Foreword

A Message from Kate Paradine, Women in Prison (WIP)’s CEO:

We are so pleased that we are able to share this new booklet as part of Women in Prison’s National Lottery funded Healthy Foundations project. We know that this has been the hardest of years for those in prison - in terms of physical and mental health. As a team we want to do all we can to help make sure that recovery from the pandemic marks a turning point for women in prison to help support each of you to focus on a healthy future in prison and in communities after release.

The new Creating Community Connections project that we are running in partnership with Brighton Women’s Centre, Anawim, Together Women and Nelson Trust aims to connect every woman in prison to her local women’s centre. A new National Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review has been launched by the NHS and Prison Service, which will be asking you your views on what can improve on health and social care in prison - please look out for information about this so your voice can be heard.

Please take care and keep in mind the beautiful words of the brilliant activist and author, Angela Davis (a favourite of the Women in Prison team) - “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

Hello… And welcome to the WIP Health Magazine which has been put together by the Healthy Foundations team at Women in Prison. We hope you will find this magazine useful and informative. We also hope that it will help you feel a bit more in control of your health and inspire you to take care of your wellbeing. As there are so many things to cover under the umbrella of health, we have chosen to focus on some topics that have been suggested to us by the women we work with.

Thank you!

We would like to say a warm thank you to all the women - across prisons and in the community- who have helped with this magazine either through focus groups or direct contributions such as art or writing. Your ideas, advice and creativity have been crucial! We also want to extend a big thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund who funds our project, including the booklet you are holding in your hand. …so who is WIP?

Women in Prison (WIP) works in prisons and in the community to support women affected by the criminal justice system, as well as campaign for their rights. …so what is Healthy Foundations?

After the success of Women in Prison’s Health Matters project which ran from 2016-2019, we were successful in securing funding for a new three year health project. Women in Prison’s Healthy Foundations project began at the end of 2019 and is kindly funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. We want to empower and support women to have a better understanding of their health. With so many other things to keep us busy in life and worry about, our health is sometimes forgotten about, or ends up being at the bottom of our list. We want to change that by encouraging women to think about their health and wellbeing and give it the attention it deserves. Healthy Foundations aims to do this by providing health and wellbeing related advocacy, support, and advice, working Through-The-Gate (this means helping to prepare and support women on the day of their release from custody) and in the community with women in, or returning to, London. We also provide health information and education; giving the women we work with the resources to make their own decisions around their health and wellbeing.

We work in a woman-centred, non-

judgmental, and trauma informed way to ensure that the women we work with feel safe, listened to, and supported as best as we can. Here are some examples of what we do on the Healthy Foundations project:

l Talk through women’s concerns around their health and wellbeing l Accompany women to medical and dental appointments l Support women to attend their health screenings appointments l Advocate for women at appointments l Provide Through-The-Gates on the day of release from prison to women who have physical health support needs l Help women to register with a GP in the community l Liaise with other healthcare professionals to ensure that women receive the service they are entitled to l Link women up with local women’s centres and hubs l Find local groups and workshops for women to attend l Help women fill out their PIP medical forms l Help find grants to support women with their health and wellbeing l Provide health resources to women to increase their knowledge around their health and wellbeing l Support women in helping address their substance misuse issues l Provide emotional support l Provide training to colleagues to increase their confidence when supporting women around their health and wellbeing l Create and publish this Health Booklet! …so can Healthy Foundations help me?

The Healthy Foundations project works with women who have been affected by the criminal justice system in any way, and who are either in prison and returning to London, or already living in the community in London. If this applies to you and you feel you would benefit from Healthy Foundations then please do get in touch and write to us! Unfortunately we are only a small team, which is why we are not able to work across the country. BUT, we thought we would share some information and knowledge with all of you, by putting together this health booklet. That way, we can pass on some information and tips about health and wellbeing, no matter where you are! ...what about our campaigning work?

As an organisation, we do our best to support women with any problems they might have. However, we also know that the system is unfair and needs changing. This is why we campaign for change. We tell politicians and other people in power what needs to change about prisons and society to give women a better chance. Because we work in the prisons, we are able to speak to women directly to hear their views and can pass them on to those who make decisions. This project is no different. We know that healthcare in prisons is not perfect; for example there are not enough staff and waiting times can be long. We also know that many women don’t get the support they need in the community.

If there is anything about health that you think those in power should know, please let us know by writing to us. We hope that we can help you directly through our work but also that we can help make the entire system a little better by sharing what we learn from you.

Warm wishes,

THE HEALTHY FOUNDATIONS TEAM: Jade Coulon, Robyn Eldred, Frederika Lorie

Art direction & production Henry Obasi & Russell Moorcroft @PPaint Registered charity number 1118727 Company number 5581944

DISCLAIMER

This health booklet is designed to give information, advice, and support around different health conditions and we hope that you find it useful. We are not trained medical professionals. The information presented in the booklet is accurate to the best of our knowledge but please consult with a trained medical member of staff for more extensive information and advice if you have any concerns about your health. Any suggestions in this booklet are purely suggestions and should not be taken as anything more than that.

MIND

MIND

MARY SEACOLE (1805-1881)

A British-Jamaican nurse, healer and businesswoman. After the British War Office refused Mary’s application to become an army nurse during the Crimean war, Mary funded her own trip to the Crimea and set up the ‘British Hotel’ for sick and recovering soldiers.