People struggling with addiction, homelessness and unemployment will get the chance to exercise with a personal trainer for an hour this Saturday at Sobell’s Leisure Centre.
The initiative is run by local business Healthy Minds, Healthy Bods, an organisation focusing on the importance of health awareness for members of the community from low income backgrounds.
The organisation founded by Lawrence Curtis nearly 10 years ago is now taking shape as fitness becomes more centred around prevention than intervention.
Last week, Healthy Minds, Healthy Bods ran a session where elderly people learned how to box.
The intention was to help fight loneliness and encourage self-empowerment.
“Our goal is to change people’s mindsets about exercise, fitness, health awareness and nutrition awareness, but we want to do it in a fun way.”
“Not in a preachy, sit down and lecture people kind of way, but to make it fun, with games and activities, especially for elders and people struggling with addiction,” Mr Curtis said.
He calls Healthy Mind, Healthy Bod’s approach “unique and pioneering” but admits that he has struggled to find funding for his programmes.
Mr Curtis said he was asked why he was trying to help people who weren’t sick.
“We want to focus on people who live in council estates, people who have lost their jobs and are low-income, the elderly. When you’re in that state, it’s so easy to become depressed.
We want to get in there before that happens. If people feel good about themselves, then it’s easier for them to get jobs and it’s easier for them to keep those jobs,” Mr Curtis said.
Healthy Minds, Healthy Bod is now working with the Single Homeless Project, Better Lives, and is supported by Islington’s CCG Commissioner and the Islington’s Mind.
However, funding is still their main struggle and they don’t know if they will be able to keep the project afloat for much longer.
“We are fighting with the big organisations for the big contracts, but we are so passionate and we’re doing this because we love it,” Mr Curtis said.
