Two new programmes have been launched to help islanders suffering from the impact of Covid-19 get more active and living healthier lifestyles.

'Move More Get Moving' has been set up in partnership with Mind Jersey to encourage people impacted by the restrictions, or the virus itself, to get active on a regular basis.

That includes, for example, people who've suffered from Long Covid.

"We know there is a lot of documentation in the media about how people's mental health has been affected. We know that for some people they've become more active but for many people they haven't.

"What we wanted to do was build some programmes specifically targeted for people to just give them a help and get them back on their feet again." - Cirsty de Gruchy, Head of Move More Jersey.

A Buggy Class Programme has been designed for new mums who may be struggling to be physically active after giving birth, or who may have been affected by isolation, ill health, or the impacts of Covid-19 restrictions.

"That was something that kept on coming up time and time again.

"People that have had babies in the last year haven't been able to go to mum and baby groups, they haven't been able to socialise, and I think that has quite a big impact on the first year of baby and mum and baby's life.

"That was a group that we particularly felt were probably most affected."

Need help and support with exercise? Check out our new Move More Get Moving programme! https://t.co/YsLMKEoabP
It's a free 8-week programme run in partnership with @MindJersey for islanders whose lives have been impacted by COVID-19. #MoveMoreJersey #GetMoving #JerseyCI pic.twitter.com/qLnKr0cmLI

— Jersey Sport (@JerseySport) April 14, 2021

The money for these programmes has come from the Jersey Community Foundation.

Referrals can be made through a health or social care professional and islanders can register for the programmes for free.

"At Mind Jersey we passionately believe building key plans for a person’s wellbeing will help focus on improving a philosophy with the right tools to help improve their physical health. We are reaching out to members of the community, whilst COVID-19 is a very real situation, to assist people that have the need to improve their own physical wellbeing.

"We have vast knowledge to help individuals progress within this project and we will use our in-house resources to guide anybody with difficult or complex needs. We will help to support anyone with extra mental health requirements and provide them with the relevant tools to help improve their physical and mental health.

"The idea behind these interventional programmes is that physical activity can help motivate a person to deal with their own individual situation." - Alex Huelin, Mental Health Sport Coordinator at Mind Jersey.