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Renfrewshire youth project is a real mover and shaker
Youngsters growing up in care are enjoying the physical benefits of playing sports.
Renfrewshire projects are being singled out by health bosses for their amazing work in showcasing how kids from care backgrounds can excel in physical exercise.
Active Communities and Who Cares? Scotland launched Care2B Active with the aim of giving youngsters aged 10 to 18 a greater opportunity to shine at games and sports.
Minister for Sport , Joe FitzPatrick, visited a Renfrewshire project to find out how it is getting more care- experienced young people taking part in sport.
He said: “Sport has the power to change lives and we know that being physically active is one of the best things that we can do for our physical and mental health.
“All young people in Scotland should be able to grow up with the same opportunities and initiatives such as free football sessions, the wellbeing hub and multi-sport taster sessions from Care2B Active are vital in breaking down barriers to participation in sport for care experienced young people.
“Being active can also bring about positive changes beyond participation and impact positively on the health, wellbeing, skills and learning of care experienced young people and on the health of communities by ensuring a more inclusive nation.”
Who Cares? Scotland youth engagement support officer, Kareen Stewart, added: “Sport is not something that is always easy to access for someone who is careexperienced.
“Whether you are looked after at home, adopted, fostered, in a residential unit or in formal or informal kinship care, there are lots of things that make it difficult to participate in physical activity.
“We find that many young people don’t know about the services available or that the system makes it difficult to get a consent form signed by the all the correct people in order to participate.”
The project offers free weekly football sessions at Ferguslie Park which welcome boys and girls along to play alongside their non-care peers.
Active Communities youth development worker Tina Hodge said: “Taking part in a club like this gives young people a purpose.
“They can learn to focus on something positive through sport and escape from what can be a chaotic upbringing.”
As well as weekly football sessions, Care2B Active runs a Wellbeing Hub in Johnstone which looks at both physical and mental wellbeing, combining physical activity with guided meditation, self care and coping mechanism workshops, as well as creating a space for discussion so participants can explore their care identity.
The initiative has also launched a third project in Foxbar offering come- and- try sessions across multiple sports, driven by the young people.
Chief executive of sportscotland, Stewart Harris, said: “We see time and again that sport has the power to change lives and being physically active is one of the best things we can do for our physical and mental health.”