Arts for Life St Christopher’s Arts Team Health Promotion Project into Care Homes Marion Tasker

Arts Team  Community artists, Art and Music therapists  Different backgrounds, training, experience  Hospice Community 1:1, Group work

Bringing community groups together through:  Schools project – over 40 schools ( present)  Care Home Group Work and Training Project – over 30 Care Homes ( )  Community Partnerships Health Promotion Project -20 Care Homes planned ( )

1.St Christopher’s Schools project  present –changing attitudes towards death, dying and hospice work by actively engaging local school children with dying people  Aim to develop relationships between patients and students mediated by Art/Music project  Project runs over a period of four weeks  Around 40 primary & secondary schools and colleges to date  Roll-out across U.K. – commissioned from NHS Northwest – 8 hospices  Some U.K. hospices now with designated posts  International uptake – USA, Sweden, Germany, India etc.  Australian palliative care unit – won major award  First National Symposium at St Christopher’s 2010 – many examples presented of other hospice developments  Successful evaluation – new in depth evaluation project completed March 2012

2 Care home group work and education project  – running eight week arts group work programmes in care homes  Three aims: 1.Enhance patient well-being through 8 week long group projects 2.Change Care home environments and public perception by Exhibiting and performing patient artwork 3.Develop and validate role of care home staff by providing ongoing quarterly training and support sessions back at St Christopher’s Education Centre  Training and support sessions –– over 300 staff ongoing – average attendance 25  Over thirty care homes benefitted - around 350 residents

Involving your community

Using the Arts The Arts provide a ‘context’ to be together Music/Songwriting Reminiscence/Life Story Painting/Pottery Creative writing/Poetry Photography/Film

“What when I was a person?”

3. Care homes and health promotion Pilot project  Pilot project partnering 3 care homes with schools (2010) 1.Kirkdale – Sydenham High Junior 2.Windmill lodge- Richard Atkins primary 3.Hamilton lodge- Fairlawn Primary school  Same four week structure as original schools project  Grant from Arts Council England to linking care homes and local community groups (2011 – 2013)  churches, pubs, community arts groups and choirs etc.

3.Care homes and health promotion – project Aims  Challenge negative public perceptions  Project Sustainability  Encourage community responsibility towards local care homes.

3.Care homes and health promotion Current Partnerships  Peartree Care home – Dolphin Pub (Singing)  Westwood House – St Bartholemew Church (Kite making)  Barrington lodge- St Mary’s Church (Pottery)  Elmwood Care home Margery McClure Special needs (painting)  Coloma Court CH- Caloma Girls School (Portraits)

3.Care homes and health promotion Case study Peartree care home and The Dolphin pub 03/2011

Peartree Care Home and Regulars of The Dolphin pub

3.Care homes and health promotion - findings to date  Changing care homes’ view of themselves within their community  Residents lives enriched through external social contact  Public’s sense of fulfilment through participation  Participating public become aware they have a role to play in residents’ social wellbeing  Helps to dispel fears around working with those less able to communicate in familiar ways

Working in Care Homes “It’s shared, not all tied up in one. It’s shared. I’m glad you came”. Our personal stories need to be witnessed and shared for us to find personal meaning