News

Homeless helped by student sports-coaching scheme

(13 March 2008)

Homeless groups in the North East will benefit from a student sports coaching scheme.

The coaching is part of a one million pound project to help tackle social problems and prepare the region for the 2012 Olympics. Student volunteers from the North East’s five universities will run regular sports sessions for the homeless through the scheme designed to raise aspirations as well as integrate universities with local communities. Durham University will lead on the scheme, with over 160 students from Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside universities providing physical activity sessions for over 15 homeless groups. The coaching scheme, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), forms part of a regional response to HEFCE’s aim of strengthening the higher education sector’s contribution to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. Those running the scheme – known as the HEFCE Programme - say the Games have the potential to inspire people to get involved in regular physical activity and encourage them to become volunteers in 2012. Homeless groups in Durham, Consett and Stanley are already benefitting from the weekly coaching sessions held at Durham University Sports Centre. The sessions are advertised to young people who either live in temporary accommodation provided by homeless groups or access help from homeless organisations, giving them a chance to take part in the programme. As well as working with homeless groups, the scheme will provide extra physical activity sessions to looked after children’s groups and local school children. The student volunteers, who will gain National Governing Body coaching qualifications, will also be working with young people aged 14 to 19 on an event management programme. The teenagers on the programme will eventually link into university events as volunteers themselves. Durham University student volunteer, Emma Cowey, said: “Volunteering gives me the opportunity to broaden my experiences with young adults in a sporting environment. “I hope to progress to a standard of coaching where I will be able to take a more leading role in sessions and make an impact on participants’ lives. “Each week we have a lot of fun and the standard of ability is always improving. I look forward to continuing to volunteer in a wide range of sports and activities.” Dr Peter Warburton, Director of Sport at Durham University, said: “Over the last three years we have been working closely with partners to deliver sporting projects to disadvantaged groups and this will be a powerful extension of this work. “With the 2012 Olympics close at hand this is a real opportunity for the universities and the region to work in partnership on a lasting legacy for the future.” The HEFCE Programme forms part of larger initiative run by Sport Universities North East England (SUNEE). The collaboration between the five North East universities works to promote social equity and impact positively on the daily lives of the communities where they are based through projects such as the HEFCE Programme. Durham University has recently been confirmed as one of the potential Olympic training camps for the 2012 Games. CASE STUDY With a past record of drug abuse and criminal convictions, 30-year-old David McCormack is probably the last person you’d expect to be building schools in Ghana and managing a successful Sunday league football team for the homeless. But that is exactly what he is doing thanks to the help of the Second Chance Programme run by Sport’s Universities North East England (SUNEE). Brought up in care from the age of 18 months, David was moved around 19 times before his sixteenth birthday. By the age of 21 he was heavily into drug use, addicted to cocaine and ecstasy. Between 2003 to 2005 he faced criminal charges including possession of a class A drug and breach of the peace. In May 2007 David collapsed and almost died from overdose. Through ‘Tyneside Cyrenians’, a Newcastle based homeless organisation, David began to receive help. With the support of a case-worker, he gradually stopped taking drugs, found somewhere to live and took the first steps to recovery. As part of his treatment, David got involved in the Second Chance Programme. As he progressed, he managed to stay off drugs and took his level one football coaching qualification. In June 2007 David became a volunteer at a Cyrenian’s walk-in centre, Ron Eager House, working with others in need. He is now a full-time support worker for homeless people. David said: “The programme enabled me to have a day-to-day focus on something that I like, football. It gave me back a zest for life. “As a support worker I’m using my experiences to help others. Because I’ve been involved in the ‘system’ since I was 18 months old, this makes it easier to understand people. “For example, I can tell when someone’s not being completely honest and confront them. People respond to me better because I can tell them I’ve been through it myself.” David lives in Newcastle and runs a successful Cyrenian’s Sunday league team, supported by the Second Chance Programme, which has won many trophies. He also recently returned from Ghana where he was amongst a group of previously homeless people volunteering to help build a school. Neil Hurren, Regional Universities Sports Coordinator for SUNEE said: “David’s story is one that is hoped to be repeated through the HEFCE Programme. “As clients develop through the support provided by their agency with access to regular structured exercise programmes, they will then become engaged in educational opportunities as part of their personal development.”