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Name: | Natalie Brown |
Age: | 17 |
Year of the Fix: | 2013 |
Location: | Leicester |
Campaign: | Breaking down stereotypes about self-harming |
I really want to change how people look at self-harm and understand it better, because there is a lot of negative press around it.
We need to help people who are going through it and pick up on the signs much earlier.
Working with Fixers has helped me come to terms with certain things, too.
I'm hoping to educate parents and professionals about self-harming, so they will be likely to act upon signs and symptoms effectively, and support young people to focus on the positive things in their lives.
I want to get away from what society thinks a self-harmer is.
A lot of people associate Emos with self-harm, because of the way they dress and look, when this is not necessarily the case.
It isn't just one type of person. Anyone can be doing it. I want people to notice and understand that it isn't okay for anyone to hurt themselves, that nobody deserves to do this to themselves.
Here is a list of Fixers helping me with this Fix:
Bhavesh Borkhataria | Bhavin Patel |
Bhumiti Patel | Callum Sholl |
Gail Brown | Kelsey Ward |
Maximilian Rose | Mollie Brooks |
Nathan Taylor | Pooja Vasram |
Reece Malroz | Sally-Anne Brown |
Sam Wainwright | Sandra Brown |
With help from the Council, I was able to present my posters to the public.
A local school who has helped with my project.
Debbie Preston, a Counsellor at Leicester College, supported my Fixers project by providing her expert views for my broadcast story.
November 2013
The film about my campaign, which was broadcast on ITV News, was among nine Fixers films which won a Mind Media Award at the BFI in London.
Click here to read more about my achievement!
June 2013
I was profiled on the Young Minds website where I talked about my experience with self-harm. Click here to read the story.
I was invited to speak about my Fixers campaign on ITV Daybreak with Matt Barbet and Ranvir Singh on 13 June 2013. Take a look at my photo with the presenters below.
Following my appearance on Daybreak, Shropshire College have decided to print my posters and distribute them to all the schools, colleges and health teams in the area.
After seeing the segment, the team at Nova Training in Hereford have also requested to have copies of my posters, which they will display in their building. Nova Training provides training to young people in the town and they hold open days with police, support workers, schools, and parents.
May 2013
Fellow Fixer Imogen Smith and I were featured in an extended piece about young women who self-harm in The Mirror, published shortly after Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris, was rumored to have self-harmed. Click the image below to expand the article or click to read it here.
February 2013
My poster series was shown at the UK-wide launch of Fixers at Westminster on 26th February to a packed room. MPs, celebrities and many others were in attendance, and I got to speak with a variety of people about my campaign.
TV Celebrity Zoe Salmon and Fixer Natalie Brown at Fixers UK-Wide Launch at Westminster
About 20 people, including teachers, nurses, family and friends, attended the unveiling of the posters and took part in the dialogue.
Here is some of the feedback from people who attended:
'I found the posters eye-catching yet simple. It's a good way to get people talking about the issues.'
'Found the posters very effective, and can see them being used in educational establishments: schools and colleges.'
'The posters are shocking and powerful: the written messages are thought provoking.
'Thought the posters were hard-hitting and showed a variety of different people in different situations. They make the reader question their own answers.'
I was interviewed on BBC Radio Leicester on 18th February to talk about my self-harm awareness project.
My Fixers self-harm awareness campaign also was featured in the Lester Mercury and the Hinckley Times this month.
Chelsie Brown
'Kate'
Shannon Rawlings
Kiki
Mary-Anne White and Lucy Wills
Shak & Natasha
Becky Thorn
Shano
Jo Quinn
Hannah Carter
Sam Barakat
Alexandra Garrick
Lauren Taylor
Hannah Baker
Meghann
Tilly and Bella
'Ben'
Me and my friends want young people to know that calories aren't the enemy!
Becky
Liam Thomas