Linda Gallagher

Linda wandered into the Community Workshop one day to do a lino-printing class and never left. The supportive atmosphere, location and (anyone) can-do attitude is fantastic. The Workshop offers creative facilities for everybody regardless of ability, disability or financial circumstances to flourish artistically and emotionally. Linda has spent most of her working life supporting people for whom things have gone badly wrong: ex-offenders, the homeless, people with drug and alcohol addictions, persistant school truants and those with poor literacy and numeracy skills. These difficulties frequently lead to poverty and mental health problems. If only they could have accessed a facility like this which offers companionship, creativity and a boost to self-esteem. Before her retirement in 2018 Linda ran a community bank. It now seems that for her a new working life has just begun.