Thank you. For those who mercilessly dragged Camila's name through the dirt - this one's for you:

RIP, Camila.
For all the BS created about her - fuelled by the government who once supported her invaluable work, Camila was legit. I mentored many of those who Kids Company supported. I was lucky enough to call her a friend.
'NO EVIDENCE OF WRONGDOING'.
theguardian.com/society/2024/j…

What they said!
Me on Lorraine, discussing my latest therapeutic children's storybook for children who have a parent in prison.
P.s I've been invited back by Lorraine to speak on their What If podcast series, so watch this space.

Sorry. Not sorry. Anyone referring to ''worsening behaviour'' & ''catching up on lost learning'' is operating as far from a trauma-informed approach as you can get.
I fear more of the same out-of-touch & harmful narrative from Ofsted is in store.

rb.gy/smldlf

A welcomed alternative to mainstream education.
That art and music are slashed from the mainstream curriculum offer and instead utilised as therapeutic interventions in alternative provision that few children have access to - this gets under my skin.
linkedin.com/posts/dr-mine-…

HOOTENANNY!
Heartfelt thanks to inimitable Hootenanny host, Jools Holland for inviting us to ring in the New Year! Chuffed to bring Dr Chris Pascal & Dr Tony Bertram along for the festive ride! Roll on the Mary Wallopers, Paul Jones & the Sugababes!
Tune in on @BBC2 @ 11:30pm 🥳

It's almost the end of the year & for all the blows we've taken, we're still here! Still, more dreams to realise & wrongs to right.
Time to reflect on what has passed & our hopes for a more integrated, soul-satisfying future.
I wish you all a fulfilling New Year & beyond 🙏🏼 ❤️

My latest missive from my mate, the trauma-informed inmate.
As I'm not a woman of few words, do please peruse this here link!:

linkedin.com/posts/dr-mine-…

For anyone interested, it's the Hogmanay special of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, tonight at 9pm on @BBC2! Paul says look out for the awards! 🥳

comedy.co.uk/tv/mortimer_wh…

NO CHILD should serve a prison sentence.
What about children in care? These children are disproportionately likely to end up in court.
What about those 10-yr-olds who are routinely strip-searched in the name of the law?
ENOUGH.
rb.gy/o9kcyb
rb.gy/dnnzha

Wishing everyone a bearable Christmas day.
For some, it'll be fun-filled with familiar faces. For others, it'll look/feel less than merry.
Be kind to yourselves/others, go for a walk, journal - whatever (as long as it's safe) to get you through.
Open help:
rb.gy/r3wdem

Look who I picked up in my local Waitrose! The beautiful lemn sissay OBE FRSL! Suffice to say, the gauge on my Christmas spirit level has gone through the roof! 🙏🏼🥳🎄

This one's for survivors of childhood abuse/neglect.
For all the flashbacks, nightmares & the 'I can't go on anymore's - we're still here, holding on & trying to end the cycle of intergenerational abuse.
Small steps. Healing is a lifelong journey.
We're doing ok. Keep going! 🙏🏼

Very much looking forward to presenting my research here in March! Thanks to the invaluable Pact & CREC for helping make this reality. Hopefully, children of prisoners & their families will reap the benefits 🙏🏼❤️

Exactly so - having a parent in prison IS an adverse childhood experience, which without due support & therapeutic intervention DOES leave a child traumatised. These children deserve to be understood, as opposed to written off & forced down the school to prison pipeline.

Huge thanks to Pact for collaborating with me on my longitudinal study concerning the efficacy of my books on supporting the healing of children who have a parent in prison. Truly honoured 🙏🏼

Joining forces - that's how we achieve desperately needed change for our most vulnerable children & their families. Part of this requires us to think & act in novel ways, ''out of the box'', if you will. & I'm honoured to be collaborating with Pact on this very thing!

I'm grateful for the feedback re my appearance on Lorraine. To reiterate: there are over 312,000 children in the UK with a parent in prison, yet there's NO formal process in place to systematically identify these children & no central record of who they are. They are invisible.

This is my one aim, Helen. Pact, everyFAMILY, G4S & Lord Bradley will hopefully help me make my dream a reality 🙏🏼❤️

Pertinent question by Scott. Let's hope that Lord Bradley, Pact, everyFAMILY & G4S will succeed in helping me to get the resources IN the prisons & prison support charities - exactly where they need to be 🙏🏼❤️