Supporting the most vulnerable during the pandemic
ABLE and HANDI are our two projects as part of our immediate response to COVID-19 situation. ABLE was funded by Lankelly Chase Foundation and supported by Unlimited Potential. HANDI is funded by HM Government Treasury and The National Community Fund and supported by She Inspires Foundation.
We ran a number of art therapy and cooking sessions aimed at young people with special needs and women from BAME communities. These all took place on a Zoom Pro platform, using a specialist teacher. Our participants thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and were particularly surprised at how good they became at drawing. Some were assisted by parents / siblings but everyone took a direct part in creating a really friendly and relaxed atmosphere. It was good to see the same faces coming back time after time, and they also enjoyed being able to interact with each other virtually. The benefits to the group in building their confidence and social skills, albeit virtually, was really great to see. They were soon showing their own work to camera with great pride. The cooking sessions brought women together, cooking, learning and sharing skills. The sessions gave them a safe space to come together and chat and reduce the feeling of isolation and loneliness. The anxiety levels of women, most of them having no access to support networks were quite significant and the sessions helped them and there is a growing demand for more. Food packs and mental wellbeing packs were delivered/ posted to them and recorded sessions were shared via individual links, through WhatsApp and social media, whatever they could easily access. Ongoing chat, telephone conversations and befriending services were and are ongoing.
Even when lockdown restrictions have been removed (if they ever are entirely), the benefits of engaging with disadvantaged groups on a virtual platform are significant. Levels of participation can be matched to levels of shyness, with personal ‘exposure’ being completely controlled. It’s a perfect environment to gently ease individuals into engagement matched to their level of comfort. Travelling to and from a venue is both tiring and has its own exposure to external influences, so a virtual environment provides a controlled and safe environment to help disadvantaged groups get the maximum benefit from learning or simply socialising.
