The creative writing group encourages members to express themselves, to use writing as a form of exploring ideas, characters, situations - real or imagined - and looking at things or expressing things from differing perspectives.

Some people find it easier to express through writing as they can take the time to think about what they want to say and how they want to say it. Many people like to be able to edit their thoughts and ideas before they make them public and learning how to use writing to help focus thought van be very beneficial.

Service users have been very honest and have shared some examples of the challenges of military life and the impact it can have on them and their families:

Your soldier won’t admit anything’s wrong ‘Your soldier makes you promise not to contact the army, says he doesn’t want to be seen as a shirker or even worse, weak

The first time I saw him in uniform he didn’t tell me He’d be a stranger who swore like a trooper in front of his mother

being a military husband was tougher than I expected I felt that decisions were being made about me and my family that I had no control over

If you would like to get involved in the group it can be a great way to try something new, talk about different things and meet new people who can empathise with the experiences you have had.

If you are interested in taking part email the team at [email protected] or call 0114 258 4489

Dates and times for the next sessions can be found here