Posted on: 26 September 2024
Through the provision of our small grants programme, we encourage initiatives that support our forensic population that may be marginalised as a result of their mental health and criminal record, to enable them to be more integrated into the communities that they live in.
Pop Arts delivers transformative one-to-one music mentoring sessions with a music producer. This engaging creative music programme prioritises aims to enhance the mental health and well-being of participants, who often have limited language skills or experience high anxiety levels.
Using their grant, Pop Arts delivered two-hour long bespoke one-to-one music mentoring sessions, for six people, providing 12 hours of studio time for each participant with their music producer.
One participant said: “Music is a really important part of my recovery journey, a journey I started whilst an inpatient and where I was introduced to music production, so it’s been great to have the opportunity to develop this further and help me develop further as a rap artist.”
Participants maintained weekly blogs, enabling self-reflection on progress, successes, and feelings, which helped Pop Arts capture real-time feedback on the sessions.
One of NLFC’s Community Connectors, who has lived experience of using forensic services visited Pop Arts as part of our grants evaluation process and told us: “We should fund more projects like this, they give service users an outlet to express themselves which wouldn’t usually be affordable or accessible.”
Adam King, Pop Arts Producer and Project Lead said: “The most valuable aspect of the programme was witnessing the tangible improvement in participants’ wellness and confidence. We are excited to build on this momentum and continue evolving our services to better meet the needs of our participants.”
“The success stories from the programme revealed a broader demand for services beyond their immediate borough and prompted Pop Arts to explore opportunities for enhancing their offerings, such as forming partnerships and collaborations with larger organisations to broaden their service impact. The programme not only affirmed the value of our approach but also provided us with valuable insights for future growth and service development.”
To find out about our NLFC VCFSE grant programme or apply for a grant visit their websthe VCFSEs website.
Contact: Sarah Avery, Marketing and Communications Lead, Email sarah.avery4@nhs.net