projects
Active Projects
2024 is lined up to be an exciting year for Bridge Creative. We've already launched new projects including our Volunteer Project and Employment Workshops expanding across County Durham. Not to mention our Creative Placements project offering real work experience, and our Keeping People Connected service providing free, ongoing support to adults across the County.
Delivered Projects
Over the years, we have successfully launched projects that have made a great impact on young adults across County Durham. The E&O Project was a great success supporting 5 people to start their own social enterprises as a result.
Training
Some of our ongoing training programmes are delivered in our centre, The COSE to other services. We are currently delivering training programmes for a variety of purposes, from Be Cancer Aware to Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training.
Creative Placements
Our Creative Placements project supports young adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults in creative employment opportunities.
Creative Placements offer a pre-employment work experience placement, supporting people to run and work in our event management and design social enterprise, designing and building art installations and large-scale decoration projects for promotional events, festivals and corporate events.
Creatives will have the opportunity to:
- Work at music festivals and other large-scale events, such as Glastonbury and BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend
- Organise events of our own and on behalf of other organisations
- Gain real work experience in a fully-functioning business, in a safe and supported work environment.
- Learn new skills, build confidence and reach your potential.
- Complete a Supported Internship or Traineeship.
In the past our Creative Placements project has been generously funded by the European Social Fund, County Durham Community Foundation, and The National Lottery Awards For All.
You can be referred into Creative Placements by your social worker if you have a social care package that includes day services. We also offer shorter Placements for people who are looking to move into work quicker. Contact hello@bridgecreative.org for more info.
Creative Placement projects
Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival
The team worked really hard at building an events installation that took on the form of giant letters spelling LOVE. These letters were created and brought all the way up to Inverness in Scotland where they stood proud at the annual Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival. The sign was made from upcycled wood and over 1000 tennis balls which illuminate the "LOVE" letters when lit up.
Street Cosmos: Big Bang Family Fiesta
The Creative Placement Team also built a giant spaceship for one of BACANNALIA's events that took place at The TCR Hub in Barnard Castle. This was one of the biggest installations that the team had managed to build and in the shortest time too! And all designed from scratch by our Creative Lead Support Mentor- Anna Harding.
Carboniferous Monsters
The Creative Placement Project for the Bishop Auckland Family Festival in August 2024 saw the team crafting incredible sculptures resembling mini-creatures from prehistoric times. They also designed interactive features that enabled families and children experience the unearthing of ancient fossils and being up close to these magnificent beasts.
Keeping People Connected
Our Keeping People Connected service offers free, regular, ongoing support for adults with a learning disability and/or autistic adults across County Durham. The service was set up in April 2020 in response to the evidence suggesting that people with learning disabilities would be significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The project supports people by phone, email, text and social media including daily group video calls allowing people to connect with friends safely online. There is a closed Keeping Connected Facebook group people can join too.
In County Durham, we support over 230 clients through our KPC service. The project has been life-saving for many of the people we have supported, highlighting issues that were already impacting people before the Covid-19 crisis including severe mental health issues, loneliness, isolation and social exclusion.
The service is commissioned through the Integrated Care Board.