Christina is the Development Manager at Key Changes.
Key Changes is the leading national provider of music activities to promote positive mental health. Last year we worked with NHS Mental Health partners across Greater London, Manchester, and other major cities to reach 4,650 people with mental health challenges, through our ‘InReach’ music mentoring in psychiatric hospitals, and community programming in professional music studios.
Our services support people with depression, anxiety, bipolar, psychosis and PTSD – and this includes people with additional neurodiversity such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other learning disabilities. Reflecting wider health inequalities, over 85% of those we reach are younger adults from low-income Black, Asian or mixed ethnic backgrounds – who experience huge barriers to participation in quality music making opportunities and creative sector employment.
Key Changes programmes offer one-to-one studio collaboration with professional producers – bringing culturally relevant creative opportunities to those whose mental health and support needs are often barriers to group music activities. Our programmes are further enhanced by weekly online peer support in self-care and career development, and tailored assistance to identify and access opportunities for continued progression.
With the Baring Foundation’s funding following the pandemic, we launched new InReach and community programmes in Manchester, Birmingham, and Brighton – building valuable new partnerships with new NHS hospitals, mental health foundation trusts and social care settings. We also supported hundreds of new artists to release their music via our in house label, with professional branding, release support, and PR. We measure our impact using NHS Occupational Therapy standards and other nationally recognised frameworks, which show that our sessions result in significant improvements to participant mental wellbeing, engagement with treatment, positive self-identity, social connection, hope for the future, and valuable transferable skills.
Throughout 2020 to 2022 we engaged many young adults who were experiencing serious mental health challenges for the first time as a direct result of the pandemic. One case study, ‘Amy’ (22) was a keen young musician who had been actively involved in live performance since the age of sixteen. During the pandemic, Amy was required to self-isolate several times, and found that her mental health deteriorated rapidly. Eventually she was experiencing unmanageable anxiety and depression which resulted in her needing hospital treatment from late 2021 to early 2022. At the time of admission, Amy was unable to speak and preferred to stay in her room away from others.
She says, “I guess I was in a low space compared to normal – I felt down, unmotivated and not up for much.” Whilst in hospital, Amy’s Occupational Therapist was able to use her love of music, knowing that Amy had been writing and recording songs on her laptop whilst in hospital. She was engaged in music therapy sessions at the hospital, and subsequently referred to Key Changes for support during ward leave and post discharge.
Amy says that support to develop her music kickstarted her recovery, reflecting that “music does wonders to me, it’s unexplainable, it brings me such light, it makes me feel so good. The fact that I’m able to outlet how I feel into some songs, just takes it to another level for me.”
Working with a professional music producer at Key Changes, Amy has been able to record her first full length album, and says she is “excited and hopeful about the future, and the opportunity to write and release more music”. Any’s mentor says that her engagement has been excellent throughout her programme, with Amy quickly building the confidence to become a regular performer and volunteer at our Open Mics. He noted that Amy has become far less introspective and focused on actively connecting with others through her music. Amy agrees that she has gained wellbeing from sharing her passion with others. She says “I feel like it’s my passion and I can bring joy to other people as well.”
Key Changes is continuing to co-design ongoing new programmes with local communities – which offer progression to live performance at our regular ‘Open Mic 4 Mental Health’ events, plus accredited pathways to cultural sector volunteering and work experience with a growing network of community partners including Barbican and Hounslow Arts Centre. Amid the current rising costs of living, we have a renewed focus on supporting inclusive cultural sector employment pathways, and in the last 12 months have supported nearly 80 individuals to access music industry work experience, with 29 progressing into further creative sector education, training, or employment to date.
Key Changes was awarded one of 25 grants in our 2021 Creatively Minded and Ethnically Diverse funding round which aims to increase representation of ethnically diverse artists in arts and mental health work.
