Stronger Routes

Stronger Routes – to better health is a health campaign with a difference! is rooted in community with storytelling, music and art and its heart.

Over the last 12 months we have listened over 140 local people’s stories of their personal health challenges and their messages to others and through this work we have created audio stories, film, art, radio discussion shows and podcasts.

This work grew out of conversations with Wythenshawe’s creative community about how we could use the skills, insight and energy of local creatives to deliver health promotion in a way that feels relevant, connected and rooted in the neighbourhood.

The work focused on some of the key health priorities for Wythenshawe:

Heart Health and Diabetes
Early Cancer Diagnosis
Respiratory Health – Asthma and COPD
Dementia
Immunisations and Vaccinations
Getting to know where to go (with a health issue)
Financial Wellbeing

Local resident, Founder of Wythenshawe Good neighbours and lead of Manchester Age Friendly board, Marie Greenhalgh led the work.

To gather information for Stronger Routes – to better health together, Marie worked closely with residents, creatives and health partners. She strategically placed herself in the same space, at the same time, in a local café and she listened to stories about living with long-term conditions, barriers to getting support, and the small changes that had made a difference to people’s health and wellbeing. These insights helped shape the project’s audio pieces, films, podcasts and discussions, ensuring the campaign reflected real voices, real challenges and real strengths within Wythenshawe.

Many discussions referenced information and guidance related to financial implications of ill health, the frustrations of not being heard, joy in being able to change their lives, and connecting with support groups such as pulmonary rehabilitation and weight loss support groups.

Primary school age children from the Shooting Stars theatre group also contributed to the project and honed their voice over and radio acting skills – raising awareness of important vaccinations and discussing vaccine hesitancy Local newspaper article: Wythenshawe Forum – Issue 5 – December 2025

Forum Library’s Creative Space hosted the work with professional actors and local people producing the audio recordings.

Points of Information [mp3, 12.9MB]

Children’s Vaccinations [mp3, 4.6MB]

Social Prescription [mp3, 10.7MB]

Dementia [mp3, 14.8MB]

COPD [mp3, 13.1MB]

Bowel Cancer [mp3, 4.5MB]

Local radio station WFM97.2 played an important role in supporting Stronger Routes – to better health together by producing a dedicated monthly programme that brought the project’s themes to a wider audience. Broadcast once a month, the show created space for thoughtful conversations about the health issues affecting people in Wythenshawe, with contributions from local GPs, health partners and community voices. By sharing practical information, lived experience and trusted local insight on air, WFM97.2 helped extend the reach of the project and encouraged more people to engage with the conversations around better health and wellbeing.

Wythenshawe FM – Stronger Routes mixcloud

Waiting for the links and stats

You’re invited to our launch

We want elevate this work and help it to become truly impactful.

We intend to do this by hosting a celebration event. Inviting local partners, health professionals, residents to come along to view and listen to the work and tell us ideas of how to use it. All the resources will be publicly available All of the short films, audio, website and podcasts will for organisations to share, use to support conversations with patients and reference on their comms channels.

Eventbrite booking page