Age Concern Tyneside South (ACTS) and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums (TWAM) started up a weekly history social group for people over 55 living in South Tyneside at South Shields Museum and Art Gallery in January 2022.
The challenge
South Tyneside suffers from some of the highest rates of social, economic and health inequalities in the country. This was evident during the Covid 19 pandemic the most deprived areas of South Tyneside were hit the hardest. This was amplified by facts such as there are more older people living in South Tyneside compared to the rest of the country. 24.6 per cent of people over 60 live in South Tyneside, compared to the national average of 22.4 per cent.
8.25 per cent of the population living in South Tyneside are more likely to suffer from bad or very bad health, compared to the national average of 5.5 per cent. These figures put stress on local authorities and healthcare providers. (figures from Ilivehere.co.uk)
The solution
South Shields Museum and Art Gallery is located in the middle of South Shields town centre. As business started to re-open after various lockdowns museum staff were aware of the benefits of inviting older people to use the museum as a meeting space and socialise again.
South Shields Museum and Art gallery partnered with ACTS to advertise a weekly facilitated local history group at the museum. We aimed to encourage the older population to use the building as a social, meeting place and take part in museum activities that can help improve their overall wellbeing.
The impact
Weekly local history sessions linked to the museum collections encouraged participants to attend talks about exhibitions, share stories and memories, learn new things, meet new people and go new places. Participants have made their own way to the building, which they may have not have visited for a long time. They have participated in conversations about South Tyneside in the past. The group have looked at themed museum handling collections such as old cinemas in the area, places of work (shipbuilding and coal mining), childhood and music memories. This has led to members reporting increased confidence and overall general wellbeing. Having a weekly group to attend that gets them out of the house and gives them something to look forward to.
How is the new approach being sustained?
The weekly museum sessions are still running. They are advertised by ACTS, who keep a register and the sessions are facilitated in partnership by museum staff and ACTS staff. At one point we had to create two different groups, as the history group was so popular and we were aware of limited numbers of around 15 people each session due to adhering to social distancing within the space at the museum. Going forward this group are continuing to meet at South Shields Museum and in the summer months they will be visiting other TWAM venues in the area.
Lessons learned
A waiting list was created at one point due to lots of interest and not enough space to facilitate the group in a small space with social distancing. ACTS staff keep a record of group members names and contact details and they phone the participants the day before to remind them when the group is meeting.
Contact
Joanne Charlton – Assistant Communities Officer, Tyne and Wear Archives & Museums
Email: [email protected]