Our Stories: Meet Eve

“I’ve been working at Purple Patch Arts for two-and-a-half years. We have programmes all across Yorkshire and over that time I’ve worked in nearly all of them. I’ve worked with this group for quite a while now, and I think the longer you’re with a group the better. Because you get to know people really well and they get to know you really well.  

The atmosphere at Purple Patch is so nice and encouraging and wonderful. Everything comes under the umbrella of fun and learning. We recently celebrated LGBT history month. We learned about the history, but we also looked at LGBT music icons. We had their pictures around the room, and matched them up with descriptions of them and listened to some of their music. 

I’ve always done music-related things for other work and I love sharing music with people. I really enjoy doing music in our sessions. We have iPads, so we can use GarageBand to record ourselves and listen back, and add different instruments. And people really enjoy using art apps too. 

One of the things I love about the Purple Patch groups is how supportive they are of each other. They’re always so encouraging and patient. As soon as I first saw one of the sessions, I knew I wanted to be part of it.” 

Purple Patch Arts supports learning-disabled people to thrive and to be heard. They create environments where everyone is empowered to express themselves, and to engage with, and understand, themselves, other people and the world around them. They’ve had various grants from Leeds Community Foundation, including a Leeds Digital Inclusion Fund grant to support their lifelong learning programme.