Music in Detention
Music in Detention works to help immigration detainees cope with the ordeal of detention in Immigration Removal Centres, and improve their emotional wellbeing. It works regularly in four of the UK’s ten Centres. It also aims to raise awareness of Centres within the local communities, and builds supportive relationships between them and the detainees. The charity runs participatory music workshops aimed at building a new sense of hope to detainees, helping to relieve the psychological pressure they face every day, and make lasting improvements to their wellbeing. Around 2,000 detainees benefit each year.
In October 2016, the Foundation has awarded a grant totalling £10,000, to be split over a three-year period. This will contribute towards a new project delivering workshops in and around Morton Hall – a removal centre run by the Prison Service. Morton Hall is in Lincolnshire and has 392 rooms for adult males. The intention is to run 24 workshops in the centre each year, plus a further six in the local community.
The photograph used is of a painting by a former detainee who had participated in workshops at Haslar Immigration Removal Centre.
