The Friends recently agreed to a further grant of £2,000 for Arts Together’s Wellbeing Service in Marlborough and Pewsey.
Since 2000 Arts Together has worked with very frail, isolated older people to counteract the damaging effects of social isolation and extreme loneliness. The aim of Arts Together is to improve members’ health and wellbeing using a variety of professional art projects to provide that all-important stimulation and social interaction.
The Wellbeing Service provides the essential support that its very frail members need in order to attend and participate fully in up to 6 art projects spread over 30 session a year.
“The 24 Members … based in Marlborough and Pewsey …. are aged between 71 and 95 and live in the community with conditions which make them dependent on others for most of their daily needs. As members of these groups age, they are becoming more frail and require more support to participate than they did a year ago, so we have increased to 4 the number of volunteers supporting each group. Our aim is that no one should stop attending through lack of encouragement or practical support. … We know of no other organisation locally which provides this extra support, which means we can include people whose needs are too complex for other groups,” explained Karolyne Fudge-Malik, manager, Arts Together.
As one Arts Together member has commented: “Arts Together is about the potential of old age—not just the problems. It’s about living your life and new experiences, keeping it fresh.”
