A WELLBEING project has received new funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Well-City Salisbury, which helps people with mental health needs through arts and heritage courses, has received £368,135 of funding to continue its work for another three years. 

Following its first three successful years of delivery, Well-City Salisbury will return in Spring 2025 to build on its work with Salisbury residents thanks to the funding.

(Image: Well-City Salisbury) The project partners with our Salisbury-based partner organisations; ArtCare, Wessex Archaeology, Wiltshire Creative and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, to bring together their skills and experience.

It helps people from many different backgrounds access creative sessions delivered by professional artists and practitioners. They also use additional resources developed specifically to reach a much larger online audience.

Well-City Salisbury primarily uses a social prescribing model where participants are referred to a course by their GP practice, support organisation, community group or school wellbeing team however, they also welcome self-referrals.

The project is about creating a connection to the arts, the landscape, heritage, community and each other – and provides 10-week long free creative courses for adults and young adults.

In its first three years, Well-City Salisbury delivered 29 creative courses for 191 participants. They worked with 19 local artists and 18 referral organisations, as well as 53 community events and training 54 individuals in mental health awareness.

Key aims for the second round of Well-City Salisbury include making a positive change to the mental health of participants and working with new guest delivery partners to expand the offer and reach a more diverse audience.

Leigh Chalmers, who leads the Well-City Salisbury project said, "We’re delighted that Well-City Salisbury can continue for another three years thanks to the support of the National Lottery Community Fund.

"This means we can build upon our successes from the first three years and present participants with more opportunities to engage with the project.

"We can’t wait to welcome people back and to reach out to new people who might be interested in getting involved."