Karen Dunbar says she has been schooled in a rap workshop by the young people at the Good Shepherd Centre

For many of the young people that stay at the Good Shepherd Centre, managing feelings and dealing with day to day life can be difficult, due to the traumatic and harmful situations they have been in. We always look to find new positive ways for them to express how they feel.

We were delighted to work with Karen Dunbar on her new project ‘Just Say it’. Karen provides a workshop that encourages people to come together, share and write their experiences on a subject whether it be family, home or even their favourite food. Karen worked with the young people to develop their experiences into a rap song, together they wrote the lyrics, choose the music and then performed it, some of the young people were so confident at this point that they recorded their own lyrics themselves.

Not only does this workshop help the young people express how they are feeling in a positive way but it sparks creativity, encourages imagination and develops storytelling and drama skills which may open up their eyes to the possibility of working in the creative industry.