A SOCIAL enterprise scheme in Erdington which uses exercise to help young people with mental health issues is welcoming new members. Start Again is aimed at empowering young people with or at risk of mental health issues and encouraging them to regain control of their lives. Aimed at those aged 13 to 30, Start Again team gives the traditional approached one-on-one sessions, group work, help with housing issues, work placements, sexual health advice and confidence building. But they also offers exercise, which is shown to improve mental wellbeing. Their football coaching service provides young people with access to a structured and safe environment where football is used therapeutically and as a gateway into a wide range of developmental services
The scheme has proved so successful that it is now able to open up to new recruits and has a new base in the Erdington Health and Wellbeing Walk-in Centre, in High Street. Mark Peters, chief executive officer of the Start Again Project, said: "The results from our pilot project showed that at the end of the football programme, 90 percent of the participants enrolled in further education and there was a reduction in cannabis use and dependency on prescription drugs. Users continued to be involved with their own health after the sessions were finished, and one participant even signed up to start their own social enterprise in art and design."One in six people in the UK will have, at some point in their life, a mental health issue. It is widely known that effects of mental illness in early life have a negative impact upon people's opportunities to complete education, training, gain qualifications or become socially and economically independent."The Start Again team will be available at the Walk-in Centre, from 10am to 11am on Tuesdays and Fridays, from next week. Young people can drop in to sign up to the scheme.
No comments:
Post a Comment