Spirit of 2012 has awarded £40,000 to a new programme providing music as therapy to those suffering from ill health in the northwest of England.

The positive impact of group singing on both physical and mental health – for young and old alike – is well evidenced. Singing your heart out can be joyful and uplifting, both during and after taking part.

More Music will establish two new Singing for Health projects in Morecambe, Lancashire, designed to bring people together in safe, creative and fun environments. The Chameleon Choir will bring young people together and The Seagull Cafe is for older people. Medical practitioners will refer people to the project with the aim of building their resilience, developing their social connections, and enhancing their mental wellbeing. They will also consider prescribing singing to help tackle long–term, life-limiting health conditions including respiratory illness and dementia.

“We’re excited to fund this new social prescribing programme, allowing GPs in Morecambe to refer patients to a non-medical option in order to help make them well,” says Debbie Lye, Spirit of 2012 Chief Executive. “We know that wellbeing and good health is the result of a complex range of factors including good social networks and participation in fulfilling, and fun, activities. Our More Musicprogramme will provide these, while also reducing the demand on local medical services.”

The More Music programme comprises two projects: the Chameleon Choir which will work with young people referred through the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) network and Bay Medical Group; and the Seagull Café, a new initiative for older adults referred through the Bay Medical Centre.

“We are thrilled to be awarded funding from Spirit of 2012 to develop a programme of singing that will focus on improving the mental health and wellbeing of participants,” says Kathryn MacDonald, Communities & Engagement Director, More Music. “We are looking forward to working in partnership with CAMHS and the Bay Medical Group to discover and share the benefits of music-making for the community.”

Spirit’s funding will also enable More Music to conduct research into their social prescribing model, generating learning which will inform future planning and practice for local services and the wider sector

“We look forward to the results of this research which will teach us much more about the impact and efficacy of the social prescribing model,” says Debbie Lye.

Spirit of 2012 is the London 2012 legacy charity. We invest in happiness by funding projects that enable people to be active, creative and connected.

In 2013, the National Lottery Community Fund founded Spirit of 2012 with a £47million endowment to continue and recreate the spirit of pride, positivity and social connectedness that inspired people across the UK during the London 2012 Games.

By February 2019 Spirit had awarded £29.5million in grants to 116 projects in 251 locations across the UK, which have engaged 2.8 million people and trained, deployed and supported 37,000 volunteers. See www.spiritof2012.org.uk for more.

Spirit of 2012

www.spiritof2012.org.uk

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