Chat 1st
Mental Wellbeing Clubs
Chat 1st uses physical activity as a coping tool for those with poor mental health and the aim of the club is to improve the physical, mental and social wellbeing of the participants.
Chat 1st delivered the Mental Wellbeing Hubs for the Essex ActivAte programme and a 12-week afterschool programme for children who struggled integrating into main stream clubs after the pandemic which meant a break from these important social and physical interventions. Chat 1st were also a partner in the Mental Wellbeing Family Festival in Brentwood Summer 2022.
The children in the club were aged between 5 – 11 and were from families on Benefit Based Free School Meals or Low Income Families. The children who attended were experiencing high levels of anxiety, low self-esteem, isolation and bereavement. This club was an important intervention for them to feel supported and relaxed in a safe setting.
Providing these children with physical activity and a hot meal ensured they could boost their mood and enrich their routine. Yoga and boxing were activities that the young people could experience which are great examples of activities that can support both physical and mental wellbeing. Yoga can be a coping mechanism for anxiety and boxing can assist those experiencing bereavement to have an outlet for certain feelings.
Active Essex funded the programme through HAF funding and ECC funding which enabled the group to provide these classes for the children and young adults from areas of deprivation who would not have previously had access to such clubs. This club was the start of the Mental Wellbeing journey for HAF clubs and is now a vital part of the programme that aims to support young peoples mental wellbeing.
