A consortium bid led by Rushden Mind which includes the Northampton Town Community Trust has been awarded funding by Sport England and the National Lottery to help people to try new sports and activities to help improve their physical and mental health.
Through this work, Rushden Mind will be supporting people experiencing mental health problems – such as depression and anxiety – to build their confidence to join sports clubs, go to the gym or take up a new sport such as Swimming, Basketball and Cycling to name a few.
The Get Set to Go programme launched in 2015. Since then, more than 3,500 people with mental health problems have benefited and tried out new activities in a relaxed and friendly environment. An independent research team from Loughborough University conducted a two-year study which showed that 78% of people rated it as very good or excellent after just 6 months.
People with mental health problems who have taken part in the programme say that it not only increased their activity levels over a 12-month period, but also helped them feel more resilient and better able to cope with challenging life events. The hope is that people in Northamptonshire will benefit from this new phase of Get Set to Go. In this new phase of the programme, Mind aims to support over 120,000 people with mental health problems across the country to be more active through its work in communities and partners in the sport sector.
Rushden Mind CEO, Sherry Adams said: "We're are absolutely delighted to have received funding from Sport England and the National Lottery to enable us to bring the Get Set to Go programme to East Northamptonshire. Physical activity can play a vital role in reducing the risk of depression whilst increasing health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, we know that many people can be deterred from participating due to their mental health. Rushden Mind will be delivering Get Set To Go with support from a range of fantastic partners, and we look forward to supporting more people with mental health problems in the area to enjoy the benefits of getting more active."
Rushden Mind will be working closely with partners such as Northamptonshire Sport, East Northamptonshire Council, Freedom Leisure, the Northampton Town Community Trust and England Netball, to deliver community sessions and to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment within local sport and leisure facilities. As part of this work they will be offering Mental Health Awareness for Sport and Physical Activity (MHASPA) training to sport sector staff, which has been developed with UK Coaching.
We will train Peer Volunteers, who understand how mental health problems can be a barrier to getting more active, to support participants to attend Get Set to Go sessions and try out different activities in their community.
Rushden Mind will be running several taster sessions over the coming months where you can try out different activities and see what suits you. Rushden Mind are also planning on running a range of 12-week sports and activity programmes, so if you’re interested in taking part then more details will be available here or by contacting Rushden Mind or 01933 312800.