One week from today an inspiring city centre event heralds a new chapter for people in Coventry – including some with disabilities, job seekers, recent arrivals, new parents, young people and older people. All united by a common feeling of isolation.
The ‘Connecting for Good Walk & Talk’ on Wednesday 8 August aims to bring together individuals who are or have been isolated from society as well as the services which tackle the effects of isolation, such as Public Health.
With backing from the Big Lottery Fund to the tune of £500,000 over the next three years, Grapevine’s ‘Connecting for Good’ movement hopes to help at least 3,000 Coventry residents connect to others on a richer and more widespread level than ever before.
The movement is based on evidence that isolation makes people more vulnerable to abuse, cruelty and loneliness. It can also be linked to ill health as has been widely reported recently.
The movement approach has already proven effective as our Deputy CEO Mel explains in this video.
Mel herself experienced isolation as a single parent to her son Rishard, who also has Down’s syndrome. Rishard’s life nearly went down a very different path to the one he enjoys now as an established actor pursuing his dream of an independent life.
The first event starts from a bench on the bridge across the city’s ring road between Greyfriars Green and Coventry train station at 12 noon.
Participants will follow a mapped out route into the city, met along the way by thought-provoking story tellers and artistic performances about experiences of isolation.
The Walk & Talk will weave its way to a local eatery and from this event and many other planned activities, a movement will grow.
Connecting for Good’s vision of a ‘culture of connectedness’ also runs parallel to the city’s own aspirations for its year as UK City of Culture in 2021. In line with these aspirations, Connecting for Good seeks to bring people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to the celebrations through their new found networks and friendships – changing lives now and sustaining those changes well beyond 2021.