Parenting in a Pandemic: Using Community Arts to Reduce Social Isolation and Explore the Experiences and Policy Needs of Marginalised Families

在过去的两年里，布里斯托尔大学和惠尔斯普林定居点一直在合作开展一项关于单亲行动网络(SPAN)历史的参与性研究项目。新冠肺炎的流行意味着我们必须迅速将我们的参与式方法论应用到网上。这个项目建立在我们所获得的关于如何最好地使社区艺术和研究适应一个与社会隔绝的世界的知识的基础上，并将把我们的参与性方法带给志愿和社区部门更广泛的受众。它还建立在我们对SPAN历史的研究中的一个关键发现之上：这是一个将种族、性别、阶级和贫困的生活体验置于其行动主义核心的组织。作为一个草根的、用户主导的组织，它能够为政策辩论做出独特的贡献。这种体验的前景化现在具有新的重要性，因为新冠肺炎拥有不成比例的弱势少数民族群体、低收入者、单亲家庭和其他群体。然而，在关于这一流行病及其影响的公开辩论中，很少听到这些团体的声音。我们将利用我们对SPAN历史的见解，将来自布里斯托尔各地的父母聚集在一起，他们属于因新冠肺炎疫情而受到特别不利和边缘化的群体：单亲父母、少数民族家庭、残疾人和/或社会经济不利地区的父母。他们将参与一个参与性的艺术项目，该项目将通过创新的远程方式提供：在线会议、社交媒体和电话签到。该方案将使参与者有机会探索他们对大流行的经验，并阐明他们对后寒流未来的愿景，在这个未来中，他们的家庭可以茁壮成长。该方案旨在建立联系，在社会持续疏远和破坏的情况下减少社会孤立，并增加参与者的福祉和信心。它还将产生关于弱势家庭的经验和需求的宝贵知识基础，我们将通过多种方式传播这一知识。我们将与瑞星艺术机构合作，在布里斯托尔创建一项公共活动，作为来自这些群体的父母表达意见和观点的平台，提高公众意识。与平等信托基金合作，一项在线活动将把方案参与者、地方议员和议员聚集在一起，与参与者共同编写一份政策文件。本文将重点介绍政策制定者和决策者需要考虑的问题。最后，与当地合作，一个案例研究将使我们的方法适用于社区艺术从业者，两个在线活动将把那些正在寻找适应当前情况的工作方式的人聚集在一起。我们现有的社区研究人员将在这项工作计划的设计和实施中发挥核心作用，为他们创造扩大网络和进入有偿工作的机会。该项目由布里斯托尔大学团队和现有项目合作伙伴WellSpringSetting组成的团队设计，建立在当前研究项目建立的牢固工作关系的基础上。它还将创造新的关系。布里斯托尔整个志愿部门的组织将与我们合作，招募不愿与学校接触的参与者，包括雄心勃勃的劳伦斯·韦斯顿、南米德发展信托基金、东区社区信托基金、布里斯托尔平等和韧性社会预报会以及支持父母。与瑞星艺术机构合作将使我们能够创建一个强大的活动，将在布里斯托尔和其他地方产生重大影响。最后，我们与平等信托和地方的合作将确保这项工作在全国范围内开展，并将在项目结束后继续产生影响。

For the past two years, the University of Bristol and Wellspring Settlement have been working in partnership on a participatory research project on the history of Single Parent Action Network (SPAN). The Covid-19 pandemic meant that we had to quickly take our participatory methodologies online. This project builds on the knowledge we have gained about how best to adapt community arts and research to a socially distanced world, and will bring our participatory methodologies to a wider audience in the voluntary and community sector. It also builds on a key finding from our research on the history of SPAN: this was an organisation that put the lived experience of race, gender, class and poverty at the heart of their activism. As a grass-roots, user-led organisation, it was able to make an unique contribution to policy debates. This foregrounding of experience takes on new importance now, as Covid-19 has disproportionately disadvantaged ethnic minority groups, those living on low incomes, single parent families, and others. Yet the voices of these groups have seldom been heard in the public debate about the pandemic and its effects. We will use our insights from the history of SPAN to bring together parents from across Bristol who belong to groups that have been particularly disadvantaged and marginalised by the Covid-19 pandemic: single parents, ethnic minority families, those living with a disability, and/or in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. They will participate in a participatory arts programme, which will be delivered via an innovative mixture of distanced methods: online meetings, social media, and telephone check-ins. This programme will give participants a chance to explore their experience of the pandemic, and to articulate their vision of a post-Covid future in which their families can thrive. The programme is designed to create connections, reduce social isolation at a time of continued social distancing and disruption, and increase the wellbeing and confidence of the participants. It will also produce a valuable knowledge base about the experiences and needs of vulnerable families, and we will disseminate this in a number of ways. In collaboration with Rising Arts Agency, we will create a public campaign in Bristol, which will act as a platform for the voices and perspectives of parents from these groups, raising public awareness. In collaboration with the Equality Trust, an online event will bring together programme participants, local MPs and councillors to launch a policy paper, co-written with participants. This paper will highlight the issues that policy- and decision makers need to take into account. Finally, working with Locality, a case study will make our methodology available to community arts practitioners, and two online events will bring together those who are seeking ways in which to adapt their way of working to the current situation. Our existing community researchers will be central to the design and delivery of this programme of work, creating opportunities for them to expand their networks and move into paid employment.The project has been designed by a team spanning the University of Bristol team and existing project partners Wellspring Settlement, and builds on the strong working relationships created by the current research project. It will also create new relationships. Organisations across Bristol's voluntary sector will work with us on recruiting participants who would not engage with the university, including Ambition Lawrence Weston, Southmead Development Trust, Eastside Community Trust, Social Prescribing for Equality and Resilience Bristol, and Supportive Parents. Working with Rising Arts Agency will allow us to create a powerful campaign that will have a big impact in Bristol and beyond. Finally, our collaborations with the Equality Trust and Locality will ensure that this work has national reach, and will continue to have an impact beyond the lifetime of the project.