Founder's message

At the start of 2007, I had a deep emotional crisis and, while I am lucky to have very close friends, there were some things I could not share with anyone I knew.

During this mentally chaotic time, I got lost on familiar streets close to home and walked, literally, into a woman passer-by. We got chatting. She told me about a 'Celebration Day' they were organising on the public housing estate where she lived and worked. Curious, I went with her to the estate. Sitting uncomfortably in the midst of the tower blocks crouched a row of low-rise, boarded up, terraced houses awaiting demolition. Yet it seemed they had some more life to offer.

As part of the Celebration Day, young people from the estate whitewashed the houses. People at the event were invited to spray-paint or write on the, now white, walls about their feelings, life on the estate, memories of the boarded buildings and anything else they had on their mind. I too took the opportunity to write on the wall some of the things I had previously struggled to share. It was a profoundly moving experience, which marked the birth of Big White Wall support networks

Watch the video here>>