Walking group: an isolation-busting boost to body and mind!

The walking group project has recently been successfully completed.

Earlier in 2021 the WAITE team set up a fortnightly walking group for deaf, hard of hearing and deafened people who live within the Greater Manchester area. The group started to meet after lockdown restrictions had been lifted in the spring and has continued to walk once a fortnight throughout the summer. There have been 9 walks and the distance covered has totalled over 50km. Most of the walks involved visiting and exploring different Manchester parks including Debdale Park, Heaton Park, Alexandra Park, and Whitworth Park.

We decided to celebrate the end of the project by making a trip to Blackpool. We went up Blackpool tower, walked along the beach and finished off with fish & chips. The mum of a walking group attendee had this to say:

"Hi, I would just like to say how absolutely fantastic the walkabout has been. Speaking on behalf of myself and my daughter the fact that she can get out and about with a group of her peers has had a huge effect on both her mental and physical heath. To be able to visit all different parks and places, independent from me with a group who she can communicate with has been brilliant, especially as she and a lot of deaf people can feel extremely isolated, and after this last year and half we all realised how important being outside in nature is for our overall wellbeing, and I do hope that there will be another chance for this to happen again."

This project was made possible by a Greater Manchester Walking grant. Thank you to Greater Manchester Moving, and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership who have provided funding to support people to walk more regularly.