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As a child, did you ever stand on the sidelines of a football match wishing you could join in but feeling unable to? Sport has numerous benefits, from mental and physical wellbeing to boosting skills such as perseverance and resilience, and yet less than half of all children get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

There are many reasons for this. Cost is a considerable barrier. According to Sport England, children from the least affluent families are far less likely to meet the recommended 60 minutes than those from more affluent families (45% compared to 57%). When you consider that kids’ sports clubs are often private organisations that charge £70+ an hour for a pitch, it’s hardly surprising that less affluent families are often priced out.

Confidence is another barrier. Many children don’t see themselves as ‘sporty’ and aren’t confident enough to put themselves forward to play.

Accessible sport

Community Switch Sports is giving more children in Hammersmith the chance to enjoy sports. Co-Directors Danny Hibbert and Lucy Wragg have created a space where everyone feels included and able to participate. One way they’ve done this is by inventing a whole new sport – switch.

Unlike most other sports, switch can be played by mixed-gender, mixed-ability and mixed-age teams of three, five or seven players. It brings together five different sports: football, basketball, handball, volleyball and netball. Danny explains, “The pitch is split into three sections. The middle section is only for football. The two end zones are where you score and are for all the hand sports. You’ve only got seven seconds with a ball in your hands, though, so you have to pass it; it’s not just about you. With switch, everyone gets involved. You don’t need a high level of skill to play. You see kids realise, ‘OK, this isn’t as hard as it looks. I can do this.’

“A lot of the kids that play switch don’t play other sports. Switch is their sport, for them. They feel really included as they can all do their bit. If they’re not great at kicking the ball, they might be good at throwing or catching it. Seeing kids playing a game that came from my mind is pretty amazing. I feel really fortunate to be doing what I do.”

The CIC runs free community switch sessions, and the sport is also played at several local schools. Switch isn’t just growing in popularity in the UK; Danny has taught the sport to PE teachers across Jamaica. He says, “I’ve been invited over to Jamaica twice. Both my parents were Jamaican, so to go to their country and take my sport there was just amazing.”

Affordable sport in Hammersmith

Along with switch, the CIC runs football clubs for children aged four to 13. A key aim is to make sport affordable, so families on Universal Credit pay just £3.50 a session per child. The CIC’s holiday clubs are £1 a day for members and give children the chance to try a range of sports, from athletics to rounders, and to go on day trips. Danny says, “Social mobility is very important for these children. Some of these kids are stuck on this estate day-in, day-out, never going anywhere, so we like to take them out to the beach and other places.”

He adds, “I’ve been that child who couldn’t afford to go to holiday clubs. I’ve been the dad who couldn’t afford to send his kids. So, that’s why I do this. For me, sport should be as affordable as it can possibly be. Otherwise, you’ve got kids standing on the sidelines, watching others playing sport where they live, but they can’t afford to join in.”

One of the reasons that Community Switch Sports can afford to keep costs down for children is because it’s able to use three of the pitches at Hammersmith Park (also known as BBC Park) for free. However, that almost wasn’t the case. Danny explains, “About eight years ago, a company turned up and said, ‘We’re putting 10 pitches in this park and we’re going to charge you to use them.’ The community said, ‘No. This is our park. We’ve been playing here for free all our lives. If you want to be part of that, you need to give us something in return.’ In the end, a woman called Virginia Ironside took them to court and we won! We got three pitches for free, for all the kids from around this area to use.”

There are currently no local children’s football leagues, so the CIC is partnering with other clubs to start their own league. Danny says, “You can only train children for so long before they want to compete. They need to compete. It gives them so many life skills.”

As well as giving local children the chance to play sport, Community Switch Sports offers work experience and employment opportunities. Danny explains, “Most of our staff were kids who came to our sessions; I’ve known some of them since they were five or six. Several of our coaches have since moved on to work in other jobs in sport.”

Hammersmith United Charities’ support

Community Switch Sports is celebrating its tenth anniversary this August. Over the years, the CIC has received several grants from Hammersmith United Charities. Danny says, “HUC has always been part of our journey. They helped to start us off. One of the great things about the grants is that we can use the money to pay our staff, which you can’t always do with grants.”

Get involved

If you love sport and believe more children should be able to access it, then Danny would love to hear from you. He says, “We’re always looking for new people to help out. We’ve got a lovely community, with lovely kids, so whether you’re 14 or 60, get in touch.”

Find out more at: www.switchsports.co.uk

The Reanella Trust launched during the pandemic as an online support group for young people, to help tackle isolation during lockdown. However, as Project Manager Katy Cooper explains, “We were so inundated with requests for support during that time that we applied for official registration with the Charity Commission in 2021. We thought, ‘We can’t just leave these young people without support.’ We chose the name Reanella because that was the name of our founder’s best friend. She lost her life to suicide in 2002 due to unsupported mental illness.”

The charity now runs targeted projects lasting six to eight weeks for children and young people aged between eight and 25. Each cohort of 30–40 people is able to access online group workshops and one-to-one support, delivered by a qualified, accredited psychologist. They can also take part in face-to-face activities, such as cookery and sport.

The impact of these Resilience Recovery Relief projects can be transformative, as one service user, Ginger, explains:

“Resilience Recovery Relief has given me the tools and encouragement I have desperately needed to overcome the negative thought patterns that held me back for so long. The inclusive environment provided by the project has allowed me to heal from the physical abuse I endured as a child. I’m now in a positive headspace to pursue education and start looking towards my future. I can’t thank the project and staff enough for helping me rediscover my worth and potential.”

R. Demetrius, one of The Reanella Trust’s clinical psychologists, adds, “I’ve witnessed remarkable transformations in the young individuals I’ve worked with through this project. The one-to-one therapy provided a safe space for them to heal, grow, and develop essential coping strategies.”

Three of the projects, offering around 120 places in total, have been funded with grants from Hammersmith United Charities.

Focusing support on under-served communities

The Trust has narrowed its focus over the last few years and now primarily works with two target groups:

• Black and disabled children and young people
• Black children and young people who have bipolar

Katy explains, “We’re quite a small organisation and wanted to focus on addressing a need that wasn’t being otherwise supported. We’ve developed relationships with these particular communities and demographics and people keep coming back to us for support. So, we kind of allowed the communities to direct and inform how we supported them.”

Black-led support

The Reanella Trust is a Black-led organisation and mainly focuses on providing support to Black children and young people. Katy explains, “While there’s been a very positive shift in understanding cultural differences, nobody can understand those nuances more than somebody with that lived experience. So that’s what we’re trying to inculcate into our provision.

“Black people, as a whole, don’t tend to gravitate towards traditional methods of mental health support. Back in the 60s and 70s, a lot of Black people with mental health difficulties were sectioned; a huge proportion of that demographic, who could have had support in the community, were basically written off. So, there’s historic mistrust and apprehension about the intentions of some supportive industries. There’s also a ‘stiff-upper-lip’ attitude; Black people don’t always believe that mental illness needs supporting.

“We’re trying to shift that perspective. As we’re a Black-led organisation, parents are maybe more open to us coming into their families and saying, ‘We can help you. Your children can benefit from external support.’ We’re able to immerse ourselves into these families in a way that other organisations may not be able to.”

Meeting an intermediate need

The majority of The Reanella Trust’s service users are on the waiting list for support from CAMHS (children and adolescents mental health services). However, as Katy says, “Some of these young people have been on the waiting list for over a year. We’ve lost service users to suicide in that time and self-harm is escalating. We’re just trying to provide intermediate support whilst they’re waiting for CAMHS.”

R. Demetrius adds, “We are all aware of the limitations of NHS services and the long waiting lists make it nearly impossible for young people who are struggling to receive timely help. The work The Reanella Trust is conducting is so important and the team works hard to help all of the young people who enrol.”

Supporting families

Katy says, “Often parents are unintentionally overlooked by mental health services, but the severe challenges experienced by young people have repercussions on siblings and parents. So, we provide a holistic and wraparound supportive service for the whole family.”

The trust’s aim is to ensure that parents and carers have the tools to support their young people after the project has finished.

The foster parent of one service user shares, “I have seen firsthand the positive effect that this project has had on our family dynamics and home life. The support and resources provided have not only improved J’s mental well-being but have also strengthened our family bond. We now have a better understanding of their needs and J is more capable of letting us know what she is feeling, and the tools she has gained have helped create a more supportive and nurturing environment for everyone.”

Offering ongoing support

The Trust’s support doesn’t stop completely at the end of a project. Many of the children and young people will return in a subsequent cohort. Katy shares, “We keep in contact with them between projects. Our plan is to train previous service users to support other young people. Whilst that helps our new cohorts, it also gives those previous service users a sense of purpose and keeps them engaged.”

Mental Health Awareness Week

12 to 18 May 2025 is Mental Health Awareness Week. This year’s theme is ‘Community’. Katy says, “Awareness weeks like this are very important, as long as they reach a broad demographic of people.

“They can help people who are struggling with mental illness to know that they’re not alone – that there are other people in a similar situation. It also raises awareness amongst people who might be unaware of what mental health challenges actually look like on a day-to-day basis, and how people can be supported.”

Find out more

The Reanella Trust relies on grants and donations to fund its work, and many of its team members are volunteers. If you’d like to find out more, please visit: www.reanellatrust.org

If you or your child are awaiting a CAMHS referral, the following charities may also be able to offer support:

• Young Minds
• Anna Freud
• Mind

From stress and anxiety, to eating disorders and depression, mental health issues are on the rise, including amongst children. According to the NHS, around one in five children aged 8–16 have a ‘probable mental disorder’.

There are many reasons for poor mental health, including cyber bullying, family breakdowns, academic pressure and the impact of the pandemic. Socio-deprivation also plays a role; children with a probable mental health disorder are more than twice as likely as their peers to live in a household that has fallen behind with rent, bills or a mortgage.

Early intervention can have a huge impact on a child’s life, helping them to learn coping mechanisms and to increase resilience before a mental health issue becomes a crisis. However, CAMHS (children and adolescents mental health services) are struggling to meet demand, which has led to long delays for support. While the average waiting time is 108 days, some children are forced to wait for two years or more before accessing government-funded support. Many children do not qualify for CAMHS support at all, even if their day-to-day life is being impacted by poor mental health.

Without support, mental health issues can worsen, escalating from relatively mild symptoms to crisis point. More than one in four young people under 25 reported that they’d tried to take their own life as a result of having to wait for mental health support.

Wendell Park Primary School

Wendell Park Primary School has been offering art therapy to pupils in need for almost a decade. The one-to-one sessions are led by Karissa Patel, an art psychotherapist.

Karissa shares, “Many of the children who are referred to me have experienced some kind of trauma, which has a knock on effect on their self-esteem and confidence, particularly with children who have experienced some form of bullying. Some children might also question their self-worth if they’ve experienced being taken into care. Anxiety may heighten and seep into how a child engages with adults and peers if they have experienced or witnessed domestic violence. Additionally, trauma can also be experienced through loss of a loved one, whether that’s through bereavement or being removed from their parent(s). Overall, adverse childhood experiences have affected their day-to-day life. Art therapy helps to support children to voice their questions and make sense of their experiences; to create understanding rather than thinking, ‘It’s my fault that this happened.’

“Referrals are often times identified by behavioural, social or emotional challenges. For instance, the child might be acting out in class, unable to focus or to control their anger; they could start to withdraw and isolate themselves from their peers, refusing to socialise and engage, sometimes to the extreme of refusing to come to school.”

Art therapy

As Karissa explains, “Art therapy uses creative processes to help the child to express and explore their thoughts, feelings and experiences, and to understand how their experiences affect everyday connections. It’s a non-judgmental, non-threatening space where the child can figure out who they are and learn to be more compassionate towards themselves.

“Art making can consist of drawing, painting and working with clay, plasticine, play-doh, sand and so on. There’s also an element of play involved, particularly for younger children. There isn’t a huge difference between art and play for young children, and it’s through these creative means that they develop their main way of communicating during their early years.

“Sometimes, it’s about giving children who may have had to grow up too quickly a chance to just be a child again. For example, they might be a young carer or an elder sibling who is given a lot of responsibility. They might act very mature but need help to catch up emotionally or psychologically.

“I take a child-led approach. Children have very little say in major decisions that affect them, such as where they’re moving to or who they’re going to live with. They lack control in their day-to-day life. So, the child tells me what they want to do. Once trust has developed, they will start to open up and include me. We can then work towards finding the right coping tools so the child is able to articulate and identify feelings in a healthier way. The overall aim is to help foster emotional resiliency.”

Karissa works with each child for between two terms and a year, during which time the child’s mental health and behaviour will usually improve. Rosie Peters, Head of Wendell Park Primary School, says, “Therapy profoundly impacts vulnerable children, fostering greater confidence and resilience. We receive positive feedback from parents, teachers and the children themselves. We see the impact art therapy makes on a young person’s self-confidence, on their ability to try and believe in themselves, and, overall, on them having a better sense of self-awareness.”

Grant funding

Karissa’s work with the children at Wendell Park Primary School is funded through a Hammersmith United Charities grant. Karissa shares, “It’s only because of charities like HUC that we can provide early intervention mental health care. It allows for those children who may not meet the criteria for CAMHS or who are facing a long wait list to be seen sooner, rather than having that long wait time where their symptoms might otherwise get worse.”

Find out more

You can find out more about art therapy and Karissa Patel on her website.

If you or your child are awaiting a CAMHS referral, the following charities may be able to offer support:

• Young Minds
• Anna Freud
• Mind

If you work in a school and want to support your pupils’ mental health, you can visit the Anna Freud website to download educational resources, including templates and toolkits.

Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 12 to 18 May 2025. This year’s focus is on celebrating the power of community. One charity that truly understands the importance of a supportive community is Barons Court Project. The charity manages Hammersmith’s only day centre for people who are sleeping rough and/or experiencing mental ill-health. According to Crisis, mental ill-health can be both a cause and a consequence of homelessness. Eight out of 10 people sleeping rough have been diagnosed with a mental health issue.

Michael Angus is the Director of Barons Court Project. He shares, “We focus on three areas: ‘Body’, ‘Mind’ and ‘Spirit’. Body comprises all the services that we offer to cater to our guests’ physical needs, such as showers, meals, laundry, podiatry, dental work, haircuts and so on.

“Mind is about one-to-one support for people who may not have the capacity to do everything by themselves. That might include filling out benefit forms and housing applications, writing a CV, searching for jobs and getting started with volunteering.

“Spirit is about the things that enable people to live life in all its fullness – art, football, 10-pin bowling, and trips to museums, the theatre and Brighton, for instance. Enabling people to have a fuller life is particularly important for rough sleepers, because if you’re a male rough sleeper, your life expectancy is just 43.

“We also have a women’s support group, where women can get peer support and check in with each other. If someone has had a bad week, there’ll be people to say, “Did you try this?” or “What are you looking forward to for the coming week?” Just being part of a supportive community can really help people’s mental health.

“Many of our guests live with mental ill-health. Some have been coming here for many years and have been in and out of psychiatric wards. As an example, we had one lady in her 70s who said she wanted us to come to her funeral and for me to sing Jerusalem. When she died, I couldn’t make the funeral date, but her daughter said, ‘This project was such an important part of my mum’s life and recovery and wellness. We will move the funeral so that you can come.’”

“Our work is about loving people, often people who don’t love themselves and who don’t feel loved. It’s about trying to lift people’s spirits and show them that there’s hope, that things can improve. If they relapse, we’ll pick them up and carry on the next day.”

Mental Health Awareness Week

Michael feels that Mental Health Awareness Week plays an important role in acknowledging that “we’re all human and not every day is a good day.”

He says, “We’ve come a long way in terms of being more open about mental ill-health and understanding that it’s normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Years ago, people lived with the whole stiff upper lip, pull yourself together attitude, which is so damaging.

“We need to take care of each other. It’s not about wrapping people up in cotton wool, but about accepting that we’re all different and that we all express ourselves in different ways. We shouldn’t be fearful of mental ill-health or the people who are experiencing it.

“Our guests are some of the most beautiful, talented, extraordinary, wonderful people that I’ve ever had the privilege to meet. And it’s a joy to spend time with them.”

Hammersmith United Charities’ support

Barons Court Project has recently received a £10,000 grant from Hammersmith United Charities. It’s using the money to help pay for a project worker.

Project workers greet guests at the day centre, provide one-to-one and group support, and offer advice and assistance on accommodation, benefits, employment, volunteering and other services.

HomeLess Made

Barons Court Project sells greetings cards and gifts featuring artwork by some of its guests. The money raised is split between the artist and the charity. Michael shares, “HomeLess Made started as a lockdown project. When I first suggested it to our guests, they said ‘Our art isn’t good enough. We are not good enough.’ The project has helped to show them that their art is good enough, and that they are good enough and they deserve this. We’ve seen the artists increase in confidence, self-esteem and dignity.”

One of the artists is Guan. Around 15 years ago, Guan was managing a shop in Oxford Street, but he was made redundant when the shop closed. His father then passed away in Malaysia, and Guan couldn’t afford the airfare to go to the funeral. Michael shares, “He wasn’t able to grieve properly and had a lot of shame and guilt at not being there to support his mum and his siblings. That led to him having a massive mental-health breakdown and becoming homeless.

“Guan was placed in Crisis House. While there, someone gave him some paint and paper and brushes. He’d never painted before in his life. When he started, his work was very angry – dark brown and black and grey. But each day, he went to the park. When spring came, he saw the trees starting to come back to life, and he said to himself, ‘If these trees can come back from the dead, why can’t I?’ That was his inspiration to use colour. And so, he painted a rainbow tree as a symbol of hope and new beginnings, which we made into a card.

“We’ve since sold lots of Guan’s cards, which has earned him thousands of pounds. He’s now got a stable home and recently spent two months in Malaysia reconnecting with his mum and siblings.”

Get involved

Do you have a skill you could share with others? Whether you’re an artist, a whizz at knitting or just enjoy singing, woodwork, pottery, cookery or another activity, Barons Court Project would love to hear from you.

Michael explains, “We’ve had volunteers in to teach drumming, yoga, creative writing, drama and all different things. If you have time to help us run activities, then we’ll be able to offer even more opportunities to our guests.”

Email services@baronscourtproject.org to find out more.

You can also donate to Barons Court Project through its website and support the charity and its guests by buying your greetings cards through HomeLess Made.

Watch Guan talking about his artwork