The Reader Organisation in London: Update

Following on from the announcement that this year's Reader Organisation Conference will take place in London, here is an update about The Reader Organisation's ongoing work in the capital from Get Into Reading London Project Manager Penny Markell, with some very interesting developments...

We’re starting some exciting new projects in London at the moment. In the next few weeks we will begin two weekly reading groups in Wormwood Scrubs prison, in partnership with Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust. This is our first criminal justice project in London and builds on our experience across the country. We will also start delivering eight shared reading groups for in-patients across the West London Mental Health NHS Trust, including two groups at Broadmoor high-secure hospital, which builds on the success of our work in mental health settings over the last three years.

Some of our existing work is expanding. We have been working with Idea Stores in Tower Hamlets for over three years: up to now  we have trained up ten of their staff and are increasing the number of groups across the borough. The projects in Kensington & Chelsea and Lambeth are also about to grow, as we’ll shortly train up staff from various health and community organisations to deliver groups themselves.

This means we’ll be delivering groups in Barnet, Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Tower Hamlets and Westminster boroughs, and will bring the number of groups delivered across London to 36. You can find out which open group is closest to you by checking the Get Into Reading London group map.