CSP: Merseyside Sport Partnership
The Challenge
Residents at Ravenhead Foyer, a Your Housing Group property in Merseyside, live at the location due to their vulnerability of becoming homeless. They come from various environments with challenging situations, resulting in them leading inactive and mostly sedentary lifestyles.
Ravenhead Foyer was already offering the young people life skills development and a safe environment to live; however, there was very little opportunity to pursue interest in sport and recreational activities. Barriers to participation include their physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, finance and lack of accessible opportunities for the young people.
Merseyside Sports Partnership Role
MSP has actively increased its sphere of influence with inactive young people, specifically those within the care system. Ravenhead Foyer was identified as it had a high number of inactive young people who have additional barriers to social inclusion.
MSP engaged with a member of Your Housing Group to use numerous sports and physical activities to aid social cohesion within Ravenhead Foyer, and to improve their integration within the wider community.
MSP advised on a structure for the activities, to maximise the number of participants the sessions could accommodate. This regular participation developed behaviour change amongst the young people, as they now have a positive habit of spending their spare time productively with other people in their community, rather than in isolation.
Participant Focus
“Even though I’m leaving the Foyer next week, I’m definitely coming back and doing the Trampolining when it’s on again. I’ll probably come back for the football too when Aaron gets the team together. That’ll be good for just meeting up with my mates again and having a kick around. I’ve really appreciated the sport sessions; they’ve been fun to do and I think they’ve been quite social too, with the way the group have gotten on so well together.”
Former resident at Ravenhead Foyer
The Active Difference
- 29 inactive young people engaged in sport or physical activity.
- Sessions were a catalyst for ongoing participation in sport and physical activity for a number of individuals, including one participant who now regularly attends a local golf club; plus, two participants who now attend the gym three times a week together as part of their personal development plan with Ravenhead Foyer.
- Ravenhead Foyer was enabled to purchase equipment which has resulted in physical activity being embedded into the long term offer for future residents.
- Ravenhead Foyer has been awarded a Small Grant from Sport England to develop and expand residents’ wider social and community cohesion through physical activity in Merseyside.