The Hive - a safe, welcoming & creative place to be!
As part of our safe and welcoming spaces series Paul and Tracy visited the Hive on Norwich Road to find out what it has to offer. They talked with members of the Hive team - Tiki, Omar, Jackie and Kate - to find out what they each bring to the project and how they see it as a ‘safe and welcoming’ place for the community.
Tiki talked to Tracy & Paul about her vision for the Hive garden..
“Maybe you've had a bit of a busy day, and you just want a bit of calm and peace and tranquility so you take a little walk down into the Hive garden. You'll smell the smells of lavender and different flowers that are coming into bloom just filling those senses.
We really want to encourage nature to come and visit our garden. We've already got our bug hotel at the bottom there. We're going to have a bird bath and we're going to have some bird food there as well so that the birds can come along and chill with you. We're going to get the rest of the Hive involved in making some ornaments so that everyone can feel like they're a part of it. It's going to be a real community space.
We want to grow things that people can actually eat. One of my main ambitions for this garden is to grow lots of Christmas veg so at Christmas time everyone can come down to the garden and they can harvest their own veg for their Christmas dinner, so no one in our little community will go hungry this Christmas!”
“I think gardening and being in a garden is something that really brings people together.”
“Personally, I struggle with anxiety and depression and I find that using my hands, whether it's painting or doing something in the garden, really brings me a sense of focus. I'm a single mum. It’s quite tough sometimes, when you're having to stay strong and happy for your child. Sometimes you just need some time to yourself, just to bring yourself back to ground. I think that being in the garden, even if you're not a keen gardener, just feeling the soil, being around nature and getting involved can really help improve your mental health.”
Tiki explained that the Hive to her is the kind of space where you can just be you “with no obligations and no worries about what people think. Even if you just want to sit there and say nothing you can. If you want to go and chill somewhere and meet friends, you usually have to pay, or you're expected to look nice, or make an effort with your hair... And they're things that go through my mind, and it's like, well, actually, sometimes you just want to be free and just be your true self.”
“I understand what it’s like to struggle with mental health - there’s no judgement here, so you’re safe!”
Tiki also talked about the importance of people supporting each other..
”I think it really is down to the community to support each other. I think we have to realise that we can't rely on the wider systems to provide us with the help we need and we need to realise that we can turn to each other and say, Sister, take my hand or Brother, take my hand and I will help you. I will be a shoulder to cry on and I really do pride myself in being that shoulder to people. So if you do want to come down and talk or just exist in the garden I'm here Tuesdays and Fridays, 10 ‘til 1. You're more than welcome to come and get involved and come and talk to me.”
Tracy asked Omar what makes the Hive a safe space for people struggling with their mental health…
“There are people here that understand. There isn't the kind of stigma against mental health here because the Hive is facilitated by people who have experience either of working with mental health or of actually going through similar scenarios themselves. So it's kind of relatable. Sometimes it’s just about having a nice welcome. Somebody comes in and has a cup of tea or a coffee. That breaks down a lot of barriers. Especially being in England, people like a good brew!”
“Everyone’s allowed to just come in and just be who they are and have conversations and form relationships. So, yeah, it’s a lovely place to be!”
Omar told Tracy & Paul that the Hive welcomes people of all ages…
“I think our youngest member just turned four and one of our oldest members is in his early 80s. That's what builds the actual unity of the place. I think having the younger generation helps the older generation connect with the world, and then the older generation can advise with their experience and wisdom to the younger generation who might be lacking it.”
Tracy talked about her experience of meeting Omar at the Hive for the first time..
“I've been coming down here for a couple of months now and I must admit that I took to you straight away. You've got this calming way about you. You stay calm no matter what's going on around you. You talk to everybody, you're friendly with everybody and, because I've got mental health struggles, it made me think I've got to go back there. So thank you for making me feel so welcome!”
“I'm glad that you felt so welcome! I come from a very big family and I've seen what happens when there isn't calm, it causes chaos. I think it's just a case of being able to respond rather than react to things. I try and just absorb what's going on. I have to understand that a lot of the time when people are angry or frustrated it's not necessarily because they want to be mean. I think it's more to do with their being lost. They may not have the correct tools or the directions in order to manage how they're feeling or express it.”
Paul asked Omar what brought him into this kind of work..
“It's strange. I didn't even want this kind of work. I actually wanted to be a lawyer. I went to uni to study law but during my journey in life I was always around people and I think that's what it was. When I was younger, I had people intervene with my life and with the areas where I was struggling. I think it's one of those things that people do always remember. For me, I had a teacher called Mr Kylie at primary school. He was very strong - a very big presence and he used to take me under his wing when I was naughty and he’d just get me to do bird watching. I think he could understand that there was something else going on behind the scenes. As I got older, I understood about a thing called emotional intelligence and I realised that actually it doesn't matter what your IQ is, if your emotional intelligence is off balance it can just change things. I felt like maybe I could contribute to something and add my little piece to people or organisations and just do it my way a little bit.”
Tracy talked with Kate - artist faciltator at the Hive creative social on Tuesdays. She asked Kate how she thinks art helps with mental health…
“For me, it's more of a meditation. I paint quite a lot of abstract pieces. It’s more of an automatic element of painting where you're not really focusing on what it is you're trying to do, you're just putting paint or colour down on a page. I find it’s really a method of taking time out to think and to give myself opportunities to put myself in a safe place where I'm getting challenged, but not by outside life. I'm getting challenged by my own inner thoughts and I'm able to solve and resolve them. That gives me that sense of achievement to then go out into the real world. That's where the art helps me with my mental health and that's what I hope to achieve for other people.”
Jackie told Tracy & Paul more about the Hive programme…
Mother and baby groups are on Mondays - we have the maternity session for mothers and babies, expectant mothers and anybody having inquiries about childcare or childminding.
On Tuesdays from 10am - 1pm there are drop in social sessions - arts, poetry, depending on what people feel like. And then we have yoga prior to that.
Every Thursday (term time only) we have Woman2Woman radio with Future Female Society.
Fridays - we have a drop in sewing club from 10-1 and in the evening we have French for beginners.
Everybody comes on different days, depending on their availability and their interests. There's more or less something for everyone!
There are often also art exhibitions and music events at the Hive produced by members of the community.
For latest programme details check out: usethehive.org.uk/whats-occuring
This article is one of a series of interviews produced by the True Thoughts creative media group spotlighting safe and welcoming spaces in Ipswich. The series was released to coincide with Mental Health Awareness week in May. Listen below to the rest of the group’s interviews and check out our True Thoughts page for more content made by our community!