US is a North East charity which helps young people aged 12 to 25, with and at risk of developing mental health issues get involved in exercise and sport to improve the quality of their life. The Charity was registered with the Charity Commission in April 2016. Dr Mary Jane Tacchi, a local psychiatrist had the original vision for US. Throughout her career she has campaigned for mental health to be taken as seriously as physical health.
Why was the charity founded?
“Mental illness can be very disabling and have devastating consequences. Stigma about mental illness still exists and it can be difficult to talk about it. Despite mental illnesses being 6 of the top 10 most burdensome disorders worldwide there are many fewer charities for mental illness than for physical illness.
Four years ago I thought I need to do something about this! I met Yvonne Hurlow who is passionate about exercise and helping young people and so we founded US charity. US helps young people with or at risk of developing mental illness to become active as a way of improving their quality of life, mental and physical and health.
Raising awareness of the issue is important but we also need to be doing something about it. We want to do both. We do not provide treatment but serve as an adjunct for a population who may be disadvantaged as a result of their illness”
The US model of offering sport and exercise opportunities is based on the premise that sport and exercise can empower young people experiencing mental health and emotional well-being issues to;
-Feel good I
-Improve their mental and physical health
-Make friends and have fun
-Improve their self-image
-Become more confident
-Set and achieve goals
-Be more successful in education, training or work
-Stay active throughout their lives
Which area do you cover?
We work in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Durham.
What type of fundraising events do you normally have? We have an active fund raising committee who are responsible for arranging events. We try and provide fun and interesting events that are not too expensive to appeal to different age groups and interests These have included: Flower arranging demonstration and lunch Christmas wreath workshop and afternoon tea Annual Christmas family film night Annual cycle challenge Great North Run Guided Newcastle tours Discos Since lockdown we have had a series of successful events online: Legs bums and tums exercise class by Scott Miller Cookery demonstrations by various chefs A fitness day by the Fitness Cooperative Lockdown hair dressing for men by GHFM A make-up masterclass by Heidi Shepherd Other funds come from grants, sponsorship, donations and crowdfunding.
How have you adapted to working through the coronavirus pandemic?
Prior to lock down all our activities were face to face and we had to adapt. We quickly realised that we could still have meaningful engagement though Zoom and have continued this format for both 1:1 and small group activities. In response to Covid restrictions impacting on the emotional well-being of all young people we are currently delivering an online programme called GetOnline-Get-Active (GOGA). It delivers online classes for all 12-25 year old who have been affected by Covid. It runs for 15 weeks with classes nearly every day at different times for different age groups. Funds came from a Crowd Funding campaign initiated by the North of Tyne Authority. Online exercise is not for everyone but we will continue with some online activity after lockdown as it gives us more flexibility.
What have been your proudest moments so far?
1. Our proudest moments are always when young people and their parents tell us about the impact US activities have had on their lives.
Quote from young carer: “Doing the fitness online has made such a difference to my life. I was sitting yesterday about to binge eat and watch TV and I thought NO! I’m going to do some fitness instead. It helped. I still ate my chocolate
