The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the already existing issue of social exclusion faced by certain marginalized groups due to restrictive measures like quarantines, lockdowns, and stay-at-home recommendations. While these measures were essential in curbing the virus's spread, they regrettably intensified the isolation and loneliness experienced by individuals living with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Those people often find themselves isolated across various dimensions of social connection, lacking supportive relationships in areas such as intimate partnerships, family, friendships, workplace interactions, and community involvement. This harsh reality significantly hampers their recovery process and increases the risk of relapse. Persons with mental illness rarely have the chance to enjoy cultural and creative sector activities and almost never get the chance to actively participate in creative projects and, in addition, unlike average persons, they are rarely employed or enrolled in formal education programs which means that they lack access to environments and activities which can stimulate them intellectually and prevent their cognitive deterioration. The lockdown and regulations on social distance contributed to their cognitive stagnation. By implementing this project, the main objective was to improve their well-being and quality of life since they were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project team, composed by six organizations from the mental health and performing arts sectors, joined forces in order to achieve these objectives: - Advocate for their social inclusion and combat the stigma attached to mental illness by giving visibility to the collective through the cultural and art scene. - Enhance their cognitive abilities and prevent cognitive deterioration by providing intellectually stimulating environments and activities. - Foster their creativity and self-expression providing opportunities to participate in and co-create artistic endeavours, fostering their creativity and empowering them to express themselves. - Create sustainable changes that extend beyond the duration of the project by raising awareness about the challenges faced by persons with mental health issues and promoting inclusive practices. The partnership used arts to involve them in a meaningful activity that stimulated their recovery, created a sense of belonging to a community, boosted their creativity and improved multiple transversal competencies. Together they developed and implemented the StaGe of Mind program, a multidisciplinary arts program that exploited the educational and therapeutic potential of various arts disciplines to support the improvement of a set of skills and competencies among the participants in the project. The main beneficiaries and protagonists of the project were mental health service users from three European countries. They first participated in the training program delivered by performing arts professionals and social educators, and then engaged in a more creative phase in which they worked together to conceive, design and finally perform a theater play. Ninety-seven people with mental health challenges from Spain, Greece and Ireland participated in the project. The results produced within the framework of the project are the following: - A tailor-made educational-artistic training program, tested and ready to be used by professionals to train people with mental health issues. - Three original theatre plays created from scratch during the implementation of the programme and presented in the local theatres in Valladolid, Dublin and Athens. - A participants-based evaluation report presenting a qualitative analysis of the feedback from the participants engaged in the project activities. - An integral report on the developed training program, including an analysis of its adaptation to the needs of the target group, a resume of the experience of the project partners in the implementation of the program and recommendations for future replications. - A specialized article on the impact of the project. - An online platform that hosts the developed materials and a blog. The StaGe of Mind project not only upskilled vulnerable adults and provided them with access to high-quality performing arts but also gave them the opportunity to perform on mainstream art stages, breaking down barriers and creating more inclusive communities. It was a remarkable initiative that aimed to improve the well-being and quality of life for individuals with mental illness, ultimately enabling them to lead more fulfilling lives.
By implementing this project, the main objective was to improve the well-being and quality of life of individuals with mental illness who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We strived to achieve these objectives: - Advocate for social inclusion of people living with mental illness and combat the stigma attached to them by giving visibility to the collective through the cultural and art scene. - Enhance their cognitive abilities and prevent cognitive deterioration by providing intellectually stimulating environments and activities. - Foster their creativity and self-expression providing opportunities to participate in and co-create artistic endeavours, fostering their creativity and empowering them to express themselves. - Create sustainable changes that extend beyond the duration of the project by raising awareness about the challenges faced by individuals with mental illness and promoting inclusive practices. The project aim was to make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals with severe and prolonged mental illness, helping them overcome the negative consequences of the pandemic and enabling them to lead fulfilling lives within their communities.
The COVID19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on certain groups of people, exacerbating their social exclusion through measures such as lockdowns and stay-at-home recommendations. While these measures were necessary to curb the spread of the virus, they intensified the isolation experienced by individuals with mental illness. Social isolation has long plagued them even predating the pandemic, these individuals often face challenges in establishing and maintaining social connections across various domains. This lack of social support compromises their recovery and increases the risk of relapse. In addition, the absence of stimuli has contributed to cognitive stagnation and, in some cases, even further deterioration. Unlike the general population, individuals within this group are less likely to be employed or enrolled in formal education programmes, thereby lacking access to intellectually stimulating environments. In response to these challenges, six organizations from the mental health and performing arts sectors have come together to develop innovative approaches that foster social inclusion, improve cognitive abilities, and provide opportunities for cultural and creative engagement.