Our next moment comes from Vintage FM, a projuect partnership with Age Friendly Manchester, All FM Whitworth Art Gallery Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester Art Gallery and Anchor Retirement Housing using community radio to work with older people on issues of social isolation. They tell us about their moment…
“VintageFM is a project that aims to address issues of social isolation and loneliness through engaging with older people in community radio and culture.
ALLfm worked directly with residents on radio broadcasting skills as well as training a group of Culture Champions (all aged over 50) to create and deliver radio content with a Cultural focus.
The Cultural partners also worked with Anchor residents across Manchester, delivering sessions in the care settings and in the Cultural venues. Visits to the Cultural venues with the ALLfm groups also took place throughout the project.
The project ran for 18 months working with approximatley 100 people and culminated in a celebration event at the Whitworth for Older Peoples Day on the 30th September.
A mobile radio HUB was also set up in the gallery with live interviews throughout the day.
The visits by Anchor residents to the Cultural venues provided an opportunity for people who had never been in a gallery space before, to new experiences. People living in the same block got to know their neighbours, building relationships and they became more confident individuals and in group activity.Some residents lived with Dementia, mental health issues, the aftermath of Brain Injury or Stroke and some were recovering verbal and physical skills after illness, and the project helped them in their recovery process.”
Feedback from service users and carers included such comments as:
“In our growing up years, we would never ever have gone to the theatre, it was for posher people. We were working class.. they were posher than us, you know directors and all them kind of people..”
“As a carer, this radio has boosted their (residents) confidence. They never thought they’d dream of doing anything like this. People are coming out of their rooms more and it makes their minds more active’.
A big thank you to All FM for sending us their moment!
Thanks for telling us about your special moment All FM!
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