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A Sporting Chance
One-day conference, 5 December 2007, Sheffield
Giving homeless people an opportunity to participate in sports activities can have a positive impact not only on their health, but also on their confidence and self-esteem. Involvement can promote new social networks, improve communication skills and, for some, encourage their move towards independence.
But homelessness agencies often have difficulty accessing sporting facilities and resources. This conference aimed to break down existing barriers by developing links between the homelessness sector and organisations working in the sport, fitness and health fields, and helping these organisations understand how to work with the sector and engage with this client group.
This was a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in making a positive, lasting difference to the lives of homeless people to gain a better understanding of how a sporting activity could be set up and to how to embrace the opportunities afforded.
Conference Aims
The aims of the conference were to enable delegates to:
• hear from service users who have benefited from participating in a sporting activity
• learn from the experience of agencies who have set up sporting or fitness projects
Malcolm Tungatt
• improve links between sports agencies and homelessness services
• discuss ways of ensuring a diverse range of service users have access to sporting and fitness activities
• help sports providers, funders and policy makers understand the specific needs of homeless people.
Opening Session
The Conference was opened by Rebecca Sycamore, Homeless Link's Director of Regional Development, and Malcolm Tungatt of Sport England.
To view Sport England slide show, please click here.
Workshop information
- WK1: Kitted out - setting up a sports based project
This workshop helped participants understand the practical steps required to successfully set up a sports-based project, drawing on the experiences of existing providers. The session also explored possible funding streams, how to build effective partnerships with key sporting contacts and how to best utilise the organisations and facilities that already exist in their local community.
- WK2: Sports for life – promoting health and well-being
Dave Webster, East Kent Cyrenians
Led by service providers with extensive experience of running successful programmes for homeless people involving improved fitness, this workshop described how such activities could be used to engage with service users and act as a trigger for improving self-esteem and reducing isolation. The session focused on what can be achieved in both hostel and day centre settings and explored ways to resource projects.
East Kent Cyrenians presentation
- WK3: Sports for all – ensuring projects are accessible to a wide range of service users
Anyone can benefit from participating in sport, both in terms of improved health and well-being. This workshop encouraged service providers to consider physical activities in the widest sense, broadening the appeal to the interests and abilities of a more diverse client group.
This session should have equipped service providers with practical examples of projects that could be replicated elsewhere for harder to reach clients.
- WK4: On track - routes into education, training and employment
This workshop explored the possible pathways into employment, qualifications and training in the sports sector available to homeless people. It also described the possible employability skills - in particular communication and self confidence - that can be developed through participating in sport and transferred to any working or volunteering opportunity. There was also the opportunity to hear from service users who have benefited from participating in a sports-focused careers programme.
Service users from Tyneside Cyrenians
- WK5: Winning the prize - understanding sports strategy, language and funding
This workshop explained national and regional sports policies and how they fit in with the homelessness sector, as well as current strategies to increase participation in sport and physical activities. The session also explored available funding streams, how the funding structure works and how best to access it, with the aim of facilitating closer working relationships between service providers, sports agencies and funders.
- WK6: Personal best - evaluating the impact of participating in a sporting activity
This workshop evaluated the impact of participating in a physical activity on a homeless person and aimed to explain how these outcomes could be measured. It focused on the soft outcomes that occur as a result of participating in a sports based project, which often provide the important detail that will give a real insight into the experiences of those who access a service. They describe the journey rather than the destination, and chart any changes that occur and the progress a person makes towards reaching his/her goal. There was also the opportunity to hear from an existing project on the changes that they have seen in their clients who have participated in a sporting activity.