SHP's Sports and Health Programme has recently enjoyed radio and newspaper coverage from the BBC and Metro.

One year on since SHP’s Sports and Health Programme was crowned a winner at the London Sports Awards, SHP were invited to talk about the project on BBC Radio London Drivetime.

Head of Opportunities Lee Murphy and Sport and Health Programme Manager Eloise Moller were interviewed by Drivetime host Eddie Nestor. They talked about why the project was so successful and discussed the value in exercise and sport as a way of engaging and building up trust with people who have experienced homelessness.

Last year, the Sports and Health Programme won the Physical Activity for Health Award at the London Sports Awards. The award recognises projects, programmes, campaigns or initiatives that help to raise awareness and enhance the impact of physical activity on promoting good health among London’s population.  

You can listen to the interview here. The Interview starts at 2:19.   

The Metro attended and filmed an exercise class at our Arlington Road hostel and published a piece on the programme. The article looks at the benefits the initiative has brought to participants. A video released with the piece contains interviews with attendees of the class and representatives from Sports England, one of the main funders of the programme. You can see the video below.

The Sports and Health Programme works with 600 Londoners who are over the age of 55, and either homeless or at risk of homelessness. The project introduces them to benefits of exercise which can improve mental and physical well-being.

It’s hoped the programme could serve as a model for developing more effective strategies to tackle some of the serious health inequalities that persist among socially excluded people in the UK.

People who are homeless experience some of the worst health outcomes in England, with a life expectancy of just 47, 30 years below the population average. For people with inactive lifestyles, even 30 minutes of physical activity a week can significantly improve health and longevity.