Brighter Side of Waste: Negativity Into Positivity

Found this on the London21 site and thought it was something more people should be aware of... it's working with Lambeth kids after all :)

Rosalind McCarthy, whose background is in victim support and counselling, decided she would need to help children work through their anger and stress to prevent crime. Twenty-five young people, aged between one and 19 years, meet once a week for three hours to learn about conflict resolution, anger management and communication techniques.

Through play, music and art therapy, Rosalind leads them to turn their negativity into positivity. The young people are residents of a Lambeth Estate and reflect the community's diversity, originating from a range of backgrounds - Indian, African, Portuguese, Columbian, and Chinese. All are committed to making their environment safer and happier.

Sustainable therapy: In the art therapy sessions, Rosalind uses recycled materials. She asks the young people to bring old glass bottles, corks, and other household waste. She then helps them use these to create glass paintings, cards, sculptures and costumes. Rosalind also sources materials for art projects from a recycling warehouse which stores spare factory goods. Rosalind says participants learn that recycled goods still have life in them and can be creatively re-made into new products.

She hopes this idea of re-using old materials, which would otherwise end up in landfill, will translate back into their daily lives.

As most of the household items are free, this approach also helps overcome the challenge of funding a small community-based group.

Support / Funding: Funding was received from Unlimited Millenium in first instance, and now by the Scarman Trust.

Rosalind has been supported by Angel Town, New Economic Foundation, and London Time Bank.