Written by Northamptonshire Sport
Northamptonshire Sport have joined forces with other Active Partnerships in the East Midlands to develop a Regional Network funded by the national charity Mind which will tackle mental health problems through the power of physical activity.
Work for this Network in Northamptonshire will see organisations from the sport and physical activity sector collaborating with those who support people experiencing mental health problems to help them to be active. It will also ensure opportunities already available in are set up appropriately for their needs.
Training opportunities will be offered to representatives of both sectors with existing activity providers able to attend Mind’s Mental Health Awareness for Sport and Physical Activity eLearning course for free. People who work or volunteer for organisations that provide direct support to the target audience can be trained to deliver activities as part of their service. Northamptonshire Sport already have their Couch to Coach Bursary Scheme in place to help develop a workforce capable of doing this type of work by contributing towards the costs of these training courses.
The Network will also help to promote mental health campaigns, the work of Mind at a national level and support they can offer people within their respective county.
Evidence of good practice and learning taken from the East Midlands Network will be used to help other Regional Hubs doing similar work around the country to gain knowledge of what interventions could be replicated to benefit the people they are supporting.
Graeme Wilson from Northamptonshire Sport who is leading work on the Network from within the county said:
“This is a fantastic thing for us to be involved in and I believe that it will be a great resource to help us tackle mental health in our county. Mental health problems are sadly at an all-time high level due to affects of the pandemic and many other adverse things happening in the country. These are all putting a massive strain on the healthcare services, so as we know physical activity can help to reduce these problems then this Network will play a key part in alleviating the issue.”
For more information about the Network and how to get involved in it please contact Graeme at Graeme.Wilson@northamptonshiresport.org 07766 991 828. Anyone interested in doing the Mental Health Awareness for Sport and Physical Activity online eLearning course, or any other training to help provide activity opportunities for people experiencing mental health problems should contact Alex Mitchell at Alex.mitchell@northamptonshiresport.org 07921 092801.
Photo by Holly Chisholm on Unsplash