Art Doctors are the arts partner in Leeds Thriving Communities project

Posted by Alison

Three Leeds-based charities have received nearly £50,000 from the Thriving Communities Fund to help people engage more with arts, nature and sporting activities, with a view to supporting health and wellbeing.

Arts and social change organisation, Space2, will work with the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation and Feel Good Factor, plus a range of community partners across the city, on a ‘social prescribing programme’ to deliver activities which tackle social isolation, improve wellbeing – and specifically support the communities of Chapeltown, Gipton and Harehills.

As arts partners on the project we will work with a small group of social prescribing Wellbeing Coordinators, taking them on a journey through an Art Doctor prescription and reflecting on the experience in order to develop their understanding of the impact of arts and creativity on mental health and wellbeing. We will also be making a film that charts their journey and becomes a resources for social prescribing colleagues in Leeds and nationally.

Social prescribing is a way for Primary Health Care and other local organisations to refer members of the public to activities which might help and support their physical and mental wellbeing. Local Wellbeing Co-ordinators are trained to talk to people, focusing on ‘what matters to me’ and taking a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing. They then connect people to community groups and other local services for practical and emotional support and engagement – promoting a non-medicalised route to wellbeing, where appropriate, and freeing up valuable GP resources and time.

Joint CEO of Space2, Emma Tregidden, said:
“The impact of COVID-19 on mental health has been massive and this funding will allow us to offer activities which meet the needs of our local communities and help to improve health and wellbeing.
It will increase engagement in a range of activities in some of the poorest areas of the City where we know that residents are economically and socially disadvantaged, and have had the highest impact from the pandemic.”

As part of the Thriving Communities project multiple Leeds-based partners will offer a range of other activities including:

  • – Culturally diverse dance classes with Balbir Singh Dance Company
  • – A peer-led poetry collective, called Clear Out Your Closet, for people with lived experience of mental health, supported by performance poet Michelle Scally Clarke.
  • – Walking cricket, a walking club, multi-sports, active families and sporting reminiscence sessions, guided stadium tours and match day volunteering opportunities with Yorkshire Cricket Foundation.
  • – Walk leader training; walking groups; community based exercise classes and yoga as well as community garden projects and money management with Feel Good Factor
  • – Tours of the Thackray Museum of Medicine including sharing artefacts to inspire creative activity and co-curating and hosting a final exhibition showcasing the work of all partners throughout the year. The museum will also be hosting the Art Doctor training for the wider cohort of Wellbeing Co-ordinators.
  • – Deaf and Visual Impairment Awareness training and peer-led support group sessions delivered by BID Leeds Hearing and Sight Loss Service.
  • – Conservation activities and volunteering opportunities offered by Active Leeds Nature, a Green Prescribing scheme led by The Conservation Volunteers, alongside other green organisations in the City.
  • – Bushcraft and woodwork for isolated and vulnerable men, plus volunteering opportunities, conservation sessions and health walks for all participants delivered by The Friends of Gledhow Valley Woods
  • – Physical activity, cooking and a women’s group to support individuals dealing with social isolation, poor housing and domestic violence, delivered by Give a Gift, an organisation which works with refugees and asylum seekers

Sue Wilkinson, Pathway Integration Manager at NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group and Anna Quinn-Martin at Linking Leeds, who have worked in partnership  to  support the project, said:

Thriving Communities funding is delivered in a unique partnership between the National Academy for Social Prescribing, Arts Council England, Historic England and Natural England, NHS England and Improvement, Sport England, the Money and Pensions Service, and NHS Charities Together, and is part of the Thriving Communities Programme.

Filed under: Art Doctors, Projects