Movement sessions helping older residents to Live Longer Better
Residents in Winchester City Council’s sheltered housing schemes have benefitted from a programme of varied exercise classes.
A ten-week programme of sessions took place in May in three of Winchester City Council’s sheltered housing schemes: Steady & Strong classes took place in Eastacre in Bereweeke Road; Qigong / Tai Chi took place in Richard Moss House in St Peter’s Street; and Move Momentum classes took place in White Wings in Denmead.
The classes were funded by a grant from Hampshire County Council’s Live Longer Better programme, which is led locally in partnership with Energise Me. Live Longer Better helps older people find ways to live life to the full and keep doing what they love by making positive changes to maintain or improve their health.
Angela Unsworth enjoyed Steady & Strong and said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the exercise sessions. Classes are fun and have a social side to them too - the group has a laugh! Exercises help a lot with the movement of my legs.”
Participant Pam Broomfield joined the Eastacre class and added: “The sessions were easy to take part in. My arthritic arms are better and transferring from my wheelchair to another chair or bed has been better since I started exercising.”
Winchester City Council’s Cabinet Member for Healthy Communities Cllr Kathleen Becker said:
“We were delighted by our residents’ responses to these popular, varied classes, which were well attended and received such positive feedback, including a video feedback session from our participants at Eastacre.
“Physical activity has been shown to be really effective in helping to support independence and achieving the best possible quality of life for older people. As we age, keeping active isn’t just about movement – it’s about maintaining independence, confidence and quality of life. We are grateful to Hampshire County Council for the opportunity to implement this scheme.
“We’re continuing to work with key partners to do our best for our older communities to help them to stay active. Low level exercise sessions will start in September in various parts of the district including Stanmore, Whiteley and Wickham, as well as in local care homes.”
Find out more about Live Longer Better Hampshire: https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/publichealth/livelongerbetter