Projects

Hive Cancer Support (formerly The Pink Ladies Breast Cancer Support Group) and their researcher will develop an interview schedule and interview cancer survivors about their experience of cancer surgery. They will then commission an artist to take the themes identified by the interviews and turn this into a city centre mural in Derry using non-toxic paint. They will form a steering group, including Pink Ladies members, to shape each step of the project.

By applying a LIFEMAPS mental wellbeing framework, this project supports young people to embed daily habits that support positive mental wellbeing including altruistic behaviours.
Working with a researcher, the project trains a group of young peer researchers to gather feedback from other young people and showcase examples of developing positive mental wellbeing. The project is responding to issues that young people in their community may face including challenges around race, disability, and sexuality.

Based on the Isle of Gigha, the 'Our Gigha and Me' project which finished at the end of 2022, looked at whether specific and community led interventions could help facilitate the wellbeing of children and families by encouraging more participatory engagement with nature, with the known benefits this can bring. The partnership with the researcher was extremely positive; particularly in identifying appropriate methodology to encourage community participation and empowering the project members to be confident in their ideas and decision making. Activities are based around the story of 'The Gigha Furboch'. The children and families hunt for the Furbochs using map references – when they find them and their little shepherds' hut they can take part in a range of nature based and wellbeing activities inside. There is a separate den for families to use as an outdoor meeting space, sheltering in a wooded area on the Island.

This project is centred around young people taking an active role in their community by using discarded plastic to create new objects that will help serve the community, such as sunglasses or kitchen utensils. Participants are working with Manchester Metropolitan University to develop a participatory approach for the activities, and build their understanding of the latest research and activities that are relevant to the project. By facilitating conversations between the young people and the wider community, the project is creating opportunities for reflection on mental wellbeing whilst encouraging creativity and sustainability.

The development of a horticultural programme is focusing on wellbeing to help reduce the social isolation of older people in Oldham. Participants are working with researchers to co-design the project to incorporate and focus on their needs whilst in a horticultural setting. The project is also running indoor sessions that incorporate ceramics, nature, food, and pot glazing to ensure the project can run throughout the year. There is also a focus on long-term legacy, as any horticultural programmes will be sustainable, and the learnings will be shared with the wider community.

By working with the African community in Hull, this project is encouraging people to produce healthy recipes that are closer to their heritage – resulting not only in healthier bodies, but improved mental wellbeing too. They will work with a researcher who will provide workshops to help them think about and decide on appropriate means for capturing cultural knowledge about foods and recipes that are important to participants. The project is combining story-sharing and collaboration with horticultural training for migrant communities in Hull to highlight the importance of locally grown produce.

As Hull's first and only gay and inclusive rugby club, the Hull Roundheads RUFC are exploring the barriers and stigma that exists in sport to LGBTIQ+ participation, by working with a researcher to help document stories and translating these into a live performance. The club are combining conversations with existing members alongside engagement from the wider LGBTIQ+ community to help design impactful approaches to story sharing and improved mental wellbeing.

Through interactive events and intimate conversations, Groundwork Yorkshire are facilitating the co-production of a project to support mental wellbeing among local women, in partnership with a researcher who has expertise in creative writing. These conversations are held alongside an exploration of creative writing, with the aim of participants developing speeches, stories, comedy sets or dramas to be published.

The HU4 Community Network Group have opened a café and community space to provide a hub for their Chatter Box Club, where all local residents can gather to support each other and share their stories. They are working with a researcher to help them identify gaps in support, and how to bridge them. The HU4 Community group are running a personal and approachable project to help combat issues such as social isolation and lack of accessible resources.

Butterflies Memory Support Loss Group, in partnership with the University of Hull, are exploring how behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia can affect the wellbeing of both people with dementia as well as their supporters. Butterflies are facilitating conversations amongst families, supporting the co-creation of resources, reducing stigma, and creating lasting links with researchers.

The Lyth Arts Centre in Caithness is facilitating this project using film and photography to empower young people to document their interactions with the coastline, and its positive effect on mental wellbeing. They are being joined by researchers with expertise in exploring surf therapy, the outdoors, and mental health and arts and wellbeing in rural communities, who are providing support with co-design and practice based action research. By developing a sense of community, belonging and identity, the participants are encouraged to demonstrate confidence and self-expression.