Promoting healthy living
When it comes to encouraging healthy living, we’re making sure we lead by example, as well as engaging residents of all ages in fun, healthy and eco-friendly activities.
Our new head office is highly energy efficient, uses recycled rainwater to flush the toilets and has a ‘brown roof’ to host local flora and fauna. We encourage our staff to walk or cycle to work – providing showers, a secure bicycle shed and free cycle training as part of National Bike Week. Staff are provided with fresh fruit twice a week, in conjunction with Community Food Enterprise, to encourage healthy eating.
Helping young people in our foyers develop healthy lifestyles
As part of our foyer programme we deliver healthy eating programmes through lifeskills training. After taking part in one of the sessions, ex-Harlow foyer resident James reflected on his lifestyle and made positive changes. He is now studying at university and plans to go into a career as a teacher in physical education. James says: “If you keep your head down and work hard and use the opportunities, you can achieve whatever you want to achieve.”
Stay well healthy living networks
This is a network of organisations within Newham which run activities to help people lead healthy lifestyles. Our activities are designed for people over 50 and anyone receiving care services We coordinate the network with funding from London Borough of Newham and it includes activities such as cooking, yoga, salsa dancing, textiles and flower arranging. All the activities are taught by trained professionals and many of them are free.
Stay Well also coordinates a series of Healthy Living Days providing tasters and short workshops of a range of activities . plus we provide training, run workshops and courses to give tips and advice on moving towards a healthier lifestyle.
Promoting eco-awareness
Leading a greener lifestyle often helps families to be healthy and save money too – and this is a message we have been promoting to residents through a number of initiatives in our local neighbourhoods.
We have held several successful events on some of East Thames’ biggest estates, including:
- an eco-awareness day at Winsor Park in Beckton, where residents got advice on recycling and waste disposal, and were given environmentally friendly kettles to use in their homes
- a Go Carbon Neutral day at Cranberry Lane estate in West Ham, where 150 residents attended, which we set up with local partners. Carbon neutral diaries were handed out so people could keep track of how they were reducing their carbon emissions and their energy bills, and young residents took part in the Cranberry climate change challenge.
You can find more information in our Newham green homes pack.
