This Social Prescribing Day (19 March), a West Wales mum of two living with debilitating pain has shared how a crisis call to her local council led to her reigniting a passion for writing that transformed her life.

When Shirley reached out to the crisis team at her local council and asked to be placed in permanent residential care, she had lost hope for her future. 

Ill health had left her unable to do many of the things she once loved, taking its toll on her mental as well as physical health. 

“I was always a physical person – I was a first Dan in karate – so to go from that to barely being able to move knocked me for six,” she said. “I was in a dark place. As far as I was concerned, I needed to be in a home where I was not a burden to my family. I just couldn’t see another way.”

In the weeks following Shirley’s communication with the council, a social prescriber linked to her GP surgery contacted her. On discovering Shirley’s passion for writing, she told her about a creative writing course run by People Speak Up’s Creative Home Delivery Service in Carmarthenshire.

The creative home delivery service is an arts and health service designed and delivered by People Speak Up in partnership with Carmarthenshire Council, Hywel Dda University Health Board and Connecting Carmarthenshire. It takes referrals from partners at Connecting Carmarthenshire and matches them with a People Speak Up facilitator and one of 13 local artists.

During the past three years, the Arts Council of Wales-funded programme has supported nearly 200 people like Shirley, who spend most of their days at home due to physical or mental health reasons, to gain confidence and re-connect with their community by offering them access to a range of arts activities – from singing and movement to ceramics and creative writing.

“I had written a factual book before and dreamed of writing a fantasy novel too, so I decided to give it a try,” Shirley said.

For eight weeks, every week, a writer and a People Speak Up facilitator visited Shirley at home to help her make that dream a reality. 

“I shared my idea, and they helped me build characters, build the landscape for the story, and in the process of doing that they also slowly helped me rebuild myself,” she said.

Now a third of the way into her novel with ideas for its serialisation, Shirley no longer feels she needs to be in residential care and has accessed several home adaptations that have helped her regain some of her lost independence. Her mental health, she says, has improved “tenfold”.

“People Speak Up have given me back my life,” she said. “I still have bad days, but generally life feels better. I feel human again.”

There is mounting evidence of the positive impact the arts and creativity can have on our physical and mental health and wellbeing. Engagement in creative activities, for example, has been shown to improve mental health and reduce loneliness. Targeted creative projects can also help reduce health inequalities by benefitting communities affected by hardship, marginalisation or deprivation.

Carys Phillips, project coordinator for People Speak Up, said Shirley’s story is one of many demonstrating just how important the arts are for wellbeing.

“The arts provide a space to express, communicate and create change,” she said. “The need for this continues to grow, which shows this work needs to be provided to ensure that as many people as possible can have this experience to create positive change.”

Jill Paterson, Director of Primary Care, Community and Long Term Care at Hywel Dda UHB, added: “Shirley’s story is a powerful testament to how creative prescribing and engaging with the arts can significantly improve a person’s health and wellbeing.

“At Hywel Dda, we are working hard to find new ways to better connect people with arts and health activities in their local community, with the aim to help people live well for longer in their own homes and communities. We are working with a wide range of arts partners, like People Speak Up, and GP practices to help make this happen.

“The benefits are clear: improved health outcomes, stronger community connections, and an asset for GP services to use to improve the health and wellbeing of their patients.”