Elliot's Story
Mind Your music started in 2003. After 7 years in psychiatric wards, Elliot was offered 24 hour care everyday for the rest of his life. He was sometimes taking 27 pills a day and was riddled with Schizophrenia. Almost all hope had been abandoned. Sat in his flat, he felt the panic rise and started to cry, he then picked up his guitar and played for a few minutes. It occurred to him that while he'd been focusing on playing he'd forgot how bad he was feeling. He put the guitar down and all the feelings of anxiety and terror came flooding back, he picked it up again and once again he felt better. 'Maybe that's it, maybe I've found the answer' He put the guitar down once last time and hasn't ever really put it down since. What happened next has been described as a miracle recovery. Elliot busied himself writing over 2,000 songs, he played so much his hands hurt and he could barely carry a shopping bag. He lived and breathed music. The effect on his health was remarkable. He lost 7 stone in a year as his body reverted to it's previous athletic shape, he was able to come off all medication and left all medical care, managing his illness entirely through making music. It was a miracle recovery. Music made life in Elliot where there was none.
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Feeling a great debt to music, the magical force that saved him, he set up Mind Your Music to see if music could help others in the way it helped him. Over the next twenty years, the small team running Mind Your Music would transform it into an award-winning organization and see the real tangible difference music could make to peoples mental health.
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We don't do music therapy - music is the therapy. We offer a chance for people struggling with mental illness to step away from the role of the mental health patient and be actively involved in making music in a safe supportive environment. Why does it work? Because it always has. Music is our oldest communication tool and has been bringing communities together since human beings have been on earth. Engaging in the practice of making music, is an ancient rite. Music is a magical force that has the power to heal when all other things fail.
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Our workshops leaders are two of the music experienced in the country. Having run thousands of workshops in a variety of challenging environments including homeless shelters, drug and alcohol rehabs, nursing homes, secure hospitals, schools and festivals. They've brought the joy of music to people aged from 5-95. They see themselves simply as messengers - bringing music to where it is needed most.
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Everyone knows these are challenging times. There is less money around now. We've proved ourselves to be financially resilient for over 20 years but now if we are going to continue we need your help. If Mind Your Music had to close its doors the impact on some of the vulnerable people we support would be devastating. We spoken to group members about the situation we are in and they've made it very clear how important the group is to them and how much they want it to continue in whatever form, they are even prepared to contribute towards the cost of the sessions themselves despite many of them having very little money. It's a measure of how important the group is to them.
Our current situation is this - we run out of funds in May of this year and whatever we can raise from this campaign and our other fundraising activities will dictate how much work we can do for the rest of the year and into 2027. To run a monthly workshop for the rest of 2026 in Bristol, which would mean we would be doing a quarter of the work we do now would take around £5000. If we could raise £10,000 we could run fortnightly workshops which would be preferable. If we could raise £20,000 we could run almost at the same rate. We also plan to use some of this money to continue our work in Frome too.
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Our project leaders already run 'A taste of Spain' in which they work completely for free. At the taste of Spain events, Elliot Hall and Sarah Larkham open up there home to serve 15-20 dishes in an evening celebrating Spanish food and culture. These events alone raise in excess of £5000 a year but take a lot of effort. In June last year Elliot and Sarah gave over 100 hours of their time, totally unpaid, to fundraising events, It's a measure of their commitment to the cause but there's only so much they can do.
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At Mind Your Music, we've been immensely touched by your support both in time and money in the past. To everyone that has donated, we have this simple message - We were supposed to close our doors over 2 years ago when we lost our core funding. Nobody thought we could survive. Yet despite that, we are currently working and helping more people than ever. The main reason we've been able to do this is you. Your donations have been the difference between us continuing and closing. We would like you know that your kindness and money has made a real tangible difference in people's lives. We are asking you to help us continue our life changing work-whatever you can give makes a difference. Please donate today and help us continue to use music to change lives.
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'If music be the food of love, play on!' William Shakespeare
