Christmas Update!

Hello, how are you? We're OK. Well, as a Charity we're pretty good at the moment. We've done great things in the face of massive adversity. Wait.....no.....that's not meaning to sound too self-congratulatory, but we have worked our little socks off and we're growing and blossoming. You wouldn't begrudge us a tiny bit of back-patting, would you. We have, as usual, toiled hard to raise the spectre of Borderline Personality Disorder from a diagnosis of shame and misunderstanding, to one of hope and knowledge. And this will continue; it's our reason for doing the things we do - from the weird all-night Art-A-Thon, to simply sitting at this keyboard and bashing out these words. Raising awareness is not an easy task, especially when you're talking about Mental Health. It's a question of never being tired of saying the right things to, sometimes, the wrong people; of getting in the places water can't, then changing minds and educating. And we are doing it for everyone with the diagnosis of BPD. Thanks to every one of you reading this now who have contributed in any way, or whom we've met, or emailed, or have helped us try and do what we believe in. Next year will be even better. Hmmm...there's a motto developing somewhere, but that can wait. To business..... The Art-A-Thon In October, a few of us got together and managed to convince some brilliant people to sponsor us to stay awake all night at the office creating art pieces for auction. As Fundraisers go it was a really enjoyable experience and we got through the night without mishap or injury. The resulting amazing art pieces (and they honestly were amazing) were auctioned off at a special Auction Night in November. The total amount raised from sponsorship and the auction was £2193.20p! We were blown away by the generous nature of the donors/buyers. Thank you so much. The Borderline Website As you might have noticed, the Borderline Arts website has received an update, a brush down, and washed its face, and it is now a growing resource of articles/information/and links. It's regularly updated by some very tech-savvy people working for the Charity and should be a useful first port of call for anyone wanting to know what we're up to. We hope to continue to develop the website further and let it grow organically (no, we won't water it). Awareness Stalls We recently manned a BPD Awareness stall at a 'Wellbeing Day' run by Derby College. Forty people came and had a chat with us about BPD/Mental Health and made full use of the Photo Booth and props we provided. You can see photos here! If you can't strike up a conversation with someone in a huge pair of sunglasses... Having discussions with students around Mental Health is vitally important in spreading the right kind of information to people who are essentially the next generation to make the rules - a cliche, but true. It also helps to start the right processes with young people who may, as yet, be undiagnosed. Information - the right information - is one of the most powerful weapons we have. UPCOMING! Creative Expressive Writing Workshop We are running a full day Writing Workshop at our Premises in Derby. Participants can create poetry and prose around the theme of BPD, which we'll compile into a small booklet. The event is facilitated by a fully qualified Creative Writing Tutor. Anyone with, or affected by, BPD is welcome. You don't have to be a budding Shakespeare (or a budding William Shatner - even he wrote a book or two...), just bring your experiences and yourself. A warm welcome is guaranteed. It's free! Date: Monday 25th January 2016 Therapeutic Art Group Got BPD? Want to channel some of those feelings and experiences? Well, we're running seven free Therapeutic Art Group Sessions. The facilitator is an Art Psychotherapist. Best bit: no pressure to do anything other than get involved and create your thoughts/feelings into Art. Try it. Dates: 19th Dec, 16th & 30th Jan, 13th & 27th Feb, 12th March...plus one more TBA Frankie! Fire up the popcorn machine, we're making a film! Borderline Arts/Derby Quad and other local Professionals are working on a film about the life of a young Woman (Frankie) with BPD and her experiences of Treatment/Life. The film will be premiered in one of the cinemas at Derby Quad as a Red Carpet Event. We aim for the film to be used as a Teaching Aid for Health Professionals and as a Workshop Tool. While we're very excited by this project, there isn't, as yet, a firm finish date. But.... keep your eyes open. As always, thank you to everyone who has supported Borderline Arts in any way. We work very hard to lessen stigma around BPD and we believe our work is vital. If you can donate/help/spread the word, please do so.

If you would like more information please email contact@borderlinearts.org