Creative Health refers to the use of arts, culture, and creative practices as tools to improve and maintain physical and mental health. It includes a variety of activities such as music, visual arts, dance, drama, and writing, which are integrated into healthcare and community settings to support overall wellbeing.

Benefits of Creative Health

Personal Empowerment: Creative health allows individuals to take an active role in their wellbeing, offering them tools for self-expression, healing, and personal growth.

Improved Mental Health: Engaging in creative activities can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, promoting emotional resilience and mental wellbeing.

Enhanced Physical Health: Creative practices have been linked to improved physical health outcomes, such as reduced blood pressure, better immune function, and pain management.

Social Connection: Participating in group creative activities helps foster social bonds, reducing feelings of isolation and building a sense of community.

Cognitive and Emotional Development: Creative engagement can stimulate cognitive function, enhance problem-solving skills, and support emotional expression, especially in those facing mental health challenges.

Primary Audience:
Individuals experiencing mental health challenges – of all ages, backgrounds, identities, and experiences.
These are people with lived experience of mental health difficulties who may benefit from creative expression, storytelling, connection, or simply having their voices heard.

Secondary Audience:
The wider community, including:

The general public (to raise awareness and understanding)

Mental health professionals (to build insight into lived experiences)

Artists (to foster creative collaboration)

Caregivers and family members (to build empathy and shared understanding)

Educators (to encourage open dialogue and mental health literacy)

• Aim 1: Reduce Stigma (Required): By letting people tell their stories in their own voice, we hope to show that mental health challenges are normal and not something to be ashamed of.
  
  Aim 2: Foster Community and Support: Participants will meet others who’ve had similar experiences and form supportive bonds through group sessions
  
  Aim 3: Raise Awareness: Share the real, raw experiences of individuals living with mental health conditions to increase public understanding and empathy.
  
  Aim 4: Empower Participants: Provide a platform for individuals to express their experiences creatively, which can facilitate emotional release, healing, and empowerment.
  
  Aim 5: Engage in Open Dialogue: Spark conversations around mental health to promote greater acceptance and mental health literacy in the broader community.
  
  Aim 6: Collaboration: Work with mental health professionals and artists to create safe, supportive spaces for participants to engage in creative activities.

All applications are expected to demonstrate how they meet at least two of the programmes aims – one of which must be “Reduce Stigma”.

Community groups and organisations
Grassroots groups
Artists
Creators
Schools and care homes can apply to fund activities that are outside their normal provision, and not a statutory requirement.

Applications from religious organisations for secular activities will be considered.

Applications from political organisations, or political activities will not be considered.

Applications from religious groups/ organisations for non-secular activities.

All awards are for between £500 and £2000

A minimum of 75% of any award must be used for direct delivery

A maximum of 25% can be used for core costs

All funded projects should run for no less than 6 weeks and must be completed by 15 December 2025

• All projects will be subject to a project visit during session delivery. This will replace a written progress update. This visit will be carried out by the VCSA Grants Manager who may be accompanied by representatives of Healthy Minds and Mind Bradford District and Craven.
• All projects will be asked to keep a minimum of 3 case studies that demonstrate the impact of the funded work.
• All projects will be required to keep a data sheet that registers the demographic information of their participants.
• All projects will be aske to record their outputs around the number of participants in a creative health session. 
• All projects should be able to demonstrate how the participants self-expression has evolved and whether they report feeling empowered
• All projects in receipt of an award are required to take part in a participatory evaluation showcase event during September 2025.
• All projects will be required to complete a simple written evaluation that finalises all the collected data and information.
• For the Participatory Evaluation event each award recipient will be required to develop a showcase stall demonstrating the work they have undertaken; members of the public, stakeholders and beneficiaries will be invited in to take part in the evaluation process. More details will be released closer to the date.

Two online drop-in sessions have been scheduled to support applicants around their applications.

Support session 1: Tuesday 10th June 2025. 12:30 -14:00

Support session 2: Tuesday 24th June 13:30 – 15:00