Volunteers have used the power of sport to help improve the mental health and wellbeing of thousands of people

A 20-strong group of wellbeing ambassadors, including Declan MacDougall and Jamie McDougall from Irvine, have been raising awareness of mental health.

This is part of an initiative led by Scottish Sports Futures (SSF) and the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) and marks one year of the project in action.

They have been delivering workshops across Scotland over the last year. The group started the initiative with a basketball tournament at Oriam in Edinburgh, which 250 young people took part in.

Declan said: “In my opinion the programme is an amazing thing that I’m proud to be a part of. I think it is something that’s really needed especially with the stigma around talking about mental health.”

Since then Basketball Scotland, the NHS, SFN Expo, Active Schools Glasgow and Scottish Disability Sport have all had workshops delivered by the ambassadors which highlight the benefits physical activity can have on mental health and wellbeing.

During the first year the ambassadors have delivered 65 workshops in 16 locations with 1505 young people in total attending and 833 adults. A total of 94 per cent of participants reported they had learned something new on the topic of mental health and wellbeing from the ambassadors

The project was created with £61,205 from the Changing Lives Through Sport and Physical Activity fund.

The joint programme is among 17 projects to benefit from the £1m fund, delivered by the Scottish Government, sportscotland, Spirit of 2012 and The Robertson Trust with the aim of changing lives and creating a more inclusive and healthier nation.

The sessions have produced some very encouraging results in trying to address the stigma and discrimination felt by those with mental health problems. Young people who have visited have spoken of now viewing basketball as a release from everyday stress and noticing a positive impact on their mindset during and after sessions.

Robert Nesbitt, Head of Physical Activity and Sport at SAMH said: “The wellbeing ambassadors have continually shown their ability to adapt to new audiences and experiences.

“Exploring and identifying common themes around mental health and wellbeing for different groups, this has meant that they approach activities focussed on the needs of their audiences.”

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