We are delighted to share that we have been successful in our application to Southampton City Council for funding to support Adult Learning and that our existing Adult Learning programme will continue, with some exciting additions.
Our popular and successful Adult Learning Programme has been providing accessible music-making opportunities for vulnerable adults since 2010. We are consistently told about the positive impact of this work on adults who engage and we are incredibly proud to hear directly from participants about what they get out of it. Currently, the Programme consists of six main strands.
Music Active provides engaging and vibrant music-making and multi-arts activities for the elderly and those with dementia. These tailored, interactive programmes, from sing-alongs to songwriting, storytelling to music and movement, offer a multitude of mental and physical health benefits. Through the lockdowns, we developed ways of delivering this programme online to enable care homes to provide safe sessions for their residents. If you’re a service provider and would be interested in Music Active, find out more about the programme here or contact Mark here for a chat.
Music for the Mind supports adults facing challenges around their mental health. Working with expert partners, it focuses on collaboration and expression through participant-led singing and songwriting activities that enable the development of vital support networks. Open access groups run weekly, and can also be accessed by adults in supported living accommodation, high-secure mental health units and in community support groups. Find out more here and if you’re a service provider who would like to discuss this, or if you’d like to join in, drop Mark an email.
Make Some Noise programmes work with community groups and support providers to create innovative music-making programmes that are accessible for those with learning and/or physical disabilities. As well as being fun and engaging, these programmes help develop participants’ independence through building connections with the communities in which they live. If you’re a service provider or support worker for someone with learning disabilities find out more about the sessions and who we’ve worked with before here and contact Mark direct to find out what we could do for you and your clients.
Our Addiction Recovery Programme provides a range of music engagement programmes for adults with alcohol and/or substance misuse issues in partnership support providers such as Society of St James, Change Grow Live, Richmond Fellowship and No Limits. Running since 2012, it currently offers four different weekly sessions – Jamming, Beginner Music Making, a Vocal group and Songwriting. If you’re in recovery or are supporting someone who is, get in touch to find out how you can get involved.
Music for Carers is a new strand of activity that will be supporting adults that care for others. Info coming soon – if you’d like to talk about this now, contact Mark
Music for women who have been through the justice system. This project provides opportunities for music making for women that have been through the justice system, are in recovery from addiction and those struggling with their mental health. Alongside our partners, One Small Thing, we have been providing weekly singing sessions – and ukulele – for women who have been through the justice system. If the above applies to you or someone you support, get in touch to find out how you can get involved.
We are incredibly proud of the work that we, our music leaders, and our dedicated partners do to make music more accessible to vulnerable adults. The positive impact of music on mental health and wellbeing is increasingly understood and we see, every week, up close, the benefits – in the last year we worked with 187 adults over 418 amazing sessions. Thank you to Southampton City Council for your support for this work, and to our partners for this creativity in developing innovative programmes that support those in need. The funding from Southampton City Council provides the backbone of this work, and with our partners, we are able to develop specific services suited to the needs of service users.
We are always open to developing more so if you work with vulnerable adults and would like to get more music into their lives, do get in touch.
