Words by Smiley Team
Gig Buddies, has launched a virtual online music festival in response to the coronavirus which has inclusivity at its heart. They hope to lessen isolation through the festival as well as through providing internet connection and smartphones for people with learning disabilities and autism who currently are unable to get online.
A project created by Stay Up late, a charity supporting learning disabled and autistic people to live the life they wanted through person centred planning. Many learning disabled people were not able to Stay Up Late, socialise or attend gigs because their support workers finish at 10pm, meaning many are forced either to not attend or have to leave early.
Gig Buddies enables learning-disabled and autistic people to access mainstream music, art and culture through a buddy system in which local volunteers would support them to attend gigs. Due to venues being closed, Stay Up Late have had to rethink their strategy to ensure the wellbeing of their beneficiaries, supporters and wider communities.
Paul Richards, Director of Gig Buddies said: “We are all now experiencing what it feels like to have social isolation imposed on us by the current lockdown. Sadly, this is quite an ordinary experience for the 1.5 million people with learning disabilities who live in the UK”.
There are a variety of ways Stay Up Late is working to support learning disabled people, such as regular phone check-ins, group socials on video conferences and daily interactions with those that are on social media. But, the charity still wanted to find a way that they could continue to host the music and art events which were the foundation of the organisation.
Paul explains that ‘We came up with the idea of @Coronavirusfest. Three times a week (on Monday,Wednesday and Friday evenings) musicians and DJs stream a live set from their homes across Facebook.
The space is open to all, with or without learning disabilities and is intended to create a real sense of community amongst people who might be feeling isolated.
Paul hopes that when lockdown is over, we will have a greater awareness and empathy for those who might continue to live in isolation.
‘That of course doesn’t need to happen and we’ll be working hard to recruit even more volunteers to support our ongoing work to give everyone the opportunity to party, or live life as they choose”.
The charity have also launched an emergency appeal to ensure disabled people are able to access these online events. Around 25% of the people the charity works with do not have access to an internet connection. As many of the charity’s users have underlying health conditions, it is likely they will need to isolate for many more months.
The fund will go towards providing smartphones and internet access to those that aren't already able to get online, with the aim of reducing isolation. Donations can be made and more information can be found here.
By Ellen Jones
