Project Adapting to Support Vulnerable Men in Lockdown

Cloth Cat harnesses the power of music to create community, build potential and transform people’s mental health and well-being. With support from Leeds Community Foundation, they were able to provide their ‘Man About Town’ project, a multimedia project aiming to reducing social isolation, initiating friendships and reigniting a spark for music and digital arts.

 

• Can you describe your organisation and the people/communities you support?

We work with people from communities citywide who are struggling and may not have the opportunities to get involved in activities through the usual routes. People who access Cloth Cat may have mental health issues or physical disabilities, may be isolated or lonely, or have other challenges due to social, cultural or financial issues. Accessing our music-based activities helps to improve their mental health and well-being and provides a connection to people and their communities.

 

• How have you been supported by Leeds Community Foundation and what has this funding enabled you to do?

We have had numerous grants through Leeds Community Foundation and the other funds that they administer, over the years and they have been a strong supporter of the work we do.

Most recently, we were awarded some resilience funding which was instrumental in getting us through some of the darkest times of the Covid pandemic.

Currently, we are running our Man About Town project thanks to an initial Leeds Men’s Suicide Prevention grant back in 2019. We were able to support 50 men during the year through a range of activities to reduce the isolation that they were feeling.

We adapted and were able to run a number of other activities which have been engaging and safe, including a vinyl picnic where people brought their records to the park and were played over lunch on our battery-operated turntables. Other socially distanced activities include walks in the countryside, a photography and film club and now the emergence of a ukulele orchestra!

 

• Can you give us an example of an individual and or group and how they have responded to this work?

This was written by a group participant who at our first meeting explained how he was in regular contact with the crisis team and felt desperate most days.

“Music can be a big help for people who are suffering with their mental health; I still suffer badly at times, but I find by helping others, I am helping myself as it gives me a clear focus. It is so important to confront your illness and I find that teaching gives me structure and is aiding my own recovery.”

 

• What challenges and opportunities do you face as an organisation in the current climate?

As lockdown came in, there was no question that we weren’t going to try and continue to run our services, and although our staff all moved to working from home. We believed it was more important than ever to support those we work with. Need was higher than ever amongst the communities we work with whilst we were aware that other services in the area were slowing down or stopping entirely.

This manifested itself in an increase in the workload for everyone at Cloth Cat as we reacted to the situation and adapted, to change the way we delivered our projects.

 

• How is your organisation preparing for the future, and what kind of funding is needed?

Our adult music courses, along with some of our other educational sessions and partnership work, will stay online until September although we are looking at running some of our other projects face to face where it is safe to do so. Many of our income streams have been put on hold over the past year, but we have been lucky that we have been able to access some pots of money to ensure that we’re at least still able to operate.

Our projects are thankfully funded and can continue, but our core costs have largely been reliant on the money we’ve earned from contracts, fundraising events and sales, and the level of reserves is always something of concern until we can return to a sense of ‘normality’, and further core funding will still be required.