In 2019, Bromley Mencap were awarded £9,850 over three years. Their project provides group walking and cycling activities in Bromley and Lewisham for disabled people and their families, with the aim of improving their physical, mental, and social health and well-being.
As they work with a vulnerable client group, many were told to shield against COVID-19. Therefore, they were unable to run in-person sessions, even when other groups were able to deliver in smaller groups and Bromley Mencap needed to take extra precautions. Instead, they held virtual sessions to provide social opportunities for their clients, provided advice on how to walk, cycle and stay active if they could and go on virtual trips around the world.
One participant’s family member commented:
“The online sessions on Zoom have been a lifesaver for XXX, they pester me every day to ask when the next sessions are and whenever they happen I sit back and watch as they join in with the group and their virtual travels around the world – always much laughter and merriment - thank you to all involved.”
In-person sessions were able to take place later in the year when government guidelines allowed. Despite a multitude of challenges, the project managed to engage 79 participants this year, which well exceeds their target of 30. The grant recipient commented that: “Running the sessions virtually has enabled us to contact clients who would not have joined us face to face, but now they know the group, they have begun to join us at our in-person sessions. This has been a huge positive of the recent situation.”
Bromley Mencap will be moving into the final year of delivery for this project. WCGL has been essential in supporting these individuals to walk and cycle more.