We were joined by local poet and comic Rob Gee who has performed over three thousand shows and regularly appears on BBC Radio. He’s delivered numerous health-based comedy projects in schools and regularly leads creative workshops in mental health settings.
Rob qualified as a psychiatric nurse in 1994 and spent many years working at Leicester Partnerships Trust and returned to play his part during COVID-19 pandemic. We are extremely grateful to Rob for taking time out of his busy schedule to join us!
The workshops, held at our #DigitalDayCentre were very informal and members, staff and volunteers all got involved! Rob listened to everyone’s experiences, then extracted little snippets and anecdotes about their time with Headway to create this very special poem.
Each workshop enabled our members to express their feelings of living with their brain injury and it gives a brief insight into how we support local brain injury survivors and their families. The poem has made such an impact that we have been nominated for the Leicester Comedy Festival Tracey Miller Community Award!
The 2021 Virtual Awards Ceremony will take place on Monday 29th March at 7pm. Founding director of the festival Geoff Rowe said: ‘The 2021 festivals were clearly very different to previous festivals given everything was online. However, we still wanted to recognise the amazing contribution performers and others made to the events and we are still going ahead with our ceremony.’
Headway Poem
People say they understand,
but that’s not always true.
At Headway you can meet people
who’ve been through the same as you.
People know when you’re on a low.
They understand when you need to stop;
they help you find your get up and go.
We’ll pick you up and dust you down
whenever you hit rock bottom.
Seeing our members grow in self-esteem,
helps all our hearts to blossom;
And when you find your creative streak,
it’s impossible to stop it,
whether you win an award for baking
or you make a Lego rocket.
We’re a big happy family where everyone feeds in
to support all the things that all of us are doing.
We have unique and special people – and they’re just the staff.
The good times are transmissible, so we always love to laugh.
We’re not remotely clinical,
because that’s not what we do.
We open lives to new experiences,
even if you do support Man U.
The OT sessions offer education,
using mindfulness and games
to help understand your brain.
Angela helps to demystify,
so you can learn as you retrain.
She breaks things down, step by step,
so it doesn’t feel like a slog.
Her humour and compassion
help find a path through all the fog.
The carers’ group is an outlet
for anything they want to discuss;
for sharing ideas and experiences,
which is invaluable for them in supporting us.
There’s advice and shoulders to lean on
mixed in with all the banter.
They’re an essential part of our family,
who we bring together with laughter.
Socially distanced but still ‘connected’
We’ll offer you help whenever you need it;
we’ll help you find your creative side,
and then we’ll constantly feed it.
We’ll help you find your outlet and a chance to be creative,
using art, poetry and felting to keep our spirits active,
you can find a different path to the one you were on before.
Even in the pandemic; there’s an outlet for us all.
You feel less alone when you can chat
with those who’ve gone through similar.
Our shared experiences help us all
relate to one another.
If English is your second language,
we have a session to help you express,
which includes mindfulness and yoga
to help you feel your best.
The experience of a brain injury was never part of our plan,
and I feel very lucky to find a group that understands.
The members, volunteers and carers help each other out.
We keep each other going, because we’re all about
progress and improvement, to help you find your confidence.
here to help you feel comfortable with yourself.
We come together and have lots of fun,
‘cause fun is good for health.
