Self Injury Support has received a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to research and record the story of how our pioneering service was created by local women in the late 1980s.

A peer support listening service, staffed by volunteers and run as a feminist collective, Bristol Crisis Service for Women (BCSW) registered as a charity and started its first telephone helpline service in 1988. Through women listening to women, BCSW was able to learn from service users what support they needed and create the resources that would help. Armed with this knowledge, the staff and volunteers also advocated for women using self-injury in the medical establishment and ultimately changed the way people using self-injury are treated. 

We are looking for both volunteers and interviewees to help us tell the unique and empowering story of Bristol Crisis Service for Women over the next 18 months. 

Did you work or volunteer at BCSW between 1986 and 2014?

We want to capture as many memories from the women who founded, worked and volunteered at Bristol Crisis Service for Women. If you or someone you know have got something to share, please get in touch and we can arrange to interview you remotely in your own home. We are also keen to see any photographs, leaflets, pamphlets and newsletters you may have up in the attic!

The recorded interviews will be transcribed and kept, along with our paper records, at the Bishopsgate Institute in London so that they are accessible to everyone. Interviewees will, of course, have total control over how much of their interview can be made public and what things, like academic research or use in an exhibition, it can be used for. Interviews can also be anonymised. For more information have a look at our participant information leaflet 

Would you like to volunteer as an oral history interviewer?

We are currently recruiting volunteers to help carry out interviews. Full training will be given and all volunteer activities will be carried out remotely from your home. For more information and an application form visit our volunteering page.

COVID-19 

Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, and to keep everyone safe, all interviews will be done remotely. We will provide the technical support and any additional recording equipment, but you will need a computer and a reliable internet connection to take part. 

Get in touch 

If you would like to know more, check out our volunteering page or contact our Community History Worker Rosie Wild at [email protected]. You can also follow our project on Twitter.