Paisley FM radio host Norman Ross has started a new project that aims to tackle anxiety, loneliness and depression among older people by playing music they request.
The project launched online this week and is called Mylifeplaylist and it aims to help people feel like they have company at home.
Norman, who founded hospital radio in Glasgow and Paisley, feels loneliness is an issue that stemmed from the pandemic and needs to be addressed.
Norman wants people of the older generation to have some of those happy memories come back through music. He explained: "Music therapy has proven to help people when they are struggling with mental health or conditions such as depression or anxiety.
“Songs can help bring back good memories from childhood years or good times in their life and will help fill that silence in the room if they are living on their own.
“I applied for the funding when we came out the pandemic through the community mental health and wellbeing fund. I am glad that this was granted to us and we can put it to good use.”
The new project will allow older people to create their own playlists of songs they want on the website. Norman says funding granted to him will allow people to get a tablet device, free of charge, to people to use to create these playlists.
Music from the 60s right through to the late 80s is often hard to come by and the radio host wants to make sire that those who like music from this era can access this easily.
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Although this project is being created by Norman, he has thanked the younger generation for inspiring him to come up with this idea.
He has paid homage to people who use a playlist every day to listen to the music they want and says that their input has been invaluable.
“I have to say that the younger generation are to thank for this idea, as they listen to the playlist on their phones all the time. Speaking to the up-and-coming generation is always useful as they have fresh ideas and it is always to everyone's benefit if they are listened to.
“This is not only here to help those with loneliness and depression, it has been proven that music can help people with dementia remember certain times in their life, and this is another reason why I wanted to get this project started.”
Norman has been in the broadcast industry since the early 70s and has seen the impact that music can have on people from having a good time or to being able to relax.
During his show on Paisley FM, he often asks people to send in song requests for people to play. Paisley FM often hosts shows that help cater to the local community, offering media training for people hoping to break into the media industry, or doing shows for the Erskine Veterans Charity.
If you or someone you know would benefit from this, you can find all information online at www. mylifeplaylist.uk
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