One Love Community Music and Arts are a Community Interest Company, which basically means we are not for profit. We set up in 2017 as a response to recognsing that many people struggle with loneliness and social isolation due to many factors in the community.
We recognised that depression and in some cases anxiety often led to poor mental health and feelings of low self worth. Equally we saw that many people turned to depression tablets, Doctors, and in some cases self harming as a means to helping them cope with every day life. Whilst exploring ways to address these issues we decided that one of the most obvious things was the Nothing to do, nowhere to go no one to talk too scenario. So we thought, why not open a Coffee shop with a seperate Creative Art activities, that was in 2018, supported by the National Lottery Community Fund we carried on through the Pandemic reachig more and more people and learning more and more about the gaps in the system, the struggles of everyday individuals and the stresses and strains that came with lockdown, but factors around, divorce and family break ups, relationship break ups, especially in later years 40 and 50 plus. We learned how to help, how to care and how to give hugs and a smile when words failed. But more importantly we learned how effective the Creative Arts can be in tackling mental health issues, helping people to be distracted away from depression and how we can use the Arts to rengage with society, make new friends and rebuild self worth.
Moving to Bloxwich we have gone from strength to strength ever since. In Bloxwich we have not just found a new home, but equally a community rich with diverse tales and stories of life in Bloxwich since the Wars, but also about the many changes, population increases and the cultural mix that has steadily taken place over the past few years. Our aim is to capture the stories of the changing Bloxwich, but also the resilence and character that exists not just now but over many many years.
We aim to use the Creative Arts again to capture on Video these tales and digitalise them for Heritage and also preserve them to audio history in Walsall archives. We want to develop and replicate some of the skills that may get lost in time of weaving and crafts, knitting and lock or Dart making. Our Campaign will provide a legacy which will link Blocheswic first mentioned in the Doomsday book of 1086 to a modern day Bloxwich 2022 - We Are Bloxwich
