“Move together” launched across Oxfordshire to help vulnerable residents
A new county-wide programme “Move Together” has launched today and will support hundreds of Oxfordshire residents most affected by Covid-19 to move more and protect their health and wellbeing.
The Move Together initiative received a total of £362,975 from the Contain Outbreak Management Fund and Active Oxfordshire will be co-ordinating it. South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils will work alongside them and the other districts across the county to provide personalised support for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable and who have been shielding and any residents whose health has been affected by the lockdowns over the past year.
A wide range of support and choices of activities will be available to residents through the councils’ Active Communities team, including home activity packs, phone calls/befriender services, community activities and exercise sessions for specific conditions.
The support provided will be personalised to each individual based on their specific needs and will be provided by physical activity specialists.
Move Together will reach vulnerable residents across the county, helping them to increase their physical activity levels in a way that works for them.
Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers, Cabinet member for Community Services in South Oxfordshire District Council said: “Many of our vulnerable residents have had to shield for a lot of the past year meaning that they hardly left their homes. Even when they were encouraged to go out the uncertainty of everything meant that they felt afraid to.
“This has had a detrimental effect on the health of some of those residents, both physically and mentally. The Move Together initiative offers great support to those who need help to feel confident about going out again.”
Cllr Helen Pighills, Cabinet member for Healthy Communities at Vale of White Horse District Council said: “Move Together is such a wonderful scheme. It’s a chance for us to help those who have really struggled since the first lockdown last year to get their “bounce” back through befriender schemes and activities to help them get moving and feeling fitter.”
“Initiatives like this are a really important way to support residents and enable us to build healthy communities which is one of our main priorities as a council”.
Paul Brivio, Chief Executive of Active Oxfordshire, said: “We’re delighted to be able to launch Move Together across Oxfordshire, with local authority and voluntary sector partners working together to ensure that physical activity can play a key role in our county’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. The benefits of moving more are significant and Move Together will not only improve residents’ physical and mental health but will help to reduce isolation and loneliness too. Move Together is set to transform hundreds of lives through the power of physical activity.”
On Tuesday 6 July there will be a webinar held for Oxfordshire organisations and partners interested in referring into the scheme. This webinar is open to any organisation working with people most affected by Covid-19 and will provide lots of information and advice about how to refer into Move Together.
For more information about Move Together and to get involved, visit: www.getoxfordshireactive.org/move-together
