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Get Active is SAMH's pioneering 5-year commitment to improve mental health in Scotland through the promotion of and participation in physical activity and sport.

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Categories

  • Animals Animals
  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Human Rights/Advocacy Human Rights/​Advocacy
  • Beneficiaries

    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other

    Situation

    Get Active is SAMH's pioneering 5-year commitment to improve mental health in Scotland through the promotion of and participation in physical activity and sport. SAMH is both ambitious and realistic in its aims - concentrating on three areas of impact being realised through four activities. Our areas of impact are: 1. Lifelong improvement of self esteem and emotional resilience 2. Community wide improvements in social inclusion and participation 3. Improved sporting and recreational facilities to include the support needs of people with mental health problems These aims will be realised through the following activities: 1. A National Campaign - To raise awareness of the links between healthy bodies and healthy minds 2. Community Engagement pilot sites - A series of 10 diverse pilot sites across Scotland to consult with local communities to develop real solutions in real situations 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 - Held in 2011 to bring together the learning points from the first years of activity. Despite the increasing evidence that physical activity and sport are good for our mental health, there are still unacceptable boundaries for people with mental health problems accessing mainstream recreational facilities. Our service users have told us that they feel stigmatised and discriminated against within conventional sports settings, feel huge pressure to conform, have the latest equipment and to look/ act a certain way. Our research has also found that coaches at all levels - from amateur to elite - have no training in mental health awareness or in supporting people with mental health problems. SAMH does not want to merely highlight this inequality with 'Get Active' we want to address them directly and work with the community to develop creative practical solutions. Our vision is to create a Scotland where everyone can access the highest of care, the best opportunities and the solutions that are best for them. SAMH believes in mental health and well-being for all and physical health and sport has a huge role to play in achieving this. Whilst the physical benefits of physical activity have long been known and promoted, the recognised links with mental health are more recent. However, the past 10 yeas have seen a growing recognition that being physically active is strongly associated with mental wellbeing and that being inactive can contribute to a lack of mental wellbeing and some mental health problems.

    Solution

    100%
    Categories

  • Animals Animals
  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Human Rights/Advocacy Human Rights/​Advocacy
  • Beneficiaries

    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other