PRESS RELEASE: Postcards from lockdown – highlighting children and young people.
It’s been difficult enough for the average adult to cope with the personal repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and lock down – but what has it been like for children and young adults?
There must have been high and lows, and for many it will have been difficult. Those who are younger and have access to safe outdoor space may have enjoyed playing out in summer weather but others will have spent a lot of time indoors. A report by the Childhood Trust published recently highlighted the effects to children’s mental health. They found worries about the virus, children missing their friends, school and concerns about their parents who may have lost jobs and be struggling to pay rent or buy food. Young people have had their futures thrown into uncertainly, exams cancelled, the university experience radically changed and career or job prospects uncertain.
Sea Mills 100 and Sea Mills and Coombe Dingle Together have joined forces for a project to focus on the experiences of children and young people and highlight them to others. Mary Milton of Sea Mills 100 says “We have been unable to open our museum during lockdown so we wanted to find a way of supporting our local community by using our window displays in creative way. We are inviting children and young people to send us a ‘postcard from lockdown’. We want to hear what they are doing and how they feel about what is happening right now.”
The postcards will be displayed in the Sea Mills Museum – (AKA the old phone box in Sea Mills Square) and on notice boards around Sea Mills and Coombe Dingle as well as online. Research shows that children and young people benefit from finding ways to express their individual experiences. Dr. Georgina Taylor, clinical manager of The Bridge Foundation Psychotherapy Service in Bristol says: “When children can express their thoughts and feelings to others, in words or pictures, it can help them to process their experiences and to feel that these are valued and heard by others. It can also help them to feel more connected to other people”.
All children and young people are invited to participate, regardless of where they live. The postcards will be kept together as an archive so will also become part of the record of this time.
Templates are available to download from www.seamills100.co.uk/postcard but you don’t need to use them. Just send a postcard sized piece of writing or artwork to Sea Mills 100, 28 St Edyth’s Road, Sea Mills, Bristol BS9 2ES. Alternatively, you can email it to info@seamills100.co.uk or post to twitter or Instagram tagging @seamills100 using the hashtag #LockdownPostcard
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Sea Mills 100 is a heritage project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Bristol City Council celebrating 100 years of Sea Mills www.seamills100.co.uk
Sea Mills and Coombe Dingle Together is a voluntary, resident-led group formed in 2020 to unite and represent the joint communities of Sea Mills and Coombe Dingle. www.seamillsandcoombedingle.com
Childhood Trust report https://view.publitas.com/the-childhood-trust/children-in-lockdown-the-childhood-trust-report-june-2020/page/1
The Bridge Foundation https://www.bridgefoundation.org.uk/
For more details contact Mary Milton