Project title
Description of initiative
The Atkinson in Southport hosts Creative Alternatives, Sefton’s Arts on Prescription programme which was established in 2006. The Atkinson is a local authority (Sefton) funded art centre housing a theatre, art gallery and museum.
Creative Alternatives is an arts on prescription service that offers residents of St Helens the opportunity to access to a free programme that is centred around creative activities, wellbeing and self-care. They have been delivering their service in St Helens for a long period of time and during the Covid 19 pandemic they created an online version of their local programme so they supported and helped people who were experiencing poor mental health during a very difficult time. During 2021/22 they are offering participants the choice of face-to-face OR online groups, meaning they can choose depending on preference, availability &/or personal circumstances.
Their online service combines a mix of weekly art-activity videos, live expressive writing group sessions, mindfulness podcasts, interactive forums along with self-care information and sign-posting relating to both the Covid-19 crisis and general mental wellbeing & resilience. All their art activities have been designed so they can be done in the safety of the home environment using innovative art materials that can also be found in the home. Their weekly live video sessions then provide an opportunity for participants to still connect and interact with other people on the programme as well as the Artists who lead the sessions.
Further information on the initiative
Themes: Culture and...
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Cultural field
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Results, benefits, impact and lessons learnt
Creative Alternatives believes changing the hearts and minds of healthcare professionals is a long process requiring tenacity and the secure funding required to take risks and to develop evidence. Creative Alternatives has earned the respect of the medical profession only by being hard-headed with its evidence and has worked consistently to dispel the common misconception among policy makers and scientists that the arts are an indulgent luxury with no serious role to play within healthcare.
A Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis commissioned by Sefton Public Health team demonstrated that every £1 of Creative Alternatives expenditure resulted in £6.95 worth of benefits to clients or savings to other services.