- Area:
- West Midlands
- Programme:
- Awards for All England
- Release date:
- 9 4 2013
People experiencing mental health issues will be encouraged to get closer to nature and take part in outdoor therapy through a Lottery funded project.
North Staffs Mind, which receives £6,800, is one of 109 groups in the West Midlands sharing £909,049 of funding from BIG’s most popular grants scheme Awards for All which gives small grants of up to £10,000 to projects that can make a big difference to people’s lives.
The charity in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire will use the funding to deliver mindfulness therapeutic sessions in the natural environment to help people overcome mental health issues. Evidence* shows that teaching people to be more aware, or more ‘mindful’, of the world around them is significant in improving mental health.
Diane Collingwood, Counselling Manager at North Staffs Mind said: “The ‘Natural Minds’ project will involve taking small groups of people out to local beauty spots, or even somewhere as accessible as a local park, and asking them to focus on what is around them so that their minds are able to let go of the concerns which besiege them the rest of the time. Mindfulness is a type of meditative practise which is easy to learn and does not have to mean sitting crossed legged on a cushion, which is the stereotypical view.
“We ran a very short series of outdoor therapy workshops for some of our service users last year, and it enabled many of them to become re-acquainted with the environment which is around them - the trees, flowers, birds, insects which are present but so often ignored when we are stressed and anxious. The people who took part commented on how relaxed they felt as a result of a simple walk. When people are struggling with mental health issues, too often they become lost in their concerns, and as a result lose perspective. Focusing on the world around us can help regain that perspective and allow us to push our ‘reset button’.”
Also receiving funding today is New Hall Primary School and Children’s Centre which receives £5,620. The project in Birmingham will set up a Forest School on the school grounds for young children and families. This will enable the school to provide an extracurricular nature based facility and activities to teach them about local wildlife and how they can take care of the environment.
Another school project to receive BIG funds is Earls High School in Dudley which will use £8,000 to purchase camping and waterproof equipment for students enabling them to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme.
Meanwhile community organisation Reminisce Entertainments in Walsall will use £9,826 to deliver a festival event that will address issues surrounding education and gun crime. This will help to bring the community together for an inclusive event.
Leaps and Bounds Trust – Inspiring Change Ltd in Birmingham have received £9,800 to provide disadvantaged young people a chance to be a part of a project documenting the history of their local area. This will develop their skills and qualifications which will help with future employment opportunities, and increase their confidence and self esteem.
A further £6,195 of Awards for All funding has been awarded to Wednesfield Aces Cycle Speedway Club who will use the funding to set up Saturday bike repair and maintenance workshops. This will also introduce young people to cycling, broadening the experiences of young people with very little youth provision and combating anti social behaviour in the area.
Mick McGrath said: “I am really pleased to see organisations using Lottery money for fantastic projects. Each project will make a huge difference to the lives of these people and we are proud to be able to support them.”
A full list of awards announced in the West Midlands today
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
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Notes to Editors
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
• The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
• *http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/mindfulness.aspx
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