Women in Prison's National Magazine 'Still I Rise' Spring-Summer 2022

Page 42

42

WOMEN’S CENTRES

How you can become a Women’s Centre Champion Words: Narinder Panesar and Jo Halford Illustration: UP STUDIO In the last edition of the magazine, we introduced you to the Creating Community Connections (CCC) project, set up to help women in prison to access specialist services. In this article, CCC Coordinator Narinder shares information about the role of Women’s Centre Champions, the support and help they provide, and how you can become one.

T

he CCC’s project vision is that every woman in prison (whatever the length of their sentence) is connected to specialist services and their local women’s centre. Our Women’s Centre Champions (WCCs) are there to help us achieve this. Who are WCCs? WCCs are women in prison trained to act as a point of contact to provide advice and guidance about women’s centres, what they do and what they offer, along with other resettlement processes and support available to women in the prison and the community. What do WCCs do?

l They make sure you have a good

understanding of all the services and agencies available to you and the processes required to get you referred on

to them, supporting you in referrals l Run regular forums/workshops to promote the CCC project l Listen and talk to women in prison and prison staff about their experiences and discuss ways in which the prison environment can be improved l Advocate for women in prison, representing their views and making sure their voices are heard l Deliver activities to increase awareness about issues in prison, exploring the root causes of these issues l Plan and run events promoting personal growth l Attend training to support their own skills and work l Attend weekly meetings with other WCCs and the Women’s Centre Link Worker who coordinates WCC activities and training


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