A new partnership has been agreed between Herefordshire Mind, the mental health charity, and Sing out Strong, an organisation which provides opportunities for people to improve their wellbeing through singing.

For more than 40 years, Herefordshire Mind has been developing and delivering high-quality services with and for people with mental health problems. Affiliated to Mind, the leading mental health charity in England and Wales, Herefordshire Mind believes that everyone should have good mental health and that no-one should have to face a mental health problem alone.

Sing out Strong provides regular choirs, drop-in social-singing sessions, and popup choirs at events, to help the public access singing-based activities. In 2020, new Sing out Strong choirs will be launching in Hereford and the Forest of Dean, as well as across the Borders and South Wales. As well as raising awareness of mental health and singing together for fun and friendship, the choirs will come together in a June for a spectacular fundraising gala in aid of Herefordshire Mind.

Founder of Sing out Strong, Emma Rowland, is a professional Choral Conductor. “I’ve been conducting choirs for 18 years and I also have anxiety and depression. When I was diagnosed in 2018, it was my music that kept me going and helped me focus and move forward. I set up Sing out Strong so that others can enhance their wellbeing through singing. There’s so much research on how singing is good for you and I know, from personal experience, how the socialising and group exercises can make you smile - even when you think you may never smile again”.

David Harding, Support & Development Manager at Herefordshire Mind said: “We are delighted to be working with Emma and her Sing Out Strong Project. Evidence shows the benefits of music for our mental wellbeing and we know that Sing Out Strong will help to create a community to support this whilst also raising vital funds for Herefordshire Mind.”

Sing out Strong is not just for people with mental illness however; everyone is welcome to join the choirs, drop ins and popups, to practice self-care and improve their wellbeing through singing, and Herefordshire Mind invites everyone to visit their premises on Widemarsh Street in Hereford, to find out more about what they do in and for the county.

The two organisations will be working together closely over the coming months. To join one of our choirs, click here. To get in touch with Herefordshire Mind, visit herefordshire-mind.org.uk, email info@herefordshire-mind.org.uk or call 01432 271643.