PATCHWORKED CARE

Exploring experiences of, and co-designing support with, mothers in recovery and those who support them

About the project

Patchworked Care is a programme of Action Research based at Northumbria University’s Design Feminisms Research Group, in partnership with community groups, statutory, third sector, public health, and NHS support services.

Together, we engage in design-led feminist action research to explore experiences of care proceedings for mothers using substances, to facilitate dialogue across lived experience and professional practice, and to co-design support for families in recovery. Patchworked Care is an evolving programme of work, co-created with lived and learned experience at its core. So far, we have worked on the followign projects:

  1. Exploring Experiences: Exploring experiences of care proceedings for mothers who use substances and the professionals who support them. From February to December 2025, we worked to better understand the lived experience of women in recovery going through care proceedings and brought these experiences into dialogue with experiences of professionals. We facilitated a series of creative workshops with women across Newcastle, an 11-week programme at Ridley Villas, a supported accomodation project for mothers in recovery and their children, and with professionals working across social care, recovery, and mental health services. We produced interactive quilts and a series of booklets to facilitate agonistic conversations to improve services based in lived experience. Download the report here. 
  2. Co-Designing an Independent Recovery and Care Proceedings Advocacy Role for the North East. From November 2025 to March 2026, we aimed to understand what an Independent Advocacy (IRCPA) Role for mothers in recovery and involved in care proceedings could be for the North East. Working with and learning from more than 20 local, national, and international organiastions and 22 people with lived experience, we developed an overview of the skills and attributes an IRCPA should have. We also worked with a group of 15 mothers in recovery with experience of care proceedings to co-design a Women’s Wellbeing Compass; an activity book aimed to support personal reflection, build trust with professionals, and develop language to advocate for mothers in care proceedings processes. We are now working on the implementation of IRCPA roles in our region and are seeking to produce an activity booklet for fathers in recovery and going through care proceedings. Download the report here and the Women’s Wellbeing Compass here.
  3. We Are Wildflower Women: A Festival of Blossom Quilting Project with Women in Recovery. From March to May 2026, we are exploring meanings of ‘blossoming’ with women in recovery. Working with National Trust’s Seaton Deleval Hall, we are inspired by Sophia Anne Delaval‘s story of family support during her addiction to co-create an interactive quilt that will be exhibited at the hall. We are also inspired by the Quilt Alliance’s Quilters’ Save Our Souls archive and how other quilters reflect on how quilting has impacted their lives, recovery journeys, and wellbeing more widely. You can watch a video of a talk about this project here. 
  4. Patching Care: Building Shared Understanding about motherhoods, care proceedings, and addiction in cross-sector coalitions. From Autumn 2026, we are rolling out a programme of cross-sector and cross-hierarchical conversations to build shared understanding across all sectors within the care ecosystems that relate to motherhoods, care proceedings, and addiction/recovery. 

Alongside these research activities, we are facilitating a series of interdisciplinary design briefs and student internships for first and second year design students and final year fine art students at Northumbria University. 

Each of the projects is carried out by a team with varied backgrounds, experience, and expertise; led by Dr Angelika Strohmayer, Associate Professor at Northumbria University’s School of Design, Arts, and Creative Industries. To learn more about the project, get involved, or have ideas of how it could progress, please email Angelika: angelika.strohmayer@northumbria.ac.uk

With thanks

This programe of work is only made possible because of the passionate and caring support of mothers and professionals who have shared their experiences, skills, networks, care, and creativity with us. We also want to particularly thank the staff and management at Ridley Villas and Changing Lives women’s and recovery services more broadly, conversations with whom catalysed us to do this work and provided ongoing support and reflective conversations throughout.

Each of the projects that are part of this programme of work were funded by different bodies, but it was all catalysed by initial funding from Newcastle City Council and Northumbria University, with support from Will McGovern. Other funders have included: Innovate UK, Changing Lives, the Quilt Alliance, Gendered Violence and Abuse Interdisciplinary Research Theme at Northumbria University, and National Trust.