Meet The Neighbours - Helen Aitchison
Helen was born in North Shields and has lived in North Tyneside all her life. Her career included 20 years working in social care, with services based in North Shields, including as the first IDVA in North Tyneside and working in senior management for a national charity.
After signing a publishing contract for her fictional debut, The Dinner Club, and subsequently releasing her second book (with a third due in April), Helen changed career paths slightly.
Having always worked with marginalised groups, she set up Write on the Tyne (CIC) to combine her love of working with people and her new love of writing.
WOTT is an award-winning non-profit that makes creative writing inclusive and accessible through teaching, community projects, and working with charities to document and publish voices of the unheard.
Within the company, Helen has a publishing arm; publishing project books, supporting authors to self-publish, and signing a small number of local authors as a traditional publisher.
Current projects include a Heritage Lottery funded community project around North Tyneside, an anthology with the NHS and Everyturn about people’s experiences of living with severe mental illness, and a children’s book featuring Helen’s award-winning rescue cat, Eric, to support Cats Protection.
Through North Shields Cultural Quarter, Helen is teaching a range of free creative writing sessions in North Shields and she is delighted to nurture local talent and connect local creatives in an inclusive space.
Alongside writing and WOTT, Helen is on the board of trustees at Age UK North Tyneside, is a volunteer for the charity, Omega, and is a resident agony aunt at Pick Me Up! magazine.
Helen says: "It’s amazing to see the town develop and to feel the energetic and empowering excitement from local creatives, and the community, wanting to be part of developments and opportunities."
