Supporting wellbeing through community

• People with disabilities or long-term health conditions
• People with mental health problems
• People who are lonely or isolated
• People who have other, complex needs that impact their life. 

Raising awareness of your organisation locally and making sure that other organisations such as those listed above are aware of your offer can help to recommend you as a possible support option for the individuals they work with. 

Instead, it may be that people working directly with individuals in need, or in the places that they spend time, can suggest joining a sports club or group and signpost those in need to local organisations.

Raising awareness of your organisation locally can therefore help make you a valid choice for people.

However, in some areas, more formal community systems might exist. Some areas have a ‘Link Worker’ whose role is to create partnerships with GPs, voluntary organisations, local authorities and other organisations that can refer people who need tailored support.

Using their knowledge of different local services and organisations, Link Workers work with people in need to co-produce a support plan, which might include them joining a sports club or group. 

If a link worker recommends your club or group to an individual who then joins, the Link Worker may get in touch to establish a shared plan to ensure that the experience you provide meets the needs of the individual attending. However, this won’t always be the case.

A Link Worker might not be able to let you know in advance, or people might find your organisation another way. Being ready and willing to welcome new people and meet their needs is therefore really important. 

Creating an inclusive environment that makes people feel comfortable and supported is key to this, in addition to being ready to listen and adapt to people’s needs and having robust safeguarding and welfare procedures in place.

If your area does have a Link Worker, it might be useful to ask for their advice on creating joining processes that enable you to effectively identify and support individuals in need.  

• Helping to place your organisation at the heart of the community. By becoming a source of support for those in need and embedding your organisation within the networks around them, you will be able to play an important and valued role locally. 
• Increasing the diversity of your membership. By welcoming new people into your organisation through different routes, you will be able to increase your sustainability at the same time as bringing people together from a range of backgrounds and support diversity and community cohesion. 
• Working for social good. Giving back to the community is really important for a lot of sports clubs and groups, and supporting local people’s needs is a great way to do this. 
• Boosting your reputation. Positioning your club or group as somewhere that can support people’s mental and physical health and wellbeing within the community will help to create and promote your reputation as being a great place to be. 
• Finding new volunteers. Some people who join you might also want to get involved as a volunteer, so be sure to ask them when the time is right.

The term and concept applies to lots of other activities too. Link Workers, or others in the community, can help people get involved in the arts, volunteering or other hobbies and activities that can meet their needs and improve their quality of life.   

If you don’t, raising awareness of your club or group across your community, including with key organisations and people like social workers or health professionals that can refer individuals to you, can help to bring people to your organisation through word of mouth. However, it is important to first make sure that you have a culture and environment that makes people feel comfortable, with robust safeguarding in place, to ensure you can best support those in need.