Hyphen-21 is a small UK charity. It was set up in 1994.
Hyphen-21 does not own anything or employ anybody. Instead, it promotes or implements funded projects which accord with its aims and priorities.
These aims and priorities are, in a nutshell, to support and promote the empathic skills which keep society and each of its citizens emotionally ‘healthy’ and properly sustained. That which connects can be symbolised on paper by a hyphen, a simple connecting line between words. What actually takes place on that precarious hyphen in real life is both a mystery and a wonder. Yet it is not an extra, nor a luxury. The empathic skills are central and essential to a civilised human society and – surely – to our survival.
The charity originated in mental health social work and counselling. But its principles apply to any good practice in community care, all of which requires empathic skills. Yes, we are surrounded by post-Thatcherite commercial models and by externally measured ‘targets,’ by abstracted images on computer screens and by computer categories of all sizes and kinds and by AI Centres of still emerging powers, yet always we’ll be faced with the question of how best to conserve and keep faith with the essential, creative and transformative skills and qualities of ‘genuiness, warmth and accurate empathy’ (see the work of American psychotherapist Carl Rogers).
Hyphen-21’s most prominent initiative to date is called ‘Poems for the wall.’ (Its first title was ‘Poems for the Waiting Room’). This initiative has received funding from various sources over the years, including the Arts Council, the NHS and the John Lewis Partnership. Here is a brief description.
‘Poems for the wall’ now has it own separate website which can be found here. Around 300 poems are available there, for downloading and public display in waiting room, class room, or library, free of charge. They include a significant number of bilingual poems, with 50 different languages represented.
Other projects with which the charity has been associated can be found in the ‘Hyphen Projects’ section on this site (see the headings above)
Hyphen-21 is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.
Rogan Wolf, Founding Director of Hyphen-21
https://roganwolf.com