April 2024
Welsh Health and Wellbeing Award for Halo’s lockdown saviours

01 Dec 2021

Halo Leisure’s Active Communities & Feel Good for Life team have been presented with a hugely important prize in the Welsh Social Value for Future Generations Awards as a result of their work taking health, fitness and social connection into people’s homes during the pandemic.

Feel Good for Life was, before Covid hit, targeting people who were feeling isolated, low or lonely as they struggled with mobility or their mental health or life with dementia. And they were seeing rich rewards as people came together at their local Halo Centres in Bridgend County Borough for swimming, badminton, table tennis, arts and crafts, tea and chat.

Of course, all that stopped overnight when the pandemic hit and leisure centres were forced to close, and Halo’s team knew it would leave their Feel Good for Life participants more isolated and less active than ever. So the Active Communities Team – led by Halo’s Ryan Statton, Jess Jacques, and Dan Trowbridge – got to work to take the programme into people’s homes with the help of a digital inclusion programme (read free iPads delivered to the door and advice and support on how to utilise them) and were quickly enjoying 'facetime' and fitness at a distance but via very human connections when people needed the most.

“We feel so proud to be winners in the Health and Wellbeing category,” says Ryan.
“But you know the rewards for us came early, as people connected with us and each other online. There was a lot of laughter as people got to grips with tech, loads of social chat across the internet and ether, and plenty of activity to keep everyone moving. Session after session we saw confidence grow and wellbeing prosper. Those ongoing connections created a sense of care and community and common purpose that was so rewarding for us and, we could quickly see, for those taking part.”

Halo Leisure say they're delighted the team's work has been acknowledged and hope, as we come out of the pandemic, it underlines just how vital these programmes are in connecting to the community, including those most vulnerable.

"The leisure industry has made a strong case for its existence through this pandemic, and it's easy for these small but essential programmes to be overlooked when people count the cost of lockdown," says Scott Rolfe, Halo's CEO.

"They are such an essential part of the health provision (and health savings) in communities the leisure industry serves. There is so much good work going on across the UK and awards like this shine a light on what that work achieves, not only enriching the lives of participants but their friends, family and carers and communities around them."

To find out more about the award winning 'Feel Good for Life' programme which provides leisure opportunities for people living with dementia, feeling lonely or low visit haloleisure.org.uk/feelgoodforlife.

Halo want to thank their Partners and supporters of this initiative: Bridgend County Borough Council; Digitial Communities Wales, Wales Co-operative Centre, WCVA | CGGC and The National Lottery Community Fund Wales.


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