The courage to collaborate
This issue we’re stepping inside the criminal justice system to ask ‘How are you coping?’ (p6), ‘Do you think this is working?’ (p8), ‘Should you be here at all?’ (p14). The voices speak clearly from every page.
We offer valuable coping mechanisms for looking after mental health (p20) and a highly motivating demonstration of co- production (p18), as well as an extremely useful breakdown of the costs of rehab – which the author fed into Dame Carol Black’s review – to help us to assess its value (p16).
On p12 we invite you to join a conversation that we, along with many others throughout the sector, are finding essential. We’re used to presenting one side of ourselves at a time – a treatment professional, a commissioner, a person with lived experience, maybe even an editor. But life’s not like that. It’s time we not just acknowledge the fact, but embrace it. As multipurpose human beings we have life experience and empathy as well as professional learning. ‘It goes back to why we got into this field in the first place – because we care, we have a heart, we have a passion,’ said Dave Higham. Do we have the courage to trust each other, collaborate and join the call for action?
Read the October issue as an online magazine or download the PDF
Claire Brown, editor
Please send your letters and comment to claire@cjwellings.com