Blogs & conversations - The Churchill Fellowship
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Blogs & conversations

Churchill Fellows offer their views and advice on topical issues, based on global research and UK activities.

To connect with a Fellow, please go to their Profile page. To find related content, click the tag under each item below. To receive regular blog alerts, sign up at the foot of this page.

If you are a Fellow and would like to write a blog for us, please email digital@churchillfellowship.org to discuss the topic you have in mind.

Blogs & conversations

In Conversation with Sophia Alexandra Hall: Empowering care-experienced voices in the media

We spoke to Churchill Fellow Sophia Alexandra Hall about how her Fellowship helped shape her trauma-informed interviewing toolkit, now used across major UK newsrooms. Drawing on her lived experience and 50 interviews in the USA, she reflects on the need for safer, more empowering media practices for care-experienced and other under-represented people. She also shares how this work has grown through training, conference speaking, and an expanding public platform at Big Issue.

By Sophia Alexandra Hall, 4 December 2025

Blogs & conversations

In Conversation with Sophia Alexandra Hall: Empowering care-experienced voices in the media

We spoke to Churchill Fellow Sophia Alexandra Hall about how her Fellowship helped shape her trauma-informed interviewing toolkit, now used across major UK newsrooms. Drawing on her lived experience and 50 interviews in the USA, she reflects on the need for safer, more empowering media practices for care-experienced and other under-represented people. She also shares how this work has grown through training, conference speaking, and an expanding public platform at Big Issue.

By Sophia Alexandra Hall, 4 December 2025

Blogs & conversations

Later living that makes the most of every moment

Amid growing pressures across housing, health, and care, Churchill Fellows Graham Russell and Oona Goldsworthy argue that the lessons from their Fellowships – integrated commissioning, mixed communities, and stronger collaboration – are needed more urgently than ever. They highlight how Brunelcare, the care charity they both work at, is beginning to apply these approaches, from reablement and redevelopment to community-focused work that aims to improve later living.

By Graham Russell ~ Oona Goldsworthy, 20 November 2025

Blogs & conversations

Beyond the Beat: Building the Architecture for Creative Communities

Dominic Heslop’s Churchill Fellowship explored the “cultural architecture” that allows creativity to thrive and communities to heal, taking him to Jamaica, Berlin, and Athens – each offering lessons in resilience, expression, and collective care. Back in Sheffield, Dominic is embedding these insights into his grassroots organisation Slambarz, combining artistry with structure to support young people, build community, and show how creativity can strengthen wellbeing and identity.

By Dominic Heslop, 6 November 2025

Blogs & conversations

Improving care for those living and dying at society’s margins

Palliative care doctor Shaun Qureshi explores how the field can rekindle its original, radical spirit by addressing the inequities faced by marginalised people who remain under-served in current practice. His Churchill Fellowship took him to the USA and Canada, where he learned from centres of care for excluded groups and saw how trauma-informed, social justice, and inclusive approaches can be embedded into everyday work. His report sets out practical recommendations for building a system where everyone can access the palliative and end-of-life care they need.

By Shaun Peter Qureshi, 30 October 2025

Blogs & conversations

“Kindness and Goodwill”: Developing Postvention in Prison

With self-inflicted deaths in prisons remaining consistently high, Piers Barber set out to explore how prisons can respond with stronger postvention – systematic aftercare following a suicide. His Fellowship took him to New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, where he saw examples such as the embedded role of chaplains in New Zealand prisons, new trials in Australia, and trauma training models for staff in Canada. He is now sharing his reflections with UK practitioners and policymakers, calling for leadership, mapping of all contact points, and varied support to strengthen suicide prevention in custody.

By Piers Barber, 22 October 2025

Blogs & conversations

In conversation with Faith Yiminyi: Beyond the learning: a Churchill Fellowship’s lifelong influence

We spoke to Faith Yiminyi about her 2009 Churchill Fellowship, which took her to the United States to explore how dance companies could thrive and open opportunities for young people. At just 21, she set out to learn new styles, work with choreographers, and see how dance could build confidence and enrich communities. More than 15 years on, Faith reflects on how her Fellowship shaped her journey – from running her own dance school, to working in social care and cyber security, and now returning to dance as a board member of a community studio.

By Faith Yiminyi, 16 October 2025

Blogs & conversations

Scaling Suicide Prevention: Lessons for the UK from India, the USA, and Canada

In memory of his friend Olly, who died by suicide in 2017, Rory Keddie set out to explore how medical students can be better prepared to support people in crisis. His Fellowship took him to India, the USA, and Canada, where he learned from innovative approaches using technology, policy change, and university frameworks. Building on his work with the Dr SAMS project, which has already trained over 2,800 UK medical students, Rory is now working to expand training and engage policymakers so suicide prevention becomes a core part of every doctor’s education.

By Rory Keddie, 9 October 2025

Blogs & conversations

Renegade Guides: the places we go, the stories we share

Writer, guide, and founder of Living London, Saira Niazi spent her Churchill Fellowship in the USA exploring how tours and storytelling can be more inclusive, ethical, and community-focused. Her travels took her through 41 neighbourhoods, 32 guided tours, and 36 interviews with “renegade guides,” organisers, and storytellers, culminating in the creation of the Renegade Guides Handbook. Since its launch, Saira has been sharing her findings widely and continues to lead tours, write, and collaborate with communities.

By Saira Niazi, 2 October 2025

Blogs & conversations

New programme aims to build prosperous, resilient economies across the UK

The Churchill Fellowship has launched a new programme – Building Prosperous, Resilient Economies – to support individuals with practical ideas for strengthening economic resilience in their communities. In this blog, Advisory Council Chair Lucy Parker, and Fellows Grace Harrison and John Barker, reflect on why this programme matters, what it hopes to spark, and how it’s rooted in lived experience, policy insight, and local action.

Blogs & conversations

New programme aims to build prosperous, resilient economies across the UK

The Churchill Fellowship has launched a new programme – Building Prosperous, Resilient Economies – to support individuals with practical ideas for strengthening economic resilience in their communities. In this blog, Advisory Council Chair Lucy Parker, and Fellows Grace Harrison and John Barker, reflect on why this programme matters, what it hopes to spark, and how it’s rooted in lived experience, policy insight, and local action.

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