Dear Friends of OETC,
Following the most recent guidelines issued by the government, we have made the difficult decision to suspend all of our weekly drama groups (Women’s Drama Group, Drop-In Drama and Write Now) and Drama Taster Sessions with immediate effect until further notice. We feel at this time, and in line with government advice around social distancing, that the health of our participants and staff needs to be our priority.
We will be reviewing public health guidelines on a regular basis and will let you know via text and email once we are able to restart our drama groups.
This pause in service delivery does not extend to The Phil Fox Award for Playwriting. Submissions are being accepted until June 16th for scripts about issues related to addiction. Please see our Phil Fox Award page for more details.
Our office team (Molly & Matt) will continue to work remotely and you can still contact OETC via telephone, email or social media. In the meantime, we encourage you to stay creative and connected to support your wellbeing and recovery.
Below are some resources that we hope will help you to do this:
Do Think Share (Creative Activities)
Owl and the Coconut (Online Mindfulness & Stress reduction classes)
Follow Network MARCH on Twitter for daily new ideas about how to keep creative during social distancing.
Podcast recommendations:
Recovery Radio (Russell Brand)
Please keep your eye on Outside Edge’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date on any news and new creative activities we share. We’d love to hear your ideas about how we can keep you engaged whilst our workshops are on pause, so feel free to call or email Matt and Molly with your brilliant creative ideas!
If you need advice or help during this time, here are some places that can support you.
Useful Links for COVID-19 information:
If you need support with your mental health during this difficult time, and you don’t feel you can keep yourself safe right now, seek immediate help:
- Go to any Accident & Emergency (A&E) department.
- Call 999 and ask for an ambulance to take you to A&E.
- Ask someone else to call 999 for you or take you to A&E.
If you need urgent support but don’t want to go to A&E, you could:
- Call Samaritans on freephone 116 123 – they’re always open and are there to listen.
If you would like to help Outside Edge through this challenging time and ensure we have the capacity to restart our activities for people in recovery as soon as possible, then please consider donating here.
We hope all of you keep safe, wash your hands, and take care of yourselves!
Best,
Matt, Pippa & Molly