SoundLincs Awarded Funding

SoundLincs is delighted to have been awarded funding from Arts Council England and the Peter Sowerby Foundation to deliver a new iteration of our Social Prescription Service.

Our work with Lincolnshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust has highlighted significant gaps in non-clinical creative provision, particularly in early intervention and post-discharge support. The scale of need is considerable: an estimated 14% of Lincolnshire’s population is living with a mental health condition, yet many people lack access to creative, preventative, or strengths-based services (Mental Health Services, 2023). This results in individuals cycling between periods of crisis and prolonged isolation, unable to access opportunities for meaningful engagement or recovery. These service delays are starkly evidenced by four in five adults with severe mental illness reporting that their health deteriorated while waiting for treatment, resulting in a mental health crisis for 64% of them. (Rethink, 2024).

In response, SoundLincs has developed a tiered social prescription model offering music-based interventions across acute settings, community provision, and pathways into employment. Informed by evaluation of our existing programmes and aligned with the NHS Long-Term Plan and the Lincolnshire Joint Wellbeing Strategy, the service provides structured, personalised, community-based support. By embedding this pathway within the local health system, we aim to reduce pressure on NHS and social care services, tackle social isolation, strengthen community resilience, and break the cycle between mental ill-health and unemployment.

The programme will be delivered through 3 integrated phases:

Phase 1 - Delivered in acute and rehabilitation wards and social care settings, this phase supports individuals experiencing mental health crisis, people living with dementia, and neurodivergent individuals. Accessible music activities will promote grounding, emotional regulation, and early engagement before formal referral.

Phase 2 - Participants progressing from Phase 1, alongside those referred directly through social prescribing, will receive structured community-based support. This includes one-to-one sessions for individuals facing barriers such as anxiety, low confidence, or communication difficulties, followed by transition into regular community music groups. These groups will provide low-pressure opportunities for social connection, creative expression, and confidence building.

Phase 3 - This phase addresses the economic determinants of poor health through vocational routes into education, volunteering and employment. Participants will access SoundLincs courses delivered in regional education settings, building transferable skills and accessing clear progression into further education, employment or paid facilitation roles.

What do we aim to achieve?

Our Social Prescription Service is designed to benefit individuals facing a wide range of social and economic barriers that prevent them from accessing traditional mental health services or community activities. These include people experiencing geographic isolation in Lincolnshire’s rural areas, individuals from low-income households, and those with complex physical or mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, dementia, autism, and long-term illnesses. Many participants are also affected by unemployment, caring responsibilities, lack of local support networks, and limited mobility, all of which contribute to social isolation and poor mental wellbeing.

The project aims to improve the mental health and overall wellbeing of participants by providing creative, music-based activities that build confidence, reduce anxiety, foster resilience, and develop practical coping strategies. By increasing social interaction through group sessions, performance opportunities, and community events, our participants will strengthen their social networks, reduce isolation, and build lasting connections. The programme will also support access to wider health and social services through its referral pathways, enabling participants to engage with additional support as needed.