Yorkshire charity offers a swansong opportunity for people facing death and beareavement

The Yorkshire charity was founded in 2017 by songwriter Ben Buddy Slack after he lost his grandma and was left regretting not recording her singing. Since then, the project has supported more than 60 people to express themselves in song.

This has been primarily patients at local hospices, including St Gemma’s and Wheatfields in Leeds, who are dealing with various stages of terminal illness as well as their loved ones who are facing bereavement.

At the start of lockdown the charity had to halt its sessions but is now happy to be back and offering its service virtually.

Ben said: “I’m really pleased to be able to start working with people again. A lot of people will be dealing with difficult and complicated forms of grief during this time and we want to be able to support them.

“Being able to deliver our service virtually also means we can work with a greater number of people and from a wider region.”

The Swan Song Project offers full support through the songwriting and recording process and uses a range of musicians to help people create the song they want. They are now offering the virtual service to anyone facing the end of their life or dealing with the loss of a loved one.

The Swan Song Project has also recently started a podcast featuring songwriters talking about their processes and their experiences of bereavement. Guests so far have included Mik Artistik, Frank Turner, Duke Garwood, Kyla Brox and many more. They are all available on YouTube and on The Swan Song Project’s Facebook Page.

More information can be found at www.swansongproject.co.uk or www.facebook.com/theswansongproject.