Shropshire awarded Reaching Communities Big Lottery Grant
Shropshire Providers Consortium (SPC) and partners (Energize (County Sports Partnership), Shropshire Disability Network, Figaro, Headway Shropshire, South Shropshire Furniture Scheme, Shropshire Football Association and Shropshire Public Health) were elated today after hearing of their success with a financial award. They announced they will receive a Reaching Communities Big Lottery Grant to support a project, created to get more disabled active across the region.
The grant is for £241,000 and the four year project is called Shropshire Inclusively Fit Project. There is additional funding from Shropshire Public Health and Energize (County Sports Partnership) taking the total project to £282,500.
An Inclusive Officer will be employed to:
- To reduce social exclusion and health inequalities by raising awareness and opportunities for engagement within sports clubs and societies for disabled people of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin.
- Identify current exercise and sport provision for disabled people of Shropshire
- Run a travel and equipment bursary for disabled people of Shropshire.
- Raise awareness and practical solutions for sports and social clubs throughout the county to make adaptations to facilities and become more inclusive as a body with more accessible activities for disabled people.
- Develop a buddy volunteer scheme to provide support to and at events for disabled people to attend and participate.
- Run sport taster sessions across the county for disabled people and clubs.
Social isolation for young disabled people increases substantially after leaving education, young people can become isolated with no peer support to help engage in sports or social activities. Coupled with Shropshire rurality making travel difficult, this can be a real problem.
The project aims to make sport and physical activity more accessible to disabled people by providing a web based resource, of what’s available, transport and equipment support and most of all a volunteer buddy to go along with for the first few visits. For some, whether disabled or non-disabled people, it can be difficult walking into a gym or sports club for the first time. Some disabled people have additional barriers- physical access, logistical and psychological.
The partnership will be governed by a steering group made up of the above partners and disabled users.
Ruby from Shropshire Disability Network (SDN) said:
"It is fantastic that disabled people will now have opportunity to engage in sport and physical activity in a way that has been impossible for many, due to transport and rural issues. The Buddy Scheme and Bursaries will enable those that want to, to have a go, it gives them opportunity.”
SPC would like to thank Shropshire Council (Sport & Leisure Team), Shropshire Public Health and Energize for use of their surveys and statistics and Shropshire Disability Network for their consultation with the target group.
