Together We Will Campaign Hits London

The Together We Will campaign, a nationwide initiative dedicated to encouraging and supporting disabled people along with their friends and families to become more active, will be heading to London.

The campaign looks to address the low number of disabled people who regularly take part in sport or exercise, as highlighted in the most recent Sport England Active People Survey.

The latest Sport England Mapping Disability report shows that in London around 1.1 million people have an impairment or long-term health condition. According to the results, the city currently has low numbers of active disabled people, with 18% of disabled adults reportedly take part in sport or physical activity once a week for the recommended 30 minutes of exercise, compared with 40% of non-disabled adults according to the Sport England Active people survey.

Campaign ambassador, actor Will Mellor, hosted a sports day with Motivate East, a partnership project promoting sports for disabled people, at the Atlee Youth and Community Centre in Bethnal Green to continue the legacy following the Paralympic Games.

Will Mellor said: “I’m proud to be part of this campaign which aims to encourage disabled people to be more active. It’s about everyone coming together to have fun and become healthier.

“My sister had Marfan’s syndrome which affected her physically as well as with her learning. She sadly passed away in 2013, but I recall fondly how much we loved being active as a family together. Therefore, I’m really looking forward to meeting our ambassadors and hearing their stories. We can all make a positive change and support more people to reap the benefits of an active lifestyle.”

Eight National Disability Sports Organisations (NDSOs) are working together with the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) to deliver the Together We Will campaign, with backing from Sport England.

Campaign ambassador Amanda Worne was also in attendance. Worne had a cycling accident in August 2015, when her brakes failed as she was cycling downhill. The accident left Amanda with a broken back and paralysis from the waist down. The 45-year-old mother of four from Sussex spent six months in Stoke Mandeville Hospital as part of her rehabilitation and now uses a wheelchair.

Lisa O’Keefe, director of insight, Sport England, on behalf of all the campaign partners, said: “We know that disabled people are half as likely to be active as non-disabled people. The National Disability Sports Organisations work with the sector to provide opportunities for a range of impairment groups to address this issue and encourage inactive people to get in to sport and physical activity.

“That’s why campaigns, like Together We Will, are so important. We need to put people and what they want and need at the very heart of everything we do. That includes supporting people to get active in places where they want to take part, in activities they want do and with people they want to be active with.”