Salford Dementia Choir Celebrates Thank You Day
Last week, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH)’s GM dementia support group teamed up with national not-for-profit, intergenerational Music Making (IMM) to celebrate Thank You Day.
IMM delivers programmes, training, campaigning and research to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of the old and the young in communities across the UK through the power of music.
The Open Doors support group, run by GMMH’s Memory and Dementia service, leads on a range of initiatives to support people living with dementia and their carers across Greater Manchester.
The UK’s third annual Thank You Day, took place on Sunday 2nd July which in the last two years has brought over 15 million people together to strengthen bonds and create kinder communities. This year, Music for Dementia (the cross-sector campaign to make music an integral part of dementia care) called for the day to celebrate the hundreds of thousands of people in Britain who change their own lives to care for someone else, particularly those living with dementia.
The ' IMM/Open Doors Dementia Choir ’ formed to bring people living with dementia together with their carers to celebrate Thank You Day. The initiative began on the 18th April. Fortnightly rehearsal sessions have taken place during the Open Doors support group’s ‘Dementia Café’ based at Elmwood Church, Salford; where activities have included movement warmups, cool downs & mindfulness.
The celebration event took place at Elmwood Church, where a choir of 25, made up of GMMH service users living with dementia and their carers, performed songs they’ve been learning during the project.
Chris Durkin, IMM’s Northwest Community Development Manager said:
“We are delighted to be working with Music for Dementia and Open Doors to spread the joy of music and celebrate Thank You Day. The project has been a huge hit with everyone who has taken part. We absolutely loved coming together to perform together for a final time to celebrate Thank You Day and thank those selfless individuals who have changed their own life to care for someone living with Dementia. It was so heart-warming and emotional to see people singing out load and observe how their confidence had grown.”
Cath Riley, Manager at Reach Beyond, Open Doors and the Older Peoples Befriending Service at GMMH said:
“The benefits of music to support the mental health of people living with dementia is well documented; and it can be a fantastic way for our service users to come together, alongside their family members and carers, and experience something joyful.
“We have so enjoyed our dementia choir sessions over the past couple of months, the group has really grown in confidence since the beginning of the project and have been speaking more and singing out loud. It’s been an absolute joy to have IMM here, and we really enjoyed performing our songs for Thank You Day. We’re always so in awe of the amazing carers in our communities who do so much for their loved ones, and this is such a lovely and apt way to celebrate them.”
Music and dementia the facts: (M4D)
- IMM has delivered over 800 projects for people across the UK with many of those
living with dementia
- Music therapy has been shown to be the best type of therapy for reducing the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia
- Singing in residential care homes can halve anxiety
- The ability to process engage with and respond to music remains intact however severe the dementia
