ARTS AND HEALTH AWARD CELEBRATES “A TRULY INSPIRING PROJECT!”

Last week, Create was awarded a “Special Commendation” in the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) Arts and Health Awards 2013. I had the privilege of being presented with this by Stephen Clift (Professor of Health Education, Canterbury Christ Church University) at an event that celebrated creative arts in the criminal justice system. 

Key speakers also included Tim Joss, Chair of the Public Engagement Foundation and Tim Robertson, Chief Executive of the Koestler Trust. On handing me the prestigious award, Stephen Clift said, “The RSPH Arts and Health Awards Committee were unanimous in being very moved by the description of the work of Create with young fathers in prison. Not only were they helped by Create’s artists to write and illustrate stories for their children but Create helped the young men to develop the confidence and skills to read the stories to their children on prison visits.  A truly inspiring project!”

Create was one of seven organisations to receive a “Special Commendation” and Chief Executive of RSPH Shirley Cramer CBE said, “We applaud the work of these organisations. The perseverance, diversity and creativeness they have shown to improve health in these difficult and testing settings deserve recognition.  We believe that the RSPH Arts and Health Awards do just that and will help each organisation in their future pursuits.”

This award comes in a year in which Inside Stories was also recognised with five Koestler Awards. I am thrilled that the young fathers who work collaboratively to write, record and illustrate original stories for their children have had their creativity, dedication and commitment to their children recognised. As José told us, “I did Inside Stories because of my daughters and how much they mean to me.  I wanted to tell them how much I love them.” Nicky Goulder, Chief Executive

This article is from 2013.