Get Active is SAMH's ambitious programme
to improve Scotland's mental health through participation in,
and engagement with, physical activity and sport.
There
is lots of evidence that participation in regular physical
activity (including sport, exercise, active living and dance) is
good for you in many ways. It can promote good mental health,
prevent mental ill health and improve the quality of life of people
who experience mental health problems.
That's why SAMH runs a National Programme dedicated to
improving mental health through sport and physical activity.
Launched by our Ambassador Sir Chris Hoy, the programme was
shortlisted for a prestigous
Third Sector
Excellence Award and has had fantastic feedback from its
participants.
Get
Active aims to bring about improvements in mental health and well
being through:
-
Lifelong improvement of self esteem and emotional
resilience
-
Community wide improvements in social inclusion and
participation
-
Improved sporting and recreational facilities to
include the support needs of people with mental health
problems
There are
four different strands to Get Active:
1.
Community Engagement
Pilot
Projects
We have set
up ten diverse pilot projects across Scotland. We will use the
things that we learn from these projects to deliver real
solutions in real situations within local communities. We work with
lots of different partners to run our pilot projects, including the
Forestry Commission, GAMH and Street Soccer
Scotland.
2. A
National Awareness Raising Campaign
To raise
awareness of the links between healthy bodies and healthy
minds.
3.
Learning and Education
Practical
training for frontline staff to empower them to make a positive
contribution to people's self-esteem and morale.
4.
A National Event
To bring
together the learning points from the first years of
activity.
SAMH believes in mental health and well-being for all: sport and
physical activity has a huge role to play in achieving
this.
To find out more about how getting active can help your
mental health, read our leaflet and check out our research
report.
SAMH GET ACTIVE LAUNCHES PARTNERSHIP WITH ST
MIRREN FC
 |
Get Active has launched its new partnership with St Mirren
Football Club at a photoshoot with the team's captain and manager
Danny Lennon. St Mirren pledged to work with SAMH to raise
awareness of mental health issues in the world of sport and support
the Get Active initiative. The launch followes the recent
high-profile news stories on the apparent suicide of Gary Speed and
Freddie Flintoff's documentary on depression in sport.
Danny Lennon, manager at St Mirren
said,
"Working in football isn't always good
for your mental health, but being physically active definitely is:
that's why we're pleased to get behind SAMH's Get Active
campaign".
Billy Watson, SAMH Chief Executive
said,
"We're delighted to be launching this
partnership with St Mirren. Through our Get Active projects, we
constantly see the evidence that sport and physical activity can be
good for your mental health. This new partnership will help us take
the opportunity of getting active to even more people."
|
| L-R: SAMH Get Active Manager Ian Crawford, St Mirren Manager
Danny Lennon and SAMH Support Worker and fundraiser Kevin
Bruce. |