FITNESS & EXERCISE Fun for All
We take a look at how the charity Youth Sport Trust uses sport as a tool to combat loneliness and isolation in young people, and some of the projects it has supported.
As a national charity with 23 years’ experience working with children and young people, the Youth Sport Trust (YST) understands the barriers faced by some young people when participating in physical activity.
Young people are likely to be less active if they have a disability, grow up in a disadvantaged area, come from a black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) background and are female. People with a disability are half as likely to take part in sport for 30 minutes per week as those without a disability. While young people are not getting enough physical activity, mental health struggles are increasing. Rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers are reported to have increased by 70% in 25 years.
The YST’s vision is a future where every child enjoys the life- changing benefits that come from play and sport.
Last year, the charity worked with Special Olympics to deliver part of its Play Unified programme to help end intolerance towards young people with intellectual disabilities, through supporting unified activities on and off the field of play. It enabled 544 Young Ambassadors to receive training (54% of whom had an intellectual disability).
Teenager Jemima Browning’s younger brother has Down’s Syndrome. She worked alongside her headteacher, with support from the YST, to develop Play Unified at their school – Tadcaster Grammar School.
Jemima said: “Will attended a mainstream primary school, which was great for his self-esteem, friendships and social skills. However, as he got older, the gap between Will and his peers has grown. The differences between him and his friends have become more apparent and opportunities for Will to take
part in sport have declined. He began to feel different and isolated and was starting to feel that he couldn’t do it.
“I heard about Play Unified and, since getting involved, have set up a Play Unified project at my school. People now accept Will more and allow him to join in. He jokes with his friends and I truly believe they do not regard him as a ‘disabled person’, they see him as Will. Play Unified has helped break down barriers of isolation Will had previously experienced.”
“The power of sport comes from a person’s soul regardless of their gender, ethnicity or religion.”
The YST is also working closely with four communities across the UK through its work with The People’s Health Trust’s (PHT) on the Local People Programme (LPP). The programme aims to inspire, engage and empower young people and their neighbours to take control, to design, deliver and take part in regular, fun physical activity opportunities that help to build individual confidence, support people to take pride in their neighbourhoods and to improve social connections.
The project uses sport and physical activity as a vehicle for wider engagement, highlighting the personal and social benefits of being more active. The PHT has funded YST to support the health and wellbeing of communities in Brent, Hull, Dorking, Milton Keynes and Swansea.
Gabby Shirley, Development Manager at YST, said: “Working alongside our Local People Project coordinators gives Youth Sport Trust Development Managers an insight into community development outside the education setting. It allows us to see the power of our development work beyond the school gates – an area where it is just as, if not more, imperative.
“I have witnessed the power of sport and physical activity within local communities being evidenced time and time again in breaking down barriers, increasing community cohesion, tackling inactivity and mental health and increasing aspirations and attitudes.”
Fatima Hussein is an 18-year-old Muslim woman whose life has been transformed through working with the Youth Sport Trust on the Local People Programme in Brent, London. In Fatima’s community, many young people are not encouraged to go out as the local playing areas are seen as dangerous, especially for young girls.
Through her involvement in the Local People Project, delivered by the Youth Sport Trust on behalf of the People’s
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www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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