DETAINEES held in Dorset have produced art and music to support a Red Cross project.

People at The Verne Immigration Removal Centre, Portland, have made artwork and songs supporting The Long Road EP – a collection of songs by artists including Robert Plant, inspired by the plight of refugees and asylum seekers.

The work has been made available online. Proceeds from the album will help the Red Cross support more refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

The Red Cross works with The Verne to provide international family tracing and provide humanitarian assistance to detainees. This covers psychosocial support, mobility aids and other forms of practical support.

Helen Osborn, refugee services co-ordinator for the Red Cross in Dorset, said: “The impact of detention, especially indefinite detention, on the mental health of those who are already vulnerable cannot be underestimated.

“We work closely with staff at The Verne to support detainees during this difficult and uncertain time and it was seeing the wonderful artwork produced by people at the education centre that sparked the idea for this collaboration.

“We hope that by including their work in this project we will help to give people in detention a voice.”

Artwork featured on the microsite is produced by a Pakistani detainee, who used the project to reminisce about his homeland. Tracks recorded by staff and detainees are also featured.

Verne curriculum manager Neil Coad said: "Staff in the education centre provided by Weston College at The Verne provide a full programme of training workshops within the centre and we’ve seen that these activities, including art and music workshops, give detainees a valuable outlet for expression during their time in detention.

“Our workshops also give people useful skills to take with them to their next destination as courses include everything from art and music to ESOL, ICT, and Personal Social Development (PSD). There is also food safety in catering, tiling, bricklaying and barbering.”

The project was co-ordinated in class by music tutor Joseph Ryan.

To find out more see thelongroad.uk/the-verne

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