A creative community for post-traumatic growth
We want Camden’s estates and neighbourhoods to be healthy, sustainable and creative. And residents across the borough are leading community initiatives to help achieve this Mission, with support from the We Make Camden Kit.
Nell runs Response Ability Theatre (RAT), providing a supportive space for trauma survivors to build confidence and express themselves through creativity.
Nell, tell us more about RAT
“RAT is a boldly trauma-conscious and survivor-led theatre and participation arts charity that seeks to represent and support people experiencing trauma – by which we mean symptoms of post-traumatic or complex post-traumatic stress.”
“Trauma can cut us off from our wants, needs, ambitions, values – all the things that make us us. We spend time on creative exercises designed to help survivors access parts of themselves that in our everyday lives we don’t feel able to go near.”
“Working with metaphor, the body and artistic forms of expression, we can find languages that allow us to be curious about ourselves and the part we play in the world around us again.”
What inspired RAT?
“I trained as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in Swiss Cottage, but unfortunately was made homeless near the end of my second year so never got to graduate.”
“While experiencing homelessness, I spent quite a lot of time around Euston/Kings Cross: it’s quite easy to spend a lot of time sheltering from weather in those areas without attracting attention.”
“I’ve connected to the area again via Arts and Homelessness International’s leadership programme, and Old Diorama Arts Centre now supports RAT and has warmly welcomed me into its circle of artists and local change makers.”
“Post-traumatic stress is rapidly escalating but widely misunderstood. We know how much of the public’s understanding of what trauma is comes from the stories we watch. And too often, survivors have not been at the helm of telling those stories.”
“We are trying to change attitudes – and eventually, ‘trauma’ won’t be a dirty word either in the arts or in our communities.”
“Our members tell me they feel understood with us in ways they haven’t experienced elsewhere”
Nell
What difference is RAT making in people’s lives?
“One of my favourite bits of feedback so far was also one of the simplest: “I’m just so glad that you exist!”
“Most groups for survivors are aimed at people who share a certain type of traumatic lived experience (for example, homelessness). Those can be really important, but if all or most of our post-traumatic growth is connected to the source of our trauma, we can end up feeling stuck.”
“Our members tell me they feel understood with us in ways they haven’t experienced elsewhere. It really feels like we’re starting to fill an enormous gap and it’s so exciting.”
What difference is RAT making to your life?
“As a trauma survivor, I’ve built what I have already built of the charity from what I know I either need or have needed myself – a community. Regular contact with others who get it, who are on the same page as you, who want to make a difference.”
“Trauma really changes the way your brain works, which can be so isolating and exhausting. And being a sole founder of a tiny charity with a huge mission is also isolating and exhausting.”
“So, to remember that what you’re doing is very real and very needed, to see it working in front of your eyes, to feel replenished by the energy of other survivors, is so vital to me.”
How has the WMC Kit helped you?
“The We Make Camden Kit was so important for me. Camden Giving have been amazing in the support they’ve offered around building relationships in the area and being a constant source of positivity, encouragement and understanding. They have totally taken away the fear that can exist in funder-grantee relationships.”
“They trust that I know what my community needs and that I want to do my best for them, and they want nothing but to make that possible. It’s been a joy.”
Why should others apply to the WMC?
“If funding scares you, the We Make Camden Kit is a great place to start! Camden Giving are really flexible and helpful at the application stage and after – they really want to help you make the best case for your project that you can, they aren’t looking to catch you out.”
“If you feel like you can make a difference in your community, you most probably can – and you’ll never know just how much until you try.”
“If you feel like you can make a difference in your community, you most probably can”
Nell
What’s next for RAT?
“I’d love to run regular sessions for people at different points in their post-traumatic journeys and do more tailored, in-depth work with them.”
“Then a more public-facing professional development group to support survivors through the ups and downs and the decisions that need to be made along the way about how you hold yourself, present yourself and advocate for yourself.”
“And of course – we really want to be doing more theatre productions!!”
Get involved
Visit RAT’s website to learn more and find details of upcoming group sessions.
📷 Photo credit: Jenna Selby
Apply for the We Make Camden Kit
Do you have a community idea you’d like to bring to life? Find out how the We Make Camden Kit could help you
