NAWP Launch their Everybody Hurts DVD

Newham Asian Women’s Project launched their self-harm DVD ‘Everybody Hurts’ in London today, and I was thrilled to attend the launch on behalf of LifeSIGNS.

Everybody Hurts has been created by NAWP after extensive consultations with young people across the UK on the syndrome of self-harm and has been financed by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. In collaboration with The Mouth That Roars, the film was written, produced, filmed, directed and acted by the young people themselves.

Although the four characters in the film are fictional, they are based on the experiences of real people and it was moving to hear one of the actors speak openly about her own real-life struggle with self-injury before the DVD was viewed; I’m sure it increased the impact the film had on many of the audience.

The film focuses not on the self-injury itself, but on the emotions and reasons behind it and gives suggestions on how best young people can be helped, together with how they can help themselves. An important point made, and one which is already the view of LifeSIGNS, is that you can’t just tell people to stop hurting themselves, because you are in effect telling them to ‘stop coping’.

I am sure the DVD will be of great help and benefit to anyone involved with the well-being of young people who self-harm.

It is intended that the DVD will be available in libraries, schools and youth centres across the UK and I understand NAWP will be discussing with Wedge the possibility of digitising it for the web later in the year. Everybody Hurts will also be launched in Cardiff, Birmingham, Bradford and Edinburgh in the coming weeks.

It was great to see Ami again after meeting her when I accompanied Wedge to the East London Self-Harm Group last year, and it was good to meet Gurpreet who asked after Wedge. In fact Wedge seemed rather well known among many of my fellow audience members today!

I would like to thank Gurpreet and NAWP for inviting LifeSIGNS to their London launch; we wish them every success with their excellent DVD and look forward to working with them again in the future.

LifeSIGNS on Bebo

We now have a Bebo profile page, as well as our Facebook ones.

Here's the official 'invitation' to be LifeSIGNS' friend,

www.bebo.com/a/invite/5406448419a516200807b65

and you can see our profile at:

www.bebo.com/lifesigns

I'll do my best with the profile in the next seven days!

Wedge

London Nightline’s 35 Birthday Dinner

Nightline is an important student-lead listening service that many Universities run, and LifeSIGNS has always been pleased to provide self-injury training to Nightlines across the UK.

London Nightline is unique among Nightlines as it provides its service across all of the Universities of London, not just one campus.

I was very pleased to be invited to London Nightline’s 35th Anniversary Dinner earlier this month (5th June) and it was a great night for London Nightline, and a great night for my networking! (I always have a LifeSIGNS business card on me!)

I met up with Danny (former LifeSIGNS Director and former Nightline worker) and we got our poshest suits on. Reception drinks and mingling for a while, and then we were seated. Everyone on our table quickly made friends, and I was pleased to find I was not the only non-Nightliner at the table, as SANE had been invited too.

We had our meal and then David Blunket MP, Dr. Raj Persaud and Esther Rantzen spoke about their lives and their appreciation of what London Nightline has achieved and continues to achieve.

Awards for service and dedication were given out, and although our table was the loudest by now, two of our party were honoured with awards, so well done Tom and Andrew!

Oh, and there was of course the raffle, which I won, twice! When does that ever happen? Anyway, I gave the London gym membership prize to my table-mate and new friend Helen.

A good night was had by all (and a long night it was once we hit the bars) and if your University doesn’t have a Nightline, I suggest you contact National Nightline and set one up immediately.


Many thanks to Ellen and all Nightliners for their services to students; LifeSIGNS is one of the few organisations that London Nightline chooses to link to from their website.


Wedge
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