Mindfulness and creativity

A course for men and women,  led by leading Buddhist mindfulness practitioner,  Vajradaka

This mindfulness based course gives you the space and opportunity to keep the momentum and focus on having a richly-experienced, satisfying and creative life. What is creativity in your own life and do you find creative solutions for daily issues?


Over three clear and practical session, you will learn guidance for being mindful and creative and what that means for you. Learn how to develop the relevant and progressive skills for igniting creativity and a sense of connectedness in all aspects of your life.


April 23 - May  7th

7.15pm-9.30pm

£45



A course for men and women at the Women's Resilience Centre hosted by Kazuri in Whitechapel.
Participants need to commit to all sessions as it is a progressive process.

Some of what we will cover on the course:

Week 1, Tuesday 23 April
Your inner life determines your outer life
Simple and easy to use mindfulness methods for finding what is important for you.
Exploration of what effectively helps you achieve your direction and values.
Coming into a sense of confidence in your strengths and being effective.
Have everything going in the same direction
Dealing with distraction and keeping a sense of direction.
Entering into a sense of wholeheartedness and motivation.
The relationship between discipline and spontaneity.

Week 2, Tuesday 30 April
Being engaged and fully present
Dealing creatively with obstacles to decisiveness.
Keeping a sense of momentum.
Skills for breaking out of habits which disconnect you from what matters to you.
The fun/serious dichotomy
Having a big picture of what is in your best interests.
Working from your strengths.
Enjoying the process of personal development, even when it's hard.

Week 3, Tuesday 7 May
Overcoming expectations and getting real
Understanding what being in a process means
The creative process of being receptive to opportunity and keeping the initiative
Dealing with the double-edged consequences of being successful

This course is open to women and men and it is led by Vajradaka who is an ordained Buddhist and also who is one of the most experienced practitioners and teachers of mindfulness and creativity around. We feel that because of his long experience of leading these courses he is the perfect teacher for participants keen to explore their understanding of the ancient Buddhist practice of mindfulness in a way it can be applied practically into our own lives.

We hope you will join us for 3 very special evenings later this month.
For more information please email us info@kazuri.org.uk.

Justice committee hearing, Helen Grant

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On the 26^th of March 2013 City Gateway apprentices attended the justice committee in Portcullis House in the House of Commons where The Right Honourable Helen Grant MP, The justice minister with a special responsibility for women in prison was giving evidence with 2 of her officials, Ian Poree who is in charge of commissioning and Michaels Spurr, the head of NOMS. Members of Parliament including Alan Beith, Steve Brine and Jeremy Corbyn discussed the sentences and treatment of women in prison. Debates in the House of Lords by Lord McNally during the parliamentary passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and by the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice,   Damian Green in the House of Commons had all promised changes in the way women are treated in prison.

Helen Grant admitted female prisoners have different needs from male prisoners as they are much more vulnerable. Also, how community sentences in England and Wales are to be made more female friendly in an effort to keep women out of prison and so that they do not re-offend.

Justice minister Helen Grant wants to cut re-offending rates and offer judges reliable alternatives to custody. She says that vulnerable women offenders need help to break the cycle of crime, abuse and many other difficulties that are facing.

One of the aims that the ministry of justice officials insisted was not to lock up fewer women offenders, but to reduce the number of re-offenders and to offer  credible alternatives to custody   to judges and magistrates.

Helen Grant is setting up a new board of specialists, stakeholders within government across ministries and departments and partners outside government who provide services for women offenders, to address community orders for women and look at other issues such as locating female prisoners near to their families. She also said that mothers should receive good health care and support while they are in prison so that when they are out of prison they can build a relationship with their children. Some of the support that was discussed was that their should be family days out , working with families and  children of offenders, home work clubs so that they mothers/ fathers get time with their children and can be part of their life’s while being in prison. However they will not be getting paid for work or curfew as a punishment.

Another idea Helen Grant and the other MP’s proposed was that the women prisoners should be placed in secure hostels. The minister quoted “It costs £45,000 to keep a woman in prison for one year, while almost 45% of all women released from custody in 2010 re-offended within 12 months, committing more than 10,000 further offences.”

What they said the system does well:

Women in Holloway prison are being prepared for work for example they are writing CVs and learning how to dress appropriately for work , so that after they released  they will have something to do, this will reduces the chances of re-offending with help from eth charity Working Chance.

She said she had visited the women’s diversion centre,  Isis in Stroud in Gloucester  which challenges  women to change their lives around; they are being helped to avoid  domestic violence and build up their self confidence as they think that it will help them not to re-offend.

Things that need more improvement:

They need to identify women and men (segmentation) so that they can be put in specific groups of re-offending as they have specific needs and issues (they have been looking at this area) and these can be addressed. Cathy Robinson a former prison governor is undertaking a review of the entire prison system.

They said that a considerate amount has been done and improved in the last 6 years after the report by Baroness Corston and more to be done.

Our feelings are Mrs. Grant wants to give women opportunities and better support, besides placing them in prison. She says society should help women understand alternatives to crime and allow them to get help dealing with problems that cause them to commit crimes.

( too many prisoners not enough justice ) 



By Parvin Nehar & Shahida Akther

Questions for Rt Honourable Helen Grant, Minister of Justice

Helen Grant the junior justice minister appears in front of the justice committee on 25th March 2013 at 09 30 hrs. Whilst we welcome the coalition government's commitment to treat women offenders  from a gendered perspective, we would like to take the opportunity to ask some questions to broaden the debate.
A detailed interview outlining Mrs Grant's proposals can be found here  here

1.   Will the justice minister expand on what will happen to existing women's diversion centers and whether   NOMS will continue to fund until commissioning for transforming justice are published  which could take up to 2 years?

2. Will the minister explain how she envisages working  with existing providers to bring best practices gathered from the diversion centers  what opportunities will there be to bring new providers with experience of working with vulnerable women in the sector already? 

3. What steps are being taken to ensure vulnerable women are not further damaged by exposure to inexperienced workers subcontracted to large prime  providers with no track record or success in working with this group?

4. Will the minister  consider making the Bangkok Rules the minimum requirements for any agency wishing to work with women offenders?

5. The minister states she wishes to punish women, rehabilitate women and transform justice simultaneously.  These are 3 outcomes which require different strategies and outputs and might be irreconcilable.  Could she explain her priorities?

6. Does the minister undertake to implement gender main streaming as opposed to gender equality?  Women are not men, solutions and sentences need to reflect motherhood, discrimination and other issues specific to women.

A gendered approach to women offenders

We're delighted to welcome Justice Minister, Helen Grant's ministerial statement last Friday, prior to her scheduled appearance on Tuesday 26 March 2013 at the justice committee inquiry to give evidence regarding this government's rehabilitation transformation plans for women offenders. You can see the Kazuri submission by Imran Khan, Flo Krause and Julia Gibby here

In brief:

Helen Grant to overhaul community sentences for women

The government wants more alternatives to custody

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Female offender 'hostels' considered
• Women's prisons 'should close'
• 'I've been in trouble almost all the time'

Community sentences in England and Wales are to be made more "female friendly" in an effort to keep women out of prison.

Justice Minister Helen Grant wants to cut reoffending rates and offer judges credible alternatives to custody.

She says "vulnerable" women offenders need help to break the cycle of crime and abuse many of them face.

But the new approach will include an element of punishment such as unpaid work or curfew, she stressed.

Ministry of Justice officials insisted the aim was not to lock up fewer women offenders, but to reduce the number of reoffenders and to make "credible" alternatives to custody available to judges.

'Mental health'

About 4,000 women are currently in jail in England and Wales, most of whom are serving sentences of six months or less.

Eight out of 10 were sent to prison for committing a non-violent offence.

Ms Grant is setting up a new advisory board to overhaul community orders for women and look at other issues such as locating female prisoners near to their families.

"Many female offenders share the same depressingly familiar issues of abuse, drug and alcohol dependency and mental health problems," said the Conservative minister.

"Women who commit crime should be punished, but we must not forget that a significant number have been victims during their lives and need targeted support to break the cycle of offending.

"I will provide the strong leadership required to drive these priorities forward and I'm confident that by working together with all partners we can better tackle female offending."

Expanding on the proposals in an interview with The Independent, she said: "Women offenders are a highly vulnerable group, they commit crime because of that vulnerability and earlier failures to protect and support [them]."

'Secure hostels'

The Ministry of Justice said it costs £45,000 to keep a woman in prison for one year, while almost 45% of all women released from custody in 2010 reoffended within 12 months, committing more than 10,000 further offences.

Up to 56% of women offenders have been in care and the proportion of female prisoners that report abuse in their lifetime is double that of males.

In addition, about 60% of women leave behind dependent children when entering prison.

Prison Reform Trust director Juliet Lyon broadly welcomed the government's stance but said it would have little effect if it was not backed by new laws.

"History shows that, in the absence of specific legislation, commitments to address women's different needs are often not realised, and momentum can be lost as ministers and officials come and go."

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the proposals lacked detail.

But he added: "It does, however, reflect the fact that community sentences are a far more appropriate way of dealing with the vast majority of women currently in prison, including all those who have committed non-violent crimes."

The government is also considering the introduction of "secure hostels" for less serious women offenders in England and Wales, as an alternative to women's prisons.

via BBC website

Kazuri  will be attending the Justice Committee hearing on Tuesday and live Tweeting (if permitted)

Mindfulness in your creative life

We are very pleased to welcome Buddhist teacher and mindfulness practitioner, Vajradaka to the Women's Resilience Centre for a five week course on mindfulness in your creative life.

Week 1, Thursday the 4th of April 

Your inner life determines your outer life

Simple and easy to use mindfulness methods for finding what is important for you

Exploration of what effectively helps you achieve your direction and values

Coming into  a sense of  confidence in your strengths and being effective

Week 2, Thursday the 11th  of April

Have everything going in the same direction

Dealing with distraction and keeping a sense of direction

Entering into a sense of wholeheartedness and motivation

The relationship between discipline and spontaneity

Week 3, Thursday the 18th  of April 

Being engaged and fully present

Dealing creatively with obstacles to decisiveness

Keeping a sense of momentum 

Skills for breaking out of habit

Week 4, Thursday the 25th  of April

The fun/serious dichotomy

Having a big picture of what is in your best interests

Working from your strengths

Enjoying the process of personal development, even when it's hard

Week 5, Thursday the 2nd  of May 

Overcoming expectations and getting real

Understanding what being in a process means

The creative process of being receptive and keeping the initiative

Dealing the double-edged consequences of being successful

Although this course is for women it is led by a man. 

Vajradaka  is an ordained Buddhist who is acclaimed as  one of the most experienced practitioners and teachers of mindfulness and creativity globally. 

Because of his long experience of leading communities and teaching mindfulness  and our own personal perception and experiences  of him as a teacher who is safe and supports the vision of the women's resilience centre, we have invited him to help us seed the vision of our centre to lead this course.

 The Kazuri team.

Change afoot at Unlock

Unlock Update
Executive Director Chris Bath departing

Unlock’s Chair of Trustees Linda Pizani-Williams today announced the departure of Executive Director Chris Bath at the end of February. Chris will take up the role of Chief Executive at another criminal justice charity in March.

Chris said, “After almost 8 years with Unlock it’s a hugely emotional decision to leave. As a team we’ve overcome some significant challenges and shared incredible successes. But I’m proud to leave the charity with a clear strategic plan, stable finances and the promise of support from some fantastic new funders. Unlock has a very exciting future ahead of it.”

Linda Pizani-Williams said, “Chris has transformed Unlock and will be greatly missed. However his departure is a natural fit with the strategy he has developed, which redirects resources away from management to providing direct support to people in need.”

Unlock’s new strategy involves investment in front line staff and an enhanced trustee board led by an Executive Chair. Julie Harmsworth will retain responsibility for HR, finance and fundraising as Director (Operations). Christopher Stacey will lead projects and services as Director (Services).

Warrior Women by Dannyella Glasgow

We're really delighted Dannyella is leading a workshop at  Kazuri's Warrior Women resilience training weekend on March 2 and 3 2013. Here's what she says about her workshop. Have you booked your place yet?

"Unconsciously intimidated by our own potential, I am an avid believer that 'people only do to you what you allow' and that we often keep ourselves imprisoned by our own mental and invisible barriers.

Imagine if you 'Get Out of Your Own way' and created a new set of boundaries that allowed you to tap into the true essence of your being.

For me, Freedom is a state of mind.

Learn tools to share with your client's to help them to 'Get out of Their own Way', tap into and unleash their Warrior Woman."

Dannyella Glasgow

For more information on this transformational weekend with Shazia Mirza, Hannah Foxley and Marion Green and others please see here