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Kent homeless charity Porchlight has set up a new initiative in Thanet to help people with mental health issues get involved with healthy activities in their community and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Anyone in the Thanet area that has mental health needs can be referred into the Health Activities service. These referrals can come from a variety of different sources including GPs, accommodation providers or from the individual themselves.
Thanet has some of the most deprived areas in the county in terms of health, unemployment and social exclusion and Porchlight recognise that this combination can often lead to homelessness. Last year almost 1/5 of individuals helped by the charity had a mental health support need identified.
Jess Back, Healthy Activities
Volunteer Coordinator
Jess Back is the Healthy Activities Volunteer Coordinator at Porchlight, she said: “Improved physical health is well-known for having a positive impact on an individual’s mental well-being. The people we work with are often isolated in their own homes because of their mental health issues and this project aims to help them build the self-confidence to eventually visit public places and maintain a healthy lifestyle all by themselves.”
The service is being made possible by the help of volunteer ‘buddies’ who attend training with the charity and then accompany their buddy to sports centres, golf courses, swimming pools, public walks or any other form of activity the person wants to get involved in. Buddies commit to a few hours a week for 6 months and make a real difference to the lives of very isolated and vulnerable people.
Jess said: “Buddies come to us for a variety of reasons and with a range of useful skills. For example people who have had experience of mental health issues in their family can bring a wealth of knowledge and understanding. We also have volunteers who have experienced support services themselves or simply people who are retired and have the desire to do something positive for someone else.”
“The project is very new so we are consulting closely with service users to find out exactly what activities they would like to be involved in. We are then approaching tutors, sports centres and other venues to set up the activities. For example we have had a lot of requests for salsa lessons so we are looking for a dance teacher.”
“The ultimate goal of the service is to promote sustainable healthy lifestyles which it is hoped will improve people’s mental health whilst reducing the need for medical intervention and the possibility of homelessness. This also has the potential to have a positive impact on the pressure to health services in the area.”
Porchlight hopes that the service can eventually be expanded to other areas of the county.
Find out more about the Volunteer Buddy role…
-ENDS-
Notes to the editor:
The Healthy Activities Volunteer service is part of My Body My Life, which is part of the Chances 4 Change portfolio funded the Big Lottery Fund and coordinated by NHS South East Coast.
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