Giving people a voice

How three projects are supporting local communities. 

Three projects that aim to reach out to seldom heard groups in Wiltshire were awarded a grant from Healthwatch Wiltshire's Community Cash Fund in July 2021

The projects provided a way for us to get more feedback on local services from people we might not otherwise hear from. 

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Sounds Better CIC

Sounds Better, formerly known as Music for Wellbeing, runs music sessions for adults with long term conditions, such as lung conditions and dementia, and adults with a learning disability.  

They launched a pilot project in Salisbury for families with primary school age children living with childhood asthma. 

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We're looking forward to expanding our singing for lung health work to children and families with asthma in the Salisbury area, and also enabling us to gather feedback about their experiences of health and community services so we can help improve them for the future.

Liv McLennan, Music for Wellbeing
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Wiltshire Hearing Voices Group

Wiltshire Hearing Voices Group provides a safe and non-judgemental space for people with unusual sensory experiences - such as hearing, seeing, feeling, sensing and tasting things that others do not - to share experiences and coping strategies. 

Healthwatch Wiltshire's grant was used to fund the group for a year, and for them to host focus groups to gather feedback on services. 

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Voice hearers are some of the most invisible people in society. It is therefore imperative that these individuals have a chance to voice their concerns and to increase their visibility. This will provide an opportunity for them to be heard.

Gavin Perry-Harry, Wiltshire Hearing Voices Group
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Mind Reset

Based in Malmesbury, Mind Reset helps people with anxiety, depression, stress and phobias.

They hosted a series of workshops, primarily in Malmesbury, for people who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and people who live with someone who has the condition. The aim was to provide more information and advice on the disorder and what support is available. 

The workshops also provided a “sounding board” for people to discuss their needs and how they could be met in the future. Attendees thought having a group that focused solely on bipolar disorder was a real benefit to them.

The workshops identified several key themes from attendees, including the wish to be listened to, to be able to discuss medication and its effects, to get advice on how to adapt behaviour, and to share problems they had encountered at work which related to their condition.

A peer group was set up on WhatsApp with the intention that the group would continue to support each other once the project had ended. 

It is well documented that people with bipolar struggle to be part of society. We want to give them the opportunity to have a say in what they need to ensure they have as much chance of a normal life as anyone else.

Denise Little, Mind Reset