Earlier this year, the Life Rooms hosted cultural celebrations to mark Liverpool’s Eurovision of 2023 at two of their main sites – The Life Rooms at Lee Valley Millennium Centre, and The Life Rooms Walton, thanks to the EuroStreet and EuroGrant scheme.
In partnership with The National Heritage Lottery Fund, Culture Liverpool offered a grant to mark the occasion to The Mersey Care NHS Charity for The Life Rooms, along with schools, community groups and local organisations.
The grant allowed our Community Inclusion Team to host educational and cultural celebrations open to all, hosting various entertainment from local, diverse community groups who offered cultural learning through performances, demonstrations and food.
Service users, healthcare professionals and the public attended the events in a demonstration of cultural exchange that celebrated both the unity and difference which Liverpool has to offer.
Organisations offered stalls to display their cultural artefacts to raise awareness of cultural diversity and heritage of the city. Those in attendance included Liverpool Arabic Centre, Irish Community Care, a Staff LGBT network at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, and a representative from the Gypsy Roma Traveller community.
Mersey Care’s mental health wards across Liverpool were also able to join in on the celebrations with patients and staff getting involved in crafts and flag making activities. The series of celebrations across multiple support services enabled many services users, patients and staff to celebrate the various cultures we're connected to.
Michael Crilly, Director of Social health and Community Inclusion at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust said:
“ We are proud of city of Liverpool….. It's incredible for Liverpool to host this event on so many levels, partly to showcase what Liverpool is all about, its culture, diversity and inclusion…. the fact it’s here in Liverpool makes me feel humble and emotional but proud of our city”
The Life Rooms supports people to take next steps towards a healthier life; offering learning, mental and physical wellbeing, cultural and creative opportunities and practical support in housing and employment.
