Do we do enough to talk about men’s mental health and help people to feel safe expressing their emotions? There is no doubt that more can be done and Zoielogic Dance Company is doing just that. On Thursday 18 October 2018, this forwarding thinking organisation put on the most amazing series of performances and activities at Southampton’s new NST City theatre, called Headfunk.
“Through years of working with men and boys on creative projects, we’ve seen first hand the life changing positive impact that creativity, dance and expression can have on a person’s mental health and wellbeing” says Zoie Golding, Artistic Director.
As visitors arrived into the NST City building, they came upon our own team Healthwatch Southampton, questions were asked about men’s mental health. Are suicide rates going up? Is mental health stigma increasing? People shared with us their experiences of health services. There was talk about long waiting times, the changes that happen when people move from child’s mental health services to adult services at age 18, and we had conversations about what support there is for families and carers of people in mental health crisis.
The audience were given the chance to talk to some wonderful projects in the city. Solent Mind gave out information about their peer support projects, Touch Network brought news of their real life storytelling evenings (next one on and Hampshire Anxiety Clinic shared mindfulness postures. The café was filled with the uplifting and entertaining sounds of the Recovery All-Stars, a group set up by SoCo Music Project to enable people in recovery from substance misuse to express themselves through music.
And then the performances in the Studio Theatre started. The audience was treated to a range of powerful, emotional dances. 60% of the performers had never danced on stage before. A 14 year old boy showed the frustration and confusion of dyslexia alongside professional dancer Alex Evens, and got us all involved in making the letters of Headfunk with our bodies. Two men, Neil and Reuban, told the story of their mental health challenges and learning to reconnect through dance. Youth dancers showed us amazing agility and superb storytelling. The evening finished with a delightful performance by volunteers and visitors to the Roundabout Café in Mansbridge. They used movement to demonstrate that feeling like we belong somewhere is vital to a positive existence. What better way to end the night.
Zoielogic is planning to do more Headfunk performances about mental health and use this as a way to get the community talking about the issues facing our lives. You can join their mailing list, or follow them on social media.
Thank you Zoie for inviting Healthwatch to be part of this. We look forward to more collaboration with you in future.
So where can you meet the Healthwatch Southampton team next, to share your experiences of health and care services? Come along to see us at Dead Good Days on 10 November in St Denys Church, which is all about planning for a good death and dying experience.
Please book your place for the Southampton Clinical Commissioning Group’s Healthy Communities events on Tuesday 20 November 4.30-8.30pm Email: soccg.communications@nhs.net. Both will be vibrant events full of conversation. Keep updated on our events calendar.