Active Prospects Impact Report 2024. - Flipbook - Page 12
Our social impact
This year we expanded our social impact,
both geographically (with new homes
opening in Horsham and Brighton & Hove)
and through our service offer, with the
launch of a Wellbeing Coaching project,
two innovative workforce development
pathways, and the start of our Oliver
McGowan training programme.
Active Wellbeing Coaching
This year we launched our Active Wellbeing Coaching project,
funded by a grant from Surrey County Council’s Mental Health
Investment Fund which was set up in 2023 to fund innovative
solutions to the growing issue of mental ill health in Surrey.
Active Wellbeing Coaching aims to fill the gap in effective
support in Surrey for autistic people who also have a mental
health diagnosis, by offering people up to a year’s support
from a wellbeing coach.
The small team of Wellbeing Coaches are trained in supporting
people with both mental health needs and autism, and
work with people individually to understand their needs and
aspirations, and set and achieve their goals. The project also
incorporates ‘social prescribing’, defined by NHS England as “an
approach that connects people to activities, groups, and services
in their community to meet the practical, social and emotional
needs that affect their health and wellbeing”.
Participants use a bespoke wellbeing outcome tool to track
their progress and have access to a discretionary budget of up
to £1,000 to spend (with their coach’s approval) on activities
or support which would make the biggest difference to their
wellbeing. For example, one participant was able to access
paddleboarding and outdoor adventure courses; another has
completed a sports coaching course; and another is going back
to university having dropped out due to a mental health crisis
prior to receiving coaching support.
10
The project is already
working with 80 people and
is expected to reach up to
180 by the end of the pilot.
We are also developing
a digital version of the
wellbeing outcome tool,
which will launch in 2025.
