“This is our Torfaen site and we want people to know that we are here and to be able to see what goes on here.”
Nant Bran is on Upper Cwmbran Road. Hundreds of cars and dozens of buses pass it every day. Older readers will remember the building as Upper Cwmbran Infants School.
Vikki Bryant works for Growing Space, one of the charities that has a home on the site. It’s a stunning spot- backing onto the mountain stream that runs through the garden of the nearby Queen Inn.
Growing Space was set up in Gwent over 30 years ago to provide practical services to help people with mental ill health, autism and learning disabilities.
It has over 20 sites across Gwent- including some in hospitals.
‘Very diverse’
She told me about the range of projects run from Nant Bran: “We are not just a mental health support charity, we do support people with learning disabilities as well. We are very diverse and cover a lot of angles, as long as it fits within wellbeing and they’re learning something new, they’re coming out and they’re socialising.”
As we chatted over a coffee, there was a buzz about the place with an art project underway in a nearby room. The room was packed with about ten people chatting with each other while creating pieces of art.
The group is run by Sian Hanlon, an ex-art teacher. The approach taken by Growing Space means people can gain qualifications alongside the fun, practical classes.
Vicki said: “With everything we do across our Growing Space sites, we offer accredited training so we’ve got a partnership with Adult Learning Wales, who supply us with hundreds of work booklets from entry level one.
“We try to integrate that into the activity they’re doing.
“So Sian [art teacher] will be doing a project now and they will be doing a little bit of the workbook alongside that activity.”
She said training can be “daunting”, so making it part of a project is “inclusive” and means: “Everybody has been able to get the same out of coming to Growing Space.
“So there’s a big offering when people come to our sessions.”
Music classes
Another popular class is music, with the tutor linking sessions to big things going on, for example, Glastonbury.
Vicki said: “We’ve got a music session once a week, which is a massive hit. A guy comes in and does a lot of singing and percussion instruments.”
Another project is cooking.
She said: “A big thing at the minute is air fryers, so we’re doing ‘what can you make in an air fryer?’ but we’re trying to do it healthy and on a budget.”
Growing also has a “Rainbow Connector Project” that sees staff go into people’s homes.
Vicki said: “[It’s] very different to what we offer, we actually go to people’s homes and do a three-visit process. We tend to get a lot of referrals for memory assessment, so people with Alzheimer’s, dementia diagnoses. It’s around getting them to have the best quality of life, so whether that’s getting out socialising, learning something new.”
I asked her what the people who come to the centre get out of it?
‘Purpose’
She said: “It gives them a purpose, it gives them a routine, it gives them social skills, and they make relationships out of their normal day-to-day.”
She said they get: “So engaged in the project that everything else seems to be irrelevant for the hour or two that they’re here. They’ll be doing things that they didn’t realise they were able to do, so there is a huge sense of achievement in what they take away from coming here.”
And why do Vicki and her colleague enjoy being part of Growing Space?
She said: “I can’t imagine doing anything else. The rewards, even as just as part of the management team. I don’t deliver any sessions. I get to be amongst these amazing individuals that, you go home and you think ‘it’s been a great day’ just by seeing the joy that us being here and providing the space gives to those individuals.”
She told how they love seeing people’s confidence grow and how some are “barely recognisable” in how they change from when their “journey” with the charity started.
Staff from Cwmbran’s B&Q store chose Nant Bran for a community project. A team came to the centre in the summer and gave the walls a lick of paint in mindful colours (chosen by Sian), deep-cleaned the carpets, fixed some blinds, and donated and assembled a set of storage shelves for people to display their arts and crafts.
Look out for a Christmas fair and exhibition being held at Nant Bran soon.
Vicki said: “It’s nice for people to come and show off to their family and friends, their achievements.”
Referrals to Growing Space
Growing Space is a referral service. Users can refer themselves (use this form on the Growing Space website – pdf document) or professional referrals can come from services like GPs, healthcare workers or council staff.