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She's a local fashionista, whose clothing business has been helping women to embrace who they are, and enhance their inner beauty since 2014.
Lauren Burnett, who describes herself as “someone who has fought and continually fights addiction", says her business, Luella Rockerfella, has helped her to express herself creatively and gives her the self-belief and strength to overcome a difficult way of life.
Following the success of her online retail brand, Lauren collaborated with the prison and local firms to help raise funds for victims of sexual assault and to help others fight addiction.
As someone who has already used her experiences to help change the island for the better, Express wanted to know how else she might improve things if given the chance. She shared her five top ideas...
I find abhorrent the sentences that are handed out for sex crimes in Jersey, in particular crimes against children. It is offensive and belittling the victims level of trauma. When I have been away working and say I am from Jersey there is an association with this tolerance which I find embarrassing.
Pictured: Lauren says Jersey courts should hand out stricter sentences in cases of sex crimes.
We need to be handing out tougher sentences for these crimes as I see much harsher sentences for theft and drunken fights when the severity of the effect it has on the victims lives are far graver.
In an affluent island such as Jersey, I don’t think the general public knows the need Jersey has for foster carers to come forward. We have very similar social problems to England and I would especially like to see more who have an extra bedroom and can offer love and stability to come forward and foster our islands children.
Children are always the innocents and as an island we must do what we can to protect, nurture and guide our islands children. Help where you can help. The duty number to find out more information is 01534 443970.
We need an easier recycling system in Jersey. People are too busy to drive all their recyclable waste to facilities that are sparsely located around the island. When I lived in Los Angeles and in Brighton, we had a general waste bin, a blue recycling bin with all recyclables in and a glass bin. Jersey needs to facilitate a system like this.
Pictured: Jersey needs to facilitate kerbside recycling.
If we care about climate change which we should as we live in an island easier ways for the public to recycle must be in place. I understand certain plastics like plastic bottle lids have to be shipped out of island to dispose along with all secondary plastics but I feel we should be doing more and looking how other countries do it.
Orchard House is a facility at the back of St. Saviour's Hospital for specific mental health issues and to withdraw a patient from alcohol or drugs. I don't think mixing addiction/detoxification and mental health in one facility where you can have a vulnerable 18-year-old girl withdrawing from heroin with a 64-year-old schizophrenic serves either patient's wellbeing.
I think it’s an outdated facility and model of treating mental health and addiction. There is still currently nowhere else on the island where an individual can be withdrawn safely from substances other than Orchard House and some isolated home detoxification.
Pictured: Lauren says Orchard House is an out-dated facility.
Silkworth Trust do a great job but they do not - in common with many rehabilitation centres - allow you a place whilst you are still physically dependent and most addicts or alcoholics are physically dependent. I also believe that rather than treating a patient with more medication or swapping one prescription for another, more talking therapy, 12-step programs or Cognitive Behaviour therapy should be offered, as we can’t afford to carry on masking a problem with short term benefits that reek long-term effects.
We should be getting to the root of the problem instead of putting a band aid over a wound that will continue to bleed. There should be a separate facility for detoxification and separate for mental health.
I think the planning department should do more to help new young business owners. Maybe through a first time planning application for new business owners, along with help and guidance.
Pictured: Lauren says the "flawed" planning application process risk hindering the economy in Jersey.
I think the process is very flawed and with due course we will see an effect on the economy, with a lack of fresh companies coming through. Alongside with this I hope an input from other parties will help to clean the system up and ensure progression and consistency.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not Bailiwick Express.
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