Active Belfast Grants Scheme To Tackle Health Inequalities

Organisations across Belfast are being encouraged to inspire people to live a healthier lifestyle with the opportunity of £25,000 council funding.

Community, voluntary, statutory and private sector organisations can apply for the Active Belfast Grants Scheme and potentially gain financial support for citywide projects that urge the public to "get out and get active".

The initiative, a collaboration between Belfast City Council and the Public Health Agency (PHA), aims to tackle heath inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of citizens. Applications open next Monday, 01 April and close on Wednesday 01 May 2019.

Siobhan Toland, Operational Director of City and Neighbourhood Services in Belfast City Council, said the project is part of the Belfast Agenda, which sets out a vision for an inclusive and welcoming city where people can reach their full potential and experience good health and wellbeing in a vibrant, connected and environmentally friendly way.

She commented: "We are committed to supporting local organisations to improve the health and wellbeing of local people, helping them to make healthier choices and tackling health inequalities through a range of programmes.

"Active Belfast carries out great work to address the health inequalities that exist in this city. Walking and cycling are the easiest forms of activity to build into our daily lives and help get us all a little more active every day. The Active Belfast Grant scheme provides organisations with a great opportunity to get more people, more active, more often - and I encourage as many interested groups to get involved."

Chair of the Active Belfast Partnership and Head of Health & Social Wellbeing Improvement for Belfast and the South East at the PHA, Séamus Mullen, explained: "We want everyone in Belfast to experience good health and wellbeing by being more physically active and eating more healthily. We want to support organisations to design and deliver sustainable programmes, which help people make healthy choices, ultimately benefitting their health and wellbeing.

"We are delighted to work in partnership on this grants scheme, which will help provide enhanced opportunities for all age groups and abilities to be more physically active and increase their knowledge of how to eat a healthier diet. Living a healthy lifestyle is great for both our body and mind by helping to control our weight, and protecting against heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes.

"The benefits of regular exercise and eating a healthy, balanced diet are wider-ranging, so I encourage as many organisations as possible to step forward and apply."

More information on the scheme and details on how to apply can be accessed here.



(JG/CM)