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Creating connection with art and kindness

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 6th December 2022
Staff and service users in front of a what matters to you mural at a Stirling day centre.

Creating a ‘What Matters to You’ Tree at a day centre for adults with complex and profound needs in Stirling

This is an excerpt from the latest Carer Voices publication ‘Effecting Change’, evidencing culture change in compassionate care across Scotland.

The Riverbank Resource Centre is run by Stirling Council to support adults with profound and complex needs in their own community with day support opportunities.

Following an Intelligent Kindness workshop with staff at the Centre, ALLIANCE National Lead for Caring and Outreach, Tommy Whitelaw, was told about the sad loss of a large oak tree next to the centre that was significant not only to visitors at the centre but to the whole community. Working with staff and our Artist in Residence Xuechang Leng, Tommy arranged for the painting of a ‘What Matters to You’ tree, as a space for staff and service users to share their stories and what is important to them.

Following restrictions on the services the Centre could provide during Covid-19, Pamela, Team Leader at the Centre said: “We want the tree to mark the fact that we’re moving on from the last couple of years and coming back together as a team”. The mural also provides new ways of support to visitors, as Julie, a Day Service Support Partner at the centre said: “The tree gives us a way to help our service users communicate their feelings and emotions”. Staff and families shared that the mural will be important for creating that space to share and learn what matters to each other.

Tommy Whitelaw said: “We hope it encourages learning a little bit about each other, a conversation as you’re walking by, and helps another form of storytelling: finding out what matters to people that attend and work at the centre.”

Xuechang Leng, the artist of the mural, said: “The oak tree represents the staff that are working here and taking care of people here, and so I hope through this painting that people can know the contributions of the staff, and encourage people to love each other.”

Please watch our short film on the painting of the mural (link will take you away from our website), speaking to staff about what it means to them and their service users.

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Resources:

Download PDF Report (2 MB)

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