Dementia friendly singing group returns to shine a light through power of music
People with dementia and their carers are invited to attend a dementia friendly singing group starting this January in the Black Country.
The Shine a Light dementia singing group set up by Black Country Brighter Lives, the registered charity of Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, is free to attend and open to anybody with dementia who lives in Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton or Dudley.
Sessions will take place from Monday, 13 January to Monday, 24 March, 11am-1pm at YMCA Western Gateway, 38 Carters Green, West Bromwich B70 9LG, and will include a final performance.
The aim of the choir is to reduce social isolation, build community and give people with dementia a voice and sense of belonging.
The group will be supported by clinicians and health professionals from the trust, and led by singing teacher and community choir leader, Sarah Jones.
Sarah, who has over 25 years of experience in delivering community choirs across Birmingham and the Black Country, said: “There is nothing better than uniting together in the communion of music, and in my case its singing. Over the many years of leading community choirs, members have shared with me the physical and psychological benefits they have experienced, especially during difficult times.
"It is a basic human function, and without doubt, the breathing, posture and vocalising exercises required for our singing, along with the fellowship, can only bring a sense of wellbeing.
“I hope that at the end of our Shine a Light experience, participants will feel uplifted and refreshed, and the power of music and its connection with our past or community will calm the struggles which dementia can bring.”
Thanks to kind donations from staff and members of the public, the singing group was established in 2023 and its return has been made possible by the support of a generous donation from West Bromwich Building Society through the Mercian Community Trust.
Dr Michael Ridley Dash, a principal clinical psychologist at the Trust, has been instrumental in setting up the choir. He said: “It was wonderful the see the Shine a Light singing group develop during 2023, and the friendships and sense of community it created. We are so pleased that we can bring this opportunity to even more people in 2025.
“Our choir leader Sarah Jones, guides everyone with compassion, kindness and fun. I encourage anyone with dementia to join us as you will receive a warm and supportive welcome.”
Other projects supported by the Black Country Brighter Lives charity include funding therapeutic gardening and art activities for people receiving mental health support and funding gifts for people spending Christmas in the trust’s hospitals.
The trust hopes to encourage more people from the local community to fundraise and volunteer for the charity, which aims to support people across the Black Country to have brighter lives.
For more information about the Shine a Light singing group and how to reserve your free place contact: bchft.communications@nhs.net.
