August 2025 update

August is always a quiet month when everyone heads off for a well-earned break. Whether that’s a trip abroad to soak up the sun or a wander along the beaches somewhere closer to home, we hope everyone has had a relaxing summer!

August drop-in

We welcomed our friends and community to our August drop in, where the theme was all things ‘sea serpents’. We got stuck in with clay, pencils and crafting materials to make all manner of creations from the Lambton Worm to a beautiful assortment of starfish. Come down to our September drop in on Thursday the 4th at 10am to play some games, meet new people and enjoy free refreshments.

‘What about Me’ filming

We are incredibly excited to share that Sunderland People First are in the process of being filmed as part of a ‘What About Me’ project on care and what it means to different people. Our advocates have written and produced a song, written a poem and pulled together a montage of photos that we believe represents our feelings on caring and being cared for. It was an action-packed day of filming, writing and sharing our creativity with our videographer, Ed. We can’t wait to see the end result and share it with everyone!

Women’s Rugby World Cup Yarn Art

Sunderland was proud to host the England women’s rugby team, the Red Roses, for their fixture against the USA at the Stadium of Light on August 22nd. To boost the community spirit around the big day, Sunderland People First were asked if we wanted to be part of a ‘yarn bombing’ project. We used wool and tools and a method called crocheting to create lots of woolly red roses to be displayed all around Sunderland.

One thing we did not expect was to be invited on to two TV shows! Advocates and staff made appearances on BBC’s ‘The One Show’ and ITV’s News at Six. We showcased our work and feel proud that people across the country could see it.