As part of our outreach work we have been delighted to support Sarah Hope Guppy, Arts and Health Facilitator and Orla O’ Connor a Sound Therapist, Yoga Instructor and Facilitator of Women’s Circles in their project Intergenerational Story, Songs & Sound Sessions, which explores intergenerational interactions, in particular with young mums and their babies and older people resident in care homes. The series of workshops nurture joy and connection between children aged 4 – 24 months and care home residents. The following article tells us why Sarah felt inspired to run these workshops and how the care home residents have enjoyed them thus far.
Written by Sarah Hope Guppy.
I worked for many years as a healthcare assistant – initially to support myself as a jobbing actor, and then eventually to support my family. It always struck me how nursing home residents lit up when they were around babies and children. Eventually when I became an activities coordinator – a job that was a wonderful marriage of my creative talents and my care skills – I had the idea to try to run a parent-baby group in a nursing home! I didn’t manage to do this while in that role, but I soon became a mother and became even more aware of how such a project would be beneficial to all involved. For many people, intergenerational connection is becoming less and less a part of their daily lives – especially outside of their own family unit – and older people, as well as young mothers and fathers, can feel increasingly isolated.
We have been experimenting with using stories, songs and therapeutic sound – all themed on the Seasons, both in the natural world and in life – to foster connection between parents, babies and older people. So far the results are quite magical! It is beautiful to watch a room captivated simply by the crawling, squawking or playing of an infant; to watch our older generations delight in recalling nursery rhymes, as well as precious days gone by with their own little ones; and to see everyone’s reaction to Orla’s soul-stirring chimes, buffalo drum, or singing bowls. As facilitators we are learning how to hold space for a such a diverse set of human energies, and realising that often less truly is more! The activity coordinators we liaise with are so tuned in to the needs of their residents and are an absolute joy to work with. We are very grateful to have received funding from Creative Ireland, under An Táin Arts Centre’s support and guidance, in order to be able to offer this valuable service in our Wee County.
Across May and June 2024, Orla and I worked in two nursing homes concurrently – St Oliver Plunkett’s Community Unit in Dundalk, and Aras Mhuire Nursing Facility in Drogheda. We ran four sessions in each home on Wednesday mornings. In Dundalk we had infants aged 12-24 months and their mothers, and in Drogheda babies from 6-12 months attended. Between two and six mother-baby pairs attended each week, and between twelve and eighteen nursing home residents each time. We will experiment with slightly smaller numbers of older people in the upcoming sessions. Each session was themed on a season, and we tried out different types of music, instruments, sensory objects, toys, and written word to encourage intergenerational connection.
We are currently working in Curam Care Home Dundalk, and for August we will be in Sunhill in Termonfeckin. If you would like to join us for our August sessions – for 12-24 month-olds – contact me (Sarah) on 086 387 0606.
So far it is evident from both the feedback of everyone in attendance – from mothers, to care-staff, to residents – and from what we can see and feel ourselves, that there is great value to this project. It is wonderful to see the pure delight on our older generations’ faces as they watch the babies enjoy themselves, and get to interact with them.