Fizaan Mohammed, Catholic Care’s Graduate Trainee, discussed this topic with the residents at Foundry Mill, our charity’s mental health accommodation facility, who shared the following thoughts:

Staying active is essential for our mental well-being, but let’s face it, finding the time and motivation can be tough. We get it, life can be hectic! That’s why, during Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re all about making movement a priority in our daily routines.

Whether it’s a leisurely stroll around the neighbourhood, dancing to your favourite tunes in the comfort of your living room, or squeezing in some chair exercises during TV time —every little bit counts!

Let’s make staying active a seamless and enjoyable part of our lives for a happier and healthier mindset.

Creativity is another great support for mental health. Above you can see tenants with some of the pictures they’ve recently created. A. loves to make vehicle models and display them in the entrance hall for tenants to see.

Another of the ways in which the residents at Foundry Mill are ‘moving more for mental health’ is by getting out in the garden.

To that end, Foundry Mill is hoping to start up a regular gardening group by the end of this month. Fizaan writes:

I’ve managed to get in contact with a local arts and social well-being charity called Space2 who run a gardening group at The Old Fire Station (literally around the corner from us). I spoke with some of the community development workers there, and whilst unfortunately they didn’t have the capacity to take on new gardeners for their group, they mentioned that they could come and deliver a short course to help us get a group going at Foundry Mill.

Since then, we’ve had an introductory session in which tenants were making seed clusters, and we’re looking at scheduling a design / planning session sometime in the next few weeks so that once the group starts at the end of May, tenants can get to work decorating the garden as they see fit.