant that you came to our school from a really far distance. You were absolutely awesome and creative towards the works what you have done to us to improve our confidence, self esteem. You made us so happy and it was really fun and recreative. Thank you so much for giving such a wonderful workshop. We are really happy and fortune because we should be really lucky for doing a workshop with you. Thank you very much for your great effort, Thankful student.’
Linda’s work in Sri Lanka is developing further in 2015 with new directions in supporting the creation of a Sports Academy in the Eastern Province while continuing to support her Children’s work, especially as a consultant with the Centre for Children’s Happiness.
If you are interested in further information about her work, please do make contact through the contacts page. The RoseCreativeArts and the ‘love and laughter’ projects hope to be charities in the future.
