Raising Health, the registered charity for the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT), has successfully secured funding to continue running an arts café at the Bradgate Mental Health Unit, allowing patients to engage in art therapy as part of their treatment and recovery.
The sessions aim to help participants develop new skills, build self-esteem and confidence, improve communication and learn to collaborate with others in the community.
Patients who have attended the arts café have shared how grateful they are for the opportunity to take part in these sessions, describing them as vital for their mental health.
A previous inpatient at the Bradgate Unit said: “I was in a sorry state when I first went to the arts café, I never imagined that it would be so instrumental in supporting my recovery, firstly as an inpatient then as an outpatient and that it would become such an important part of my life.”
Donations to continue these much-needed sessions have been made by the following local funders:
- The Florence Turner Trust
- The Himmat Tanna Trust
- J R Corah Foundation
Qualified mental health nurse and Arts in Mental Health coordinator Tim Sayers works for LPT and leads the art therapy sessions. He said: “We are extremely grateful for this funding that will enable us to continue to provide our arts café group at the Bradgate Unit.
“These sessions have such a profound impact on our patients and provide a space where patients can go and socialise away from ward environments.
“The group gives people a place where they feel safe and that they belong, and which gives them hope of recovery in the future.”