Sharing our stories with other people enables us to make sense of what happened to us, to integrate the memories into our life experience, and to connect with people who understand what it was like. It also breaks down barriers formed by misunderstanding and lack of information. Telling your story requires a lot of trust. 

 

Ways to tell your story 
 

People's experiences of life at Centrepoint have things in common, but equally, experiences were varied and diverse. Your experiences may have little in common with other people who lived there. People also have differing needs and differing capacities for 'going there'.

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The Centrepoint Restoration Project is attempting to assist people to find ways to tell their stories, such that each person has control, feels that their personal growth has benefited from this, and so that they are not re-traumatised or stigmatised by the experience. Telling your story may be as simple as seeking out a professional therapeutic relationship. Unfortunately, the treatment options of psychotherapy and counselling have been ruined for many by the therapy-abuse which occurred at Centrepoint.

 

What is clear though, is that as many as 40 years have gone by since people lived at Centrepoint, and for many people time has not healed anything. Keeping silent has not helped, and pretending that it didn't matter has achieved nothing. 

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