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Sport
This page is about sports activities and opportunities for homeless people. Helping homeless people engage in sports activities can have a beneficial impact in lots of areas, including providing physical exercies, building self-confidence and developing career opportunities. Enabling people to set up, for example, football leagues can be a way to improve literacy and numeracy skills.
What's New?
- Your Game is back. Your Game is a partnership between the BBC and the Football Foundation which offers young people, aged 16 to 25, from under-served communities the chance to get involved in football, music and the media.
- A Sporting Chance was a one day Homeless Link conference in December 2007 which looked at how sporting activity can make a positive, lasting difference to the lives of homeless people. See the presentations
Examples
- Street League is a charity that uses sport to help young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of who are homeless, to achieve their potential. It works to engage and inspire individuals through a range of sporting projects. See Street League's presentation
- The Homeless World Cup "exists to be a catalyst for lasting change through the development of street soccer worldwide in a way that that creates a maximum social impact for the players involved – socially excluded, homeless people and people living in poverty."
- The Football Foundation provides funding for grass roots football provision, from football kits to changing rooms and can make grants from £100 to £1 million to "improve facilities, create opportunities and build communities".
- The Barclays Spaces for Sports scheme is a partnership between Barclays, Groundwork and the Football Foundation, providing £30m over three years to create or improve sports facilities in communities across the UK.
Funding
Sport England
Sport England provides National Lottery funding through a Community Investment Fund
Sport Relief
Sport Relief divides some of its funds between Community Foundation Networks to support work where there is clear evidence of a sustained beneficial impact on people's lives who are excluded or disadvantaged through low income, rural or social isolation, age, disabilities, race, sexuality or gender. Priority is to be given to small, locally based groups or organisations in areas of disadvantage that have a clear understanding of the needs of their community and are using sport and exercise as a means of addressing these needs.
Sports Relief Grants Criteria are:
- increasing access to sport and exercise for people who face social exclusion and isolation; and/or
- helping people who are experiencing difficulties in their lives to regain their confidence and self-esteem.
Examples include:
- A group of Asian women meeting for mutual support getting involved in keep fit or other sports activities
- Movement to Music classes for isolated older people
- A group of disabled people wanting to undertake sport or a club wanting to increase sporting opportunities for disabled people
- A bowling club wanting to extend its activities to provide short mat bowling to older/disabled people in an area
- Women's refuges wanting to undertake sport or exercise with the women or their children
- People with mental health problems wanting to help rebuild their lives through sport
- Refugees or asylum seekers using sport to help cope with traumatic experiences
- People with substance misuse issues using sport to aid recovery
Contact your nearest Community Foundation Network