Wolverhampton Wrestling Club have been given £4,400 by PCC Simon Foster to promote better mental health in the Wolverhampton area. The money will go towards a new “Wellbeing Hub”, which will be based in the Cannock Road Gurdwara in Wolverhampton.
The idea for the Wellbeing Hub came from wrestlers at the club, who were worried about the impact of stress and anxiety on the local community since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The project aims to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation in Wolverhampton’s underrepresented communities, who have been hit particularly hard during lockdown.
The Wellbeing Hub will use the money to train volunteers to host 1-2-1 and group sessions with participants from the local community, and hopes to provide a safe, dedicated, and judgement-free space for people to meet and talk.
The money will also pay for specialist stress management courses for users of the Hub, which will increase the confidence and self-esteem of participants by providing them with useful tools and coping strategies to manage stress and promote healthier living.
The Wellbeing Hub will also put on a wide variety of multi-sports projects for people of all ages as a way to tackle poor mental and physical health. The PCC’s cash boost will support the Club to offer sports like archery, golf, and football to people of all ages completely free of charge.
Hub volunteers will also use the money to train detached volunteers who hope to help people in the wider Whitmore Reans and Bilston areas. They also hope to work with local GP surgeries, who they hope can refer people to the Hub if needed.
The Community Initiatives Fund provides support targeted at areas of deprivation across the West Midlands. The Fund was set up to recognise the role of grassroots organisations, like Wolverhampton Wrestling Club, who support their local areas in their COVID-19 recovery. The Police and Crime Commissioner has been able to support this project by using a pot of cash seized from criminals. The money can’t be spent on police officers as it isn’t guaranteed each year.
Simon Foster, Police and Crime Commissioner, said:
“The Wolverhampton Wrestling Club have a long tradition of serving their community, and I am proud that my Community Initiatives Fund will support this to continue through the Wellbeing Hub. I applaud the initiative of the Club in setting this project up. Supporting the mental health of communities is a top priority as we begin to leave lockdown, and it is why the Hub will be an absolutely vital resource in the months and years ahead.”
Ranjit Singh, Project Leader at Wolverhampton Wrestling Club, said:
“I am really grateful that we have been supported to set the Hub up. Being based out of a place of worship gives us access to the local community, where we have seen first-hand how detrimental lockdown has been to the mental health of people and communities in Wolverhampton. I hope this will be a space where people can come into the Gurdwara if they need a listening ear. I’m really proud of our volunteers and the funding from the PCC will help us to establish this properly and make sure that we can reach as many people as possible”
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