Sarah's Sanctuary Western Isles

 by June Graham When you do something creative there is a sense in which you have to let go and take a step into the unknown. That’s how I felt before the first Sarah’s Sanctuary art workshop which was held in An Lanntair on Wednesday 1 st May, funded by SeeMe Scotland as part of their campaign against stigma in mental health. I lost my sister Liz to suicide in 2019 and it has been hard to see anything positive or productive coming out of that experience. It was like losing a stone in a wall that was supporting many other stones in unseen ways and when that stone is taken out, all the stones around and above it lose their place. By taking part in this art project, I hope that something positive will come out of it, even if that isn’t immediately obvious to me. Liz was an artist and my hope is that taking part in an art project will help me remember and appreciate Liz for who she was and not just how she died. The workshops are facilitated by Jane Harlington of Blue PigStudio . ...

  Sarah's Sanctuary are delighted to announce that we have received arts funding from SeeMe, Scotland’sNational Programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination , for an artsproject which will challenge stigma around the topic of suicide and suicide bereavement. Artist Jane Harlington of Blue Pig studio in Carloway will run a series of workshops open to anyone who has been affected by suicide bereavement, whether that is the loss of a family member, friend or colleague. An initial round of workshops will take place in the art room at An Lanntair from 7 to 9 pm on Wednesday 1 st and 29 th May and 26 th June. Meetings of Sarah’s Sanctuary suicide bereavement support group will take place between the workshops. These will be held from 7 to 8 pm in the Western IslesCounselling and Family and Mediation Centre on Bank Street Stornoway on Wednesday 15 th May and 12th June.  Another series of workshops will follow in the autumn. The aim of the workshops is to use art...

  Sarah's Sanctuary is a bereavement support group based in the Isle of Lewis for those who have lost a loved one to suicide. It was founded by Kenny MacDonald in memory of his daughter Sarah. Before he lost his daughter, Kenny had been involved in fundraising for  Beautiful Inside & Out , an Ayrshire-based charity set up by Pauline Moriarty who lost her teenage daughter to suicide. Beautiful Inside Out provides suicide bereavement support and support to those with mental illness as well as being engaged in anti-bullying and suicide prevention work. Because of this association, Sarah’s Sanctuary was set up as a branch of Beautiful Inside & Out SC044868. Before Sarah’s Sanctuary was set up, the closest suicide bereavement support group was in Elgin on mainland Scotland. Sarah’s Sanctuary meets in the Western Isles Family and Mediation Support Centre on Bank Street, Stornoway. We meet on a monthly basis with breaks for the summer holidays. At each meeting, we have had th...