The mental health charity Mind has announced the launch of nine new Regional Networks in England to help more people with mental health problems engage with physical activity. We are delighted to be working with the other North East Active Partnerships: Rise and County Durham Sport to bring this opportunity to the Tees Valley. We will receive support and funding for a North East Regional Hub from Mind until March 2021 and are currently applying to extend this for an additional year to March 2022.
The Regional Networks will work to increase the number of groups in their region who are equipped with the skills to support and engage people with mental health problems in physical activity. We will offer training, toolkits and resources, as well as providing a platform for networking and sharing best practice to build stronger relationship between organisations.
By linking up local organisations across the physical activity, mental health and charity sectors Mind hopes its Regional Networks will support sport and physical activity organisations to be more inclusive of people with mental health problems.
This is a great opportunity for local Tees Valley groups and sports clubs keen to do more around supporting people with mental health problems and the barriers they face to become more active. These range from fears about physical appearance or being intimidated by going to the gym, to finding it hard to get out of the house.
If you would like to be part of this exciting new network, please contact Catherine Woods, Tees Valley Sport on 01642 342287 or email c.woods@tees.ac.uk
