Hackney life depicted in patchwork quilt

hospice staff and community groups are sewing sensations

Nurses, volunteers and patients at Hackney’s St Joseph’s Hospice have joined with local community groups to create a vibrant patchwork quilt in celebration of their individual lives, as well as the community as a whole.

The hospice in Mare Street provides care for those dying from a terminal illness.

The quilt is one way for it to reach out to people in the borough.

Members of Wayside community group in Chatsworth Road, and Woodberry Down Estate Community Club took part in the project, together with St Peter’s Bengali Association in Bethnal Green, Hackney Caribbean Elders Community group in Leswin Road, Stoke Newington, Hackney Carers Centre in Tyssen Street, Dalston, and Chatsworth Road Methodist Church Luncheon Club.

Each person involved made a square based on their life experiences and individual identities.

The squares were then sewn together to form a large, multi-coloured quilt.

Vivi Boucher of Social Action for Health, a charity working with minority groups, based in Mentmore Terrace, Hackney, said: “This project is about encouraging people to recognise that they are important as individuals and as part of the community and that someone cares about their emotional, physical, spiritual and social needs. “Creative arts play a big part in helping people do this.”

For St Joseph’s it is also a chance to reach out to people in the borough.

Dr Heather Richardson, clinical director at the hospice, said: “This is the fourth year we have run this project.

“It forms a key part of our commitment to work closely with all communities in the boroughs we serve.

“It provides an excellent opportunity for us to tell people about the wide range of services we offer and for them to communicate their needs and wishes.”