Sport England Funding to help people on low incomes get active

The projects – which range from 'dad dancing' fitness programmes to free sports sessions for rough sleepers – will each receive up to £10,000.

Tackling inactivity

A third of people on low incomes are inactive, which means they do less than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each week.

We launched our Tackling Inactivity and Economic Disadvantage fund last year to help address the barriers they face to getting active.

Improving lives

One of the projects we're funding is the Challenge through Sport Initiative (CSI) in Lancashire.

The grant will help establish a community club in Blackburn, offering sports activities in a welcoming environment, particularly for those with mental health difficulties. This will build on the success the project has already had.

Dave Bayliff is a former drug and alcohol addict. He heard about the CSI project from a friend and decided to get involved.

He went from being completely inactive to taking part in weekly sports sessions and playing on a 5-a-side football team. He says this helped with his recovery and allowed him to get back into sport and activity.

"It's really important for me to keep myself busy; this has been a good way of doing that," he says. "I always liked sport at school but had just stopped doing it because of the situation I was in."

Dave is now a CSI support worker, helping others in recovery through sport and physical activity.

All the projects we're funding will focus on groups facing economic disadvantage, such as lone parents, ethnic minorities and refugees.

Source: (Sport England, 2018)