Arty-Folks offers a lifeline to adults struggling with mental health challenges in Coventry and Warwickshire through a programme combining the visual arts, peer support and 1:1 coaching and mentoring. The groups we run offer a safe space in the company of like-minded people where they are challenged to develop their creative thinking skills.

On March 23rd we had to close for face-to-face activity and we felt truly heart-broken. Apart but Together it didn't take us long to bounce back! We decided that not being able to be in the same space isn't going to stop us doing what we love most connecting and creating with our members. So, three days after lock down started we began running our groups online and delivering monthly art packs to people's doorsteps to ensure they remained connected and reduce the risk of harm and neglect.

160miles later we delivered the first 100 art packs at the start of lockdown to people's doorsteps across Coventry and Warwickshire. These doorstep visits gave us the opportunity to check-in with them and make sure they are continuing to self-care and keep motivated. We helped with housing issues and avoided a family with disabled children becoming homeless, we alerted food banks and neighbourhood support, we supported some to go digital and how to do online shopping, with benefits that had suddenly stopped, with medication that needed to be picked up, and we contacted other agencies to support with domestic violence, to resolve debts and bank disputes, but mainly to just listen and have a good cry together - sadly not on each other's shoulders.

This is what people said: "I am always looking forward to the next project. They've all been really interesting and helped me keep focused on my creativity and my mental health rather than stressing about the virus. I love being able to carry on chatting during the week with people in the group. It is really helping me now to keep motivated. There is always somebody I can talk to and I always look forward to seeing their art work. The art projects are very stimulating and make me think. Sometimes its very challenging and hitting a raw nerve but I know that I can always talk to people in the group and that they have a good understanding of my mental health challenges."

We are now looking to raise £600 to purchase art materials to create art packs containing scissors, paper, sketch book, pencil, colour pencils, glue sticks, markers, paint and brushes for 30 art packs (£20 per pack). Since November we have been joined by more people with severe mental as well as physical ill health such as COPD, asthma, cancer, diabetes, etc. who have to continue shielding but unfortunately we have run out of art materials we can donate to them. These art packs contain sufficient art materials for around 4 months online learning and will see 30 people through the darkest winter months and will keep them movitated towards vaccination.

We are super proud of our Staff Team, our Trustees, our Volunteers, our Advisers and our Members who pulled together and got us through these incredibly difficult times. We are supersuper proud we have provided an uninterrupted service since we started our first workshop on 26th April 1996, a phenomenal track record even Covid-19 could not break! Thank you, we could never have achieved this without the support of our funders and sponsors like yourself.