Bringing music to Sunderland families' doorsteps

We Make Culture CIC and More Than Grandparents charity have started a Front Street Songs project, visiting kinship care families – a term used to describe children who are being raised by adults or family members other than their parents – across Sunderland.

The groups have teamed up with musicians Ashleigh Lowes and Paige Temperley for the project, which aims to brighten up the summer holidays.

They’re performing in families’ front streets, yards and gardens, taking special musical goody bags to children and delivering treats for carers.

The project will continue over the next few weeks, visiting children and young people all over the city.

Kinship care is when a child lives full-time or most of the time with a relative or friend who isn’t their parent, usually because their parents aren’t able to care for them. That relative or friend is called a ‘kinship carer’, and it’s estimated that around half of kinship carers are

grandparents.

The project is supported by supported using public funding by the National Lottery, through Arts Council England, and by Sunderland Music Hub.

Laura Brewis, project manager of We Make Culture, says “Before lockdown, We Make Culture were talking to More than Grandparents about how we could work together on a music project, so we’re thrilled to be making it happen even with COVID restrictions still in place.

“Visiting families in their front streets makes a really special moment for children, gives carers half an hour of peace and uses the power of music to bring communities together.”

“We’re so pleased that so many families have signed up for a musical visit, which means we will be visiting almost 60 children and young people, aged from 1-17, across the three weeks. We hope these visits are just the start of us working longer-term with kinship care families.”

Melanie Nichols, director of More Than Grandparents, says: “The Front Street Songs project is more important than ever for kinship families, who have faced many extra challenges through the COVID-19 crisis and have been stretched emotionally and financially.

"Throughout the lockdown, More than Grandparents has supported families with emergency food parcels and 1-2-1 support, so it’s wonderful to see the families we work with having a moment to enjoy themselves”.

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