Talking Journeys

participatory

Talking Journeys is a pilot project in partnership with The National Poetry Library and the Salisbury Spinal Rehabilitation Centre at Salisbury District Hospital. The aim of the project is to improve the experience of a hospital stay and create meaningful activity and deliver personalised, inspiring outcomes. The initial idea for these sessions has grown from several sources, but the main ‘spark’ came from observations of the Elevate sessions with David Davies.

People are admitted to the Spinal Centre at Salisbury District Hospital to undertake rehabilitation following a Spinal Cord Injury. The initial stage of their hospital stay often requires complete bed rest and may include being restricted to a single side room. It is common for people to experience isolation, low mood and boredom as well as a range of pain and limitations caused by the unique circumstance of their injury. People are admitted from a wide geographical region, stretching from the Scilly Isles and Cornwall in the west, to Gloucester in the north and Wiltshire and Hampshire, including the Isle of Wight in the east and south of the catchment area. This can often increase the isolation and disconnect from family and friends and can be compounded by the current lack of voice activated technology that could enable them to call home independently.

David Davies is working with several participants from the Spinal Centre using poetry and images as starting points and allowing participants the personal space to discover and grow. The ‘journey’ may involve further creative processes, e.g. sketching or journalling. The project also aims to increase awareness of the National Poetry Library and its resources. Visit the National Poetry Library website to find out what they have to offer.

As the project progresses we hope that participants’ may share a little of their ‘journeys’ online on our website. To be able to do this we need material that can be shared publicly. Following a request for images to artists on our mailing list, some have kindly agreed that we may use their images as part of this project. If you would like to contribute in this way please look at our opportunities page for further details.

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