So unless you live under a rock you will undoubtedly have heard of the amazing Maggie Oliver!
Maggie is best known as the Detective-turned- whistleblower who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in late 2012 in order to expose the now infamous Rochdale Grooming Scandal. Her ability to connect with people and encourage them to speak out against injustice, paired with her grit and determination to expose the truth, eventually led to the BBC award winning documentary Three Girls. Maggie was Programme Consultant for the BBC & later was a key contributor for BBC documentary, The Betrayed Girls. She feels that whilst these programmes helped to raise public awareness of the endemic problem of child sexual exploitation across the nation they failed to tell the full, horrific story! This motivated Maggie to write her book titled ‘Survivors’ which gives the reader all the shocking details, including the extent to which the authorities let down vulnerable children time & again.
Maggie has also created The Maggie Oliver Foundation who’s aim is to support survivors of sexual abuse by providing strategies to enable them to Transform Pain into Power.
Through my donations of artwork to RMHC I have formed a close relationship with Lisa Dunnington who is the Chair of the Board of Governors for the Manchester House. Together we are in the process of creating a Community Interest Company (CIC) who’s mission is to benefit young people by delivering improvements in mental health & wellbeing through art therapy. I myself use art daily as a coping strategy for my mental health & feel others could also benefit from it.
Maggie & Lisa met recently through their mutual support of RMHC & Lisa recognised that our desire to help young people could lead to a symbiotic partnership. We believe that art therapy provides a useful tool to help survivors supported by the Foundation, & in turn this will raise awareness of the CIC & our passion to end human trafficking.
In order to introduce myself & demonstrate how art therapy helps me cope with my mental health issue on a daily basis, I have written a blog which can be found at https://www.themaggieoliverfoundation.com/loveartpix/
Please take a few minutes to read it & if it prompts a reaction your feedback would be appreciated. We look forward to keeping you posted on the CIC & our growing partnership with causes such as The Maggie Oliver Foundation.. watch this space!
The Pain into Power phone support service is now live & If any survivor needs help or to talk with a kind, caring Ambassador from the foundation, please contact them at www.themaggieoliverfoundation.com
Recent Comments