Community Singing For The Brain: choral programme adapted and re designed to engage older people

Description

Singing for the Brain was initially set up to support people with dementia & their carers. During Covid Ballyphehane Togher CDP ran Singing for the Brain online with wide community participation. The CDP encouraged participation by providing Acorn tablets or laptops to enable people to connect together with digital training support to link in, community dev support to enhance participation as well as musical direction. Post Covid we continued Singing for the Brain in a blended fashion with both online and in-person groups , allowing older people to re-engage in community activities at their own pace. In Dec 2022 BTCDP received a grant from Cork City Council allowing us to record a CD of Ballyphehane In Bloom and to launch this during Bealtaine 2023

Aim of Initiative

Supporting older people to engage online in a fun activity that created connection, creativity and community during Covid lockdowns and cocooning.
Supporting older people to re-engage post Covid in a blended and safe fashion and energising this group with the Ballyphehane in Bloom CD Project – a physical record of the group’s progress using digital technology, creative arts and community participation.

Who is it aimed at

The initiative began as an initiative to support people with dementia and their carers but expanded to include older people, people with disability and people who were isolated as well as older people in congregated settings including nursing homes, Community Day Care and supported housing facilities.
It has enabled to engage at a level they are comfortable with either online or in person and also facilitates those who find it difficult because of transport or disability to engage in activities outside their home or setting.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Community development support through the longstanding relationship BTCDP has built with older people and their groups to encourage them in engaging and facilitating each session and follow up
2. Providing digital devices with internet access and zoom programme, training from local tutor in set up, creating email accounts and ongoing support in connectivity during weekly sessions.
3. Drawing together resources from the CDP intself and also Singing For The Brain Steering Group, HSE/Cork Kerry Community HealthCare, Cork ETB and Cork City Council

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Supporting people to overcome their fears about technology, digital devices and raising their self confidence that they would get to grips with the online world sense of not being left behind or disconnected.
2. Providing digital devices and getting everyone set up with emails, and equipment. Renewing licenses and securing grant funding for additional devices
   Ensuring that any difficulties could be addressed as technical and community development support provided throughout the sessions not just at beginning
3. Constantly updating to keep people engaged and interested in the programme, eg the CD sessions and recording . Bealtaine Festival launch to mark and celebrate community Re-engagement post covid and also community resilience.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Older people enabled to connect online in an enjoyable weekly Singing for the Brain session with support from a musical director, community development worker and IT tutor support then ability to mix and match online and in – person sessions as Covid restrictions lifted.
2. Regular activity that was enjoyable, fostered learning, social participation and interaction combatting the loneliness and isolation of lockdown. Enabled some older people who had withdrawn from groups because of disability or illness to re-engage as was possible to participate from their own homes.
3. Fostered new skills acquisition eg digital learning but also new community links as was open but also new community links as was open to members from range of different community groups. Addition of new and interesting challenges eg song writing , then recording as a CD and releasing this CD and performing in public