Almost 260,000 people working in sport and physical activity supported with Mind campaign, report says
They estimate they work with or support at least 5.6 million people
Between 2018 and 2021, mental health charity Mind worked with Sport England and the National Lottery to deliver two physical activity programmes. Their new ‘Moving towards better mental health’ report showcases what they’ve achieved in two landmark campaigns over the last three years.
According to Mind, who are a CIMSPA strategic partner, they directly supported nearly 6,000 people with mental health problems to benefit from physical activity in their ‘Get Set to Go’ campaign. The aim of the campaign was to help people with mental health problems benefit from being physically active in their local communities.
65% of participants increased their activity levels and 61% increased their quality-of-life scores during the programme. “Being physical active has made me more motivated to do things,” one participant said. “I’ve got to meet new people. It just makes me feel happier.”
Their second campaign, ‘Sector Support’, was built to continue the ground-breaking work of Get Set to Go by increasing the number of organisations who could support and engage people with mental health problems in physical activity.
Almost 260,000 people worked with Mind to increase mental health support across sport and physical activity. The charity’s own estimates suggest these resources could reach up to 5.6 million people.
Additionally, just over 38,000 people took Mental Health Awareness for Sport and Physical Activity training with 88% saying it made some or substantial difference to their coaching.
Recently, CIMSPA CEO Tara Dillon gave evidence at a House of Lords select committee on the National Plan for Sport and Recreation. Here she championed the power of sport and its impact on health – both physical, mental, and social well-being – and pushed for further investment in physical activity to get the nation active and improve mental health all-round.
“The sector is still in recovery, and it isn’t out of the woods yet,” Tara said at the institute’s recent AGM. “But can tell you categorically, the sector’s profile in terms of its impact on the health and wellbeing of the nation has finally been noticed in all corners of government. So, to continue the work we do is absolutely central, and there is work to do.”
She later elaborated: “Participants will respond to the support and motivation their coach gives them. It’s important we continue to work with partners such as Mind to be able to build fit-for-purpose qualifications and upskill everyone working in physical activity to support those who are struggling with mental health problems and support active lifestyles.”
The Mind report includes an overview of each programme, their impact, how the coronavirus pandemic affected their work, case studies, what they learned and recommendations going forward.