National Lottery players help Staffordshire Derventio Housing Trust residents get active

Players of the National Lottery have been helping Staffordshire housing trust residents who lack opportunities for exercise to get active in their local swimming pool and the park.

Derventio Housing Trust, which is providing homes to around 150 people in Staffordshire who would otherwise not have one, has been helping residents improve their mental health through swimming sessions and walks delivered with a grant from Sport England’s Movement Fund.

The Movement Fund money has been used to support the trust’s housing and support officers take residents walking and swimming.

Derventio Housing Trust helps around 1200 people a year who are homeless or at risk of it through providing accommodation. Many residents have undergone severe trauma in their lives, have become estranged from family, and may be struggling with drug and alcohol use and their mental health.

One resident who has benefited from swimming delivered through the funding is Thomas Goldrick who is living in a Derventio Housing Trust property in Burton after being referred through rehab services.

Thomas said he had not swum in over a year before being given the opportunity and it had spurred him and a housemate on to join the gym and get fit. Thomas said:

I love sport. I love training. It really helps with my mental state and things like that.

I think mentally, it really helps, and connecting with other people that are in the same situation was really good. I jumped at the chance to go.

The aim of the funding is to inspire and support people facing health inequalities to be more active. It is paying for Derventio Housing Trust to take small groups of residents on walks and for swimming sessions where they operate in Staffordshire, Derby and Derbyshire, Warwick and Swindon.

Sarah Hernandez, chief executive officer of Derventio Housing Trust, said:

We are delighted to have been awarded funding by Sport England through the National Lottery. Residents living in our accommodation can lack the opportunity to enjoy simple pleasures like a trip to the swimming pool and it has been proven that physical exercise is extremely helpful for people who may be struggling with their mental health. It’s brilliant that enjoying this opportunity through Sport England has inspired at least two residents to join a gym. Thank you to National Lottery players for giving residents living in our accommodation these fantastic opportunities.