Damian replied “Greater Manchester is an amazing place filled with amazing people. People full of energy, ideas, creativity and passion. It has a thriving cultural activism which showcases the best of the communities that have chosen the area to live, work and play.
But it also has its problems. Homelessness, poverty, poor mental health, crime, disillusionment, addiction, violence and intolerance are just a few.
The question we asked ourselves is “Why can’t we harness the energy, vitality and imagination of the Greater Manchester to make a difference to Greater Manchester?”
Paul added “I’ve established a strong Manchester platform through the MancMade brand that promotes and supports Manchester creative talent. Whether they are painting, writing poetry, performing in plays or creating incredible music; these people are vibrant and ambitious and bring a whole new energy to the Manchester scene.
But they are also keen to make a difference in a region that loves to see new talent do well. A place where there’s a real underground movement of inspirational activity that is still edgy and wants to challenge the status quo. Manchester has always been political and rebellious and you can see that in the music, art and spoken word it is currently producing.
I’ve spoken to this creative community about involving them in events and workshops where they take this inspiration and energy to places where people feel isolated and struggling with mental health and everyone one of them are behind MancSpirit and eager to get involved. It’s a real movement in the making”.
So, MancSpirit is a mental health charity? Do you feel that you are qualified to take on such a big issue? When you hear news almost every day that mental health issues are increasing or suicide rates are rising, especially around this time of year. Isn’t this something you should leave to the professionals?
Damian replied “That’s exactly why we have decided to get involved, there simply isn’t enough resource out there to provide the professional support. We’ve spoken to people in the NHS and resources are so stretched that something urgently needs to be done.
I’ve been to see the facilities where people suffering dementia and Alzheimer’sare distressed because they are lacking access to activity and creativity. I was really inspired by one health care staff member that was making paper hats with patients that were otherwise violent and high risk to staff. It was seeing this simple but effective activity that got me thinking that access to creative activity would create the space for the professionals to do their job.
We are fully aware that we aren’t the professionals but we can fill the gap and help the professionals. We saw this Mancunian Spirit during the Arena bomb. People rallying round the emergency services to make their jobs easier and to take action to demonstrate to the professionals that we value them as people and value the work we do. That warmth and fellowship was applauded and commended but we haven’t harnessed it and nurtured it to encourage that Manc Spirit to grow.
Dave Viney in his poem ‘In our City’ says “But in Manchester, those Angels wear Nurses Uniforms and scrubs” and every time I hear it I well up. And MancSpirit will be doing all it can to work with the people in our emergency services to support their amazing work, their positive mental well-being and take action to continue to acknowledge them as individuals who put themselves at physological, emotional and physical risk each and every day”
You mentioned Dementia and Alzheimer’s, is this where you plan on working? Is MancSpirit looking to work with the NHS?
Damian replied “Wherever there’s a need, there are lots of places that we’ve identified where there is a similar need. As you know I’ve just spent the last 18 months working on the city streets helping beggars and rough-sleepers. I’ve been in to the hostels, hotels and B & B’s and there is a similar lack of inspirational activity.
There’s also a clear root problem of a history of trauma and poor mental health. People are eager to share their stories and experiences but don’t know how to or don’t feel worthy of offering anything of worth. I’ve had impromptu rap battles in alleyways, I’ve been sung too sat in the rain on a concrete bench in Albert Square, I’ve heard people tell me their plans to design comic books or music videos.
These guys are in the worst position possible, living on the streets in the grip of addiction but once you find a thread of inspiration they come alive again. We want to offer them that invite back to society where hopefully they’ll exchange drugs for creativity, where they can find friendship, a constructive hobby or even develop a career.”
A Career? Are you seriously thinking that someone taking spice in Piccadilly gardens will be able to turn that around and work with you to secure a job?
Paul “Why not? We’re ambitious but realistic. We know that most of the people we’ll work with will never be in a position to hold down a full time job, especially if they are suffering from a disability or illness, but they all have something worthwhile to provide. Through taking part in creative activity they are developing new skills. Communication, team-working, problem solving, etc.
But the main development we’re looking to provide is confidence, joy and a sense of belonging. We describe MancSpirit as having a ‘dysfunctional family’ feel. We might not get it right and we may have our arguments and fall outs but we’re always here to offer warmth and support. But with this we’ll also challenge negative behaviour and opinions, we’re not afraid to get involved in those discussions that look for people to be more open and tolerant. The invite back to Society has some expectations too.
But most of all in these worrying times of austerity, terrorism and constant doom and gloom we are looking to provide people with fun and enjoyment. We all know how good we feel after having a good laugh and if people want nothing more than to be spectators then that’s good enough for us. We’ll always try and get people to get more involved but we want MancSpirit to give people permission to enjoy the Arts.”
That’s an interesting way to say it. “Give permission”. Can you explain further?
Paul “Yeah, sure. It’s an issue we’ve discussed many times! Although a lot of work has been done to encourage people to attend art exhibitions and theatres there’s still a real reluctance for people on the fringes of society to attend. That’s why we want to take it out to them.
We know that there are many incredible organisations, projects and groups in Greater Manchester that are working hard to provide fantastic resources they are still struggling to get people to attend. We were recently over at the Mustard Tree and they have amazing facilities and do amazing work but people just aren’t taking up the invite to go and join in. There’s so much more that they can do if people get involved and we’re excited about exploring other ways that we can work together once we’re fully up and running.”
So is MancSpirit a fully registered charity? Can people contact you to get involved?
Damian “No and Yes. We’ve been very careful to take time to get things right from the start. We know that we’ll continually be adapting our scope and how we work but there are things that we can spend time on now that will ensure we have the best foundations to move forward.
We’ve completed all the legal side and have submitted our registration to the Charities Commission to register as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. There are lots of legal structures to choose from, but this model gives us the benefits of being a registered charity but also the freedom to trade by running events and selling services and merchandise. I had originally set out to create a Social Enterprise but following advice the CIO structure was more fitting to our aims.
We’re expecting to be fully registered by the end of January and then we’ll be looking to run some pilots to refine our programmes before making the service available across Greater Manchester. We’ve already had some fantastic feedback and there are a lot of organisations who have approached us to work with them in expanding what they already provide.
We’ve also got some amazing trustees that are well placed in Business, the Arts, Technology and Events that will be invaluable in keeping us focused and will ensure we are sustainable. We’ve also had incredible support from Manchester’s creative community and lots of artists, musicians and performers have offered us their support. It’s really humbling to see how people get what we’re doing and want to be a part of it.
MancSpirit is currently in our ‘Design’ stage and we’ll be asking people for their views and opinions on how we create the charity, the projects and the campaigns. We’re already engaging with health professionals, creatives and people who have suffered with mental health to make sure that we provide the best possible service for Greater Manchester.
MancSpirit isn’t our charity, MancSpirit is Greater Manchester’s charity. We’re conscious that our provision isn’t based solely in the centre as we are a much wider community. Being Manc doesn’t mean you were born in St Mary’s hospital, it means you have a certain swagger and get what this region is all about. We know people that have moved into the area from far and wide who have MancSpirit and we want to include Bolton, Bury, Ashton, Stockport, Salford, Rochdale, Altrincham, Wigan, Oldham and all flavours in-between.
All of these areas, and their wards, having their own identities and we respect and value that. Identity is something that is very important to us and we want to explore that through developing projects that uses nostalgia and local history to inspire people to take part. I know this seems a very grand vision but it’s all part of the same jigsaw. Many towns and communities also feel isolated and forgotten and we want to overcome this.
