MHAW2025 Stories from our Services on Physical Wellbeing & benefit to Mental Health
Today to further explore our Physical Wellbeing theme for Mental Health Awareness Week we’re sharing details about how people who use two of our services take part in physical activities that benefit their mental health and wellbeing.
Those stories come firstly from our Black Carers Project Southwark which is a community-centred initiative dedicated to supporting Black carers and their families. The service provides culturally sensitive programs, creative workshops, and holistic support. The team strive to empower carers to prioritise their well-being while building connections within the community. Harriet Troup is Relief Support Worker at the service and explains how they organised a recent wellness event:
At Black Carers Project Southwark we recently ran a Spring Wellness Event for unpaid Black carers in Southwark. People were invited for free sauna sessions at the Community Sauna Baths, which are based in a beautiful community-built garden. As well as free sauna sessions with cold plunges, people taking part were given a full tour of the gardens, including all the herbs and plants grown there by the volunteer team. Many of these plants have organic wellness properties like chamomile, lavender and echinacea.
The group were introduced to the animals that are rescued and cared for in the green community space, including chickens. In the tranquil garden setting, the participants were given space to gather, share their experiences and speak about their mental health in a soothing, nature-filled setting.
The second story comes from our Kirtling House which is a bright, modern and welcoming 24-hour accommodation service with capacity to support 9 people experiencing mental distress. The team at Kirtling encourage people to lead their own journey towards better mental wellbeing by working alongside them to achieve their individual goals and aspirations. The property has a garden and Support Worker Nikolai Dennis describes the ways some of the residents make use of the outside space for physical activity that benefits their wellbeing:
There are two of our residents at Kirtling who actively get involved with gardening and mowing the grass at the property and enjoy that. One of those individuals likes to use the green space to do yoga and attends a local gym regularly. I've spoken to them about how going to the gym makes them feel and they said:
“The gym is a healthy release of frustration for me from the daily stresses of life.”
One of the other people who use our service simply enjoys the routine of watering the plants inside and outside of the house. In terms of other activities that benefit physical wellbeing another resident recently completed a charity walk. They won a medal for walking 10,000 steps for 8 days in a row too. For some of the other people we work alongside they have spent time in the garden just in the sun reading and drawing too so we’re all grateful for the opportunity to spend time outdoors and feel the benefits.
