Wellingborough homeless choir on song for October start

Homeless people, sofa-surfers and shelter-users in Wellingborough are to be invited to have their voices heard in a new music project.

Organistations Support Northamptonshire and Made With Many have collaborated on the choral project with the working title of the Wellingborough Homeless Choir.

The search for a choir director or leader to help lead the singers has been launched with the first sessions planned for October 2020.

Helen Willmott, Made With Many programme director, said: "It's about giving people who are homeless or who have been homeless access to the arts.

"Going to the theatre or a gallery is not a priority but we're giving people the chance to experience some normal life.

"It will be a shared experience that they can have that is not about being homeless and we hope that it will be fun and an enjoyable experience.

"We hope to provide a creative environment where everyone is equal, build peoples’ wellbeing, self-esteem and self-worth, change perceptions of homelessness and aise aspiration for Wellingborough."

The project will be funded for the first eight to 10 weeks with Many With Many stepping in to fund it further if successful to keep the choir meeting until March.

Participants will be drawn from across the homeless community including individuals with current or previous experience of homelessness and staff and or volunteers from charities supporting homeless individuals.

The weekly sessions starting in October and finishing in December 2020.

Ms Willmott added: "Given the current circumstances and government guidelines, we anticipate that choir sessions would need to begin online and then progress to meeting in person once this it is safe to do so. Technical support will be available to get individuals online for sessions.

"These initial sessions have been funded by Homeless Link. We hope that the choir, if popular, will become an ongoing part of our programme and are committed to finding additional funds to make this happen.

"There is already funding available for a second set of choir sessions beginning in January 2021."

Anyone wanting to be considered for the role of choir leader can click here.

Made With Many is an organisation working with communities and artists in Wellingborough and Corby to engage the residents in the arts.

Support Northamptonshire's three key aims are: To enable local people to take social action that enhances the well-being of communities and builds strong, resilient communities; To support and develop strong and resilient organisations that can adapt to and meet local community needs, and to lead on digital transformation that enables organisations to collaborate and meet outcomes for communities and vulnerable people.

Click here to find out more about Wellingborough-based Support Northamptonshire

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