Rose:
A Three Month Programme of Collective Care
Herbal Support for Families and Loved Ones of Prisoners
A programme for people who love someone in prison and are carrying the emotional labour, grief and stress of supporting them.
If someone you love is inside, you may feel like your life revolves around phone calls, visits, court dates and constant worry. You may feel alone, afraid, exhausted or stretched beyond your limits. The world rarely sees this work and very few people support it.
Across three months, we will build a gentle and grounded container of herbal support, connection and nervous system tending. This space is created with and for people supporting someone incarcerated, with care and solidarity at the centre.
You will receive plant medicines crafted for you by the Solidarity Apothecary, along with live group calls, pre recorded content and a small circle of people who understand the invisible labour of loving someone behind bars.
Why Rose?
Rose is a plant teacher of courage, protection and tenderness. The petals soften and soothe while the thorns offer boundaries and strength. Rose holds heartbreak without letting it take everything from us.
For people supporting someone in prison, rose can offer steadiness during emotional overwhelm. Rose is a support for grief and chronic worry, a softening of the armour that constant stress creates. Its antioxidants offer nourishment for a tired and overstretched heart, and its energetics bring grounding and clarity around boundaries, as well as small moments of pleasure and hope in the middle of difficult realities.
At the beginning of the programme, we will explore Rose as a medicinal ally for people carrying heavy emotional loads.
Why this Programme?
Prison harms the people inside and it also harms the people who love them. Supporting someone in prison can feel lonely, frightening and overwhelming. You may be juggling visits, phone calls, legal updates, money, childcare and daily responsibilities while holding grief, dread and constant worry. These feelings are real and deserve support.
People doing prisoner support are often forgotten and invisible. You may feel like you have to stay strong and keep coping while your own body and heart are tired.
This programme exists because you should not have to carry this alone. It is a space where your love and commitment are honoured, where your anger and heartbreak make sense, and where you can receive care and support without judgement.
Rose offers a way to soften, protect and find steadiness inside the ongoing emotional roller coaster of prisoner support.
Programme Details
When
April to June 2026 for three months
Format
Mix of live group calls and pre-recorded content
Herbal medicines
Bespoke herbal medicines posted to you throughout the programme
Who This Is For
This offering is designed for:
- Partners of prisoners
- Families of prisoners
- Close friends or loved ones supporting someone inside
- People who are a main support or one of the few people a prisoner can rely on
- Anyone feeling overwhelmed, anxious, depleted or isolated because someone they love is incarcerated
People taking part may be experiencing:
- Managing visits, phone calls or legal updates
- Carrying sadness, anger or grief
- Juggling childcare, work and support
- Feeling like your own life is on pause
- Dealing with stigma, judgement or silence from others
You do not need to identify as an ‘organiser’. If you love someone inside and need support, this space is for you.
We will be a small group of six to nine people.
What is Included
Herbal Support for Your Nervous System & Whole Body
Custom teas, tinctures and remedies sent to you throughout the programme to support emotional steadiness, stress resilience, digestion, sleep and immunity. Medicines are crafted specifically for the needs of people supporting loved ones in prison.
Live Group Calls, Community and Solidarity
Fortnightly group calls offering connection, education, herbal guidance, and collective care. These will be gentle, non-medical spaces focused on checking in with how you're feeling, as well as your experiences of the plant medicines you're working with.
Between calls, we will communicate via a group on the Signal app.
Pre-recorded Content
Access short, accessible lessons about herbs, nervous system care, and other tools to work through in your own time.
Contribution
Suggested contribution: £150 from community or collective funds where possible.
If this amount is accessible to you or your community, it helps sustain the labour, medicines and solidarity work of the Solidarity Apothecary.
However, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please still apply if this programme feels like the support you need.
About Nicole & the Solidarity Apothecary
About the Solidarity Apothecary
The mission of the Solidarity Apothecary is to materially support revolutionary struggles and communities with plant medicines to strengthen collective autonomy, self-defence and resilience to climate change, capitalism and state violence.
This includes distributing herbal medicines to people experiencing state violence and repression, such as prisoners, ex-prisoners, refugees, and organisers. The project also offers one-to-one herbal support, runs courses and workshops, and collaborates on mobile clinics at sites of resistance and border violence.
About Nicole Rose
I am Nicole Rose, an anarchist organiser and herbalist based in the West Country. I have studied herbal medicine for more than sixteen years, including through a four year clinical training with The Plant Medicine School in Ireland.
My work is shaped by two decades of prisoner solidarity, frontline organising and surviving a long period of state repression, including a 3.5 year prison sentence. I know how deeply prison harms the people inside and the people who love them. These experiences continue to fuel my commitment to collective care and abolitionist practice.
I founded the Solidarity Apothecary to focus on supporting people experiencing state violence with herbalism.
Programme Accessibility
Pre-recorded content: Videos include closed captions. There are downloadable audio files and slides, as well as transcripts.
Group calls: These will be hosted on Jitsi (similar to zoom). The group will decide if they will be recorded or not based on everyone's needs and desires. For example, if several people will struggle to participate live due to chronic illness, we may need to enable a recorded option - we will make decisions together as a group at the beginning of the programme.
Signal group: We will set guidelines together based on people's needs in order to prevent information overwhelm while enabling collective care (and memes!).
Medicines: Blends will be bespoke to your needs taking into consideration existing health challenges, medications, living environment and ease of taking.
Next Steps
Please join the waiting list here to be emailed when applications are open.
You are very welcome to email any questions. Feel free to reach out via email to info@solidarityapothecary.org
Commonly Asked Questions
Where can people apply from?
Rose is aimed to support people in England, Wales, Scotland and the north of Ireland. International applications may be considered.What kind of herbal support will I receive?
These will be prepared based on your needs, but the goal of the programme is to support your nervous system health, sleep quality and digestion while contending with the chronic stress that repression can generate.I’ll prepare unique medicines for you, likely in the form of tinctures, glycerites and teas. What I can’t make myself, will be purchased from trusted suppliers depending on the needs of the group.
I'm nervous of being in a group of strangers
After going through a decade of repression, I really understand. I've also experienced the judgement and dehumanisation of being a prisoner family member.If helpful, you are welcome to participate using a pseudonym.
At the beginning of the programme, we will create some group guidelines together to help ensure it's as nourishing a space as possible. All participants will be asked to respect one another’s confidentiality and boundaries.
You only need to share what you feel comfortable sharing.
When does the programme start?
Join the waiting list to be the first to hear when applications open. I'm aiming to begin the application process in early March with a plan to start at the beginning of April 2026.How will the group communicate?
We will have a group chat on the Signal app between calls.What time will the calls be?
The calls will be organised during daytime windows.I'm currently co-sleeping with my baby so I'm not available in the evenings. We will try to schedule calls based on the needs and availability of the group at the beginning of the programme.
What if I can’t attend the live calls?
If everyone in the group agrees to, we may record calls.The pre-recorded content is available for you to watch whenever you want.
How much does the programme cost?
Suggested contribution: £150 from group or organisational funds where possible. This helps sustain the labour, medicines and solidarity work of the Solidarity Apothecary.
If £150 is accessible to you or your collective, it genuinely supports the continuation of this offering.
However, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please still apply if this space is what you need.
I have a lot of complex and chronic health issues. Is this programme appropriate for me?
Yes and no! Chronic illness can be incredibly isolating and a group environment will hopefully be nourishing and strengthening.However, we may need to organise additional calls to explore your health history in more depth to ensure safety and appropriateness of herbal medicines. This will be dependent on my availability which is unfortunately quite limited as I am focused on caring for my little one.
I have other questions. How can I get in touch?
If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out via email to info@solidarityapothecary.org