Transforming Women’s Lives Through Physical Activity And Sport - Denise’s Story
The Sport Project transforms the lives of people experiencing homelessness through sport and physical activity. The initiative is designed to get people more active, to prolong lives, improve mental and physical health and reduce isolation.
That's where we come in - research suggests that for people with inactive lifestyles, even 30 minutes of physical activity a week can significantly improve health and longevity. To do this, we offer a variety of sessions including cycling, boxing, yoga, martial arts, table tennis and gym sessions, all of which boosts participants’ confidence, facilitates socialisation and forges friendships. In 2017, at the start of the Sport Project, we focussed our work with participants over the age of 55 but due to the success of the programme, we have expanded our reach to all adults, with a particular focus on women.
Women face many barriers to taking part in physical activity. Sport England research shows fear of judgement and lacking confidence are two of the main hurdles for women when accessing physical activity. The research goes on to say 4 in 10 women are not active enough to ensure they get the full health benefits. For women who experience homelessness, this figure is much higher with 95% of our clients being inactive.
As part of my role as a Sport Coordinator at Single Homeless Project, I am responsible for engaging clients and delivering activities to support their physical and mental health. A huge part of the role is to develop positive relationships and trust with participants. We create friendly, inclusive environments where participants can feel safe and enjoy sessions. We deliver activities participants are interested in and tailor sessions to their individual needs.
Denise is a resident at one of our services where we recently began offering physical activity sessions. She was sceptical at first due to it being something she had not tried before, in addition to her ongoing back pain and use of a walking stick. I met Denise several times before we started the sessions and explained we could do any activity she felt comfortable with; she spoke about chair-based exercises and going for walks. Denise explained how she’d been wanting to have someone to go for regular walks with for a while.
Denise has spoken about how it’s taken her a long time to feel comfortable with joining in with the sessions, but she recently said,
‘It's nice to have someone to speak to and something to look forward to every week.’
I have been working with Denise for around three months and seen positive changes in both her physical and mental health. Denise has progressed hugely in such a short amount of time and is now doing most exercises standing up. Prior to beginning these sessions, Denise explained how she hadn’t walked without her walking stick for 30 years; she is now walking for 20 minutes per session without her walking stick and improving each week.
I also created a stretching and mobility plan for Denise to do in her own time at her request; she explained how it makes her feel great and that she can relieve her pain on her own. It has been great to witness how empowered she is to improve her own health. Denise has seen improvement through consistently following the exercise plan and now feels less pain and feels physically better. Denise went on to say,
‘I feel like my body is improving for the first time in years. I can't believe my pain is actually getting less.’
Participating in sports sessions can often be a bridge to further health care and improving other aspects of life. Denise explained how these sessions are giving her confidence to start thinking about engaging with health services once again so she can receive the treatment she needs for a better quality of life. I hosted discussions with Samara, SHP Specialist Health Lead, to support Denise with this process. For Denise, the Sport Project is the first step on her road to recovery and is giving her the confidence to engage with health services once more.
Recently, Denise shared that she has been feeling less stressed and feels happier, something which she attributes to feeling less physical pain. She feels more confident and believes she is heading in a positive direction. Denise has spoken about her hopes going forward,
‘Doing this gives me hope for the future, I'm a lot more confident. I used to volunteer and help others and I'd like to do it again.’
It’s clear to see the positive changes Denise has made so far and I am excited to help her progress even further!
Since 2020, The Sport Project is actively engaging more women in our sessions to provide them with the opportunities to improve both their physical and mental wellbeing. We have recently partnered with Solace Women’s Aid who expressed interest in offering physical activity to some of the women they work with. We are now running a weekly women’s only yoga session which has been hugely successful! We hope to partner with more charities who support women to allow more women to engage in physical activity safely.
If you are an SHP client who would like to participate in the Sport Project please get in touch via sport@shp.org.uk OR ask your key worker.
If you are an organisation who would like to explore the idea of incorporating sport and physical activity in your offer please email us at sport@shp.org.uk
Blog by Josh Smithson - Sport Project Coordinator
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