Community company creates connection from isolation through song

The group launched the “Our Song” project in June 2020 in response to the lockdown measures enforced by the coronavirus pandemic and to help reduce feelings of isolation.

The aim was to create a sense of connection and community by engaging people in a creative project to produce a brand new song.

The team at Shared Harmonies made it easy for people to join in by setting challenges on social media and through the use of email, asking people to share their thoughts and ideas around human, environmental and self-connection, allowing a broad range of people to contribute in a variety of ways.

Emma Baylin, founder of Shared Harmonies CIC, said: “We have been overwhelmed with the response. It has captured the imagination of over 300 people, sharing ideas, images, photographs, artwork and lyrics to help compose the piece; learning and singing the song and recording films to create the video.”

For Shared Harmonies regular service users, many of whom live with long term health conditions including Parkinson’s, respiratory conditions and poor mental health, the project has been a lifeline.

One participant commented: “I was feeling isolated, down and fed up…so I went and listened to Our Song and felt much happier”