Friday 28th February 2020 - progress - plus blog updates

Posted 2:15pm

I am astounded at the gap here between blog entries - this is something I promise I will address in March. No excuses really.  We have been exceptionally busy in February - as this update will show - and for some reason I have forgotten to keep up with the blogs (both of them).

February has been all things. Certainly it has been fantastic. The feedback from our two completed courses so far - both three sessions - in Camden and Islington were extraordinary. Terrific quotes, so much positivity, and a sheer delight. We met some wonderful people, and hopefully some will be ongoing.

We have a couple of course starting in the next couple of weeks (tomorrow in Camden - Kings Cross - for two sessions, monday in Camden - regents park - for four sessions, and two weeks in Islington - Barnsbury Job Centre - for three sessions).  I am more confident about numbers for islington than Camden.  I made a video entry today, and talked about the perceived apathy from Camden towards getting people to us. I am concerned at the state of numbers attending. This is no reflection on HMHB who have been pushing the courses all over. However, it can feel as if we are trying to get blood out of a stone. There is only so much we can do. We are reliant on other organisations pushing our product at the moment.

Delighted with our fitness sessions and walks. We now have activities on Saturday (Sobell fitness), Tuesday (Highbury fitness), Thursday (Pancras fitness), Thursday (Islington health walk), Friday (Islington health walk/exercise).  It is such a joy to be doing all of this.
We have to offer thanks to our Personal Trainer Dean (PT Zombie) who is overseeing the sessions. He works full time in Tottenham, but still comes over to volunteer with us, which is incredible.
We also have to thanks Better Gyms for allowing us to use their space.

We are arranging a couple of outings for March and April, and would like to do at least one a month from them on. It will help people stay connected and active.

I will ensure blog entries are more often (preferably daily in March - it only needs a little effort really).

Thanks everyone.

Monday 17th February 2020 - Incredible Feedback from Camden

Posted 2:25pm

Wow!!!  We could only have dreamed about the feedback we received for our Camden course that finished on Saturday. It's an absolute dream. We only had three sessions - as that was what the funding covered - but we clearly have found a niche.

Here are some extracts from the Report I have completed.

We asked people if they felt they had improved their confidence, energy levels, and even their fitness.

“Before, I was not in a good place. Just getting out of the house was a struggle, but having these scheduled meetings, and hearing tips especially on mindset, exercise and diet, got me into a rhythm that I hope I will be able to keep up.”

“Now I have said out loud what I want to achieve, I will make this happen. The course was fab.”

“I came without expectations, but was addicted to the amount of activities and learning opportunities provided.”

“A Life Changing Experience”

“Such a positive and supportive, practical and social upbeat experience.”

We asked the group “if you were telling someone about our Ajani course, what you would say? Would you recommend it?”

“It can help you to find motivation."

“You can meet new people, and get different perspectives on life.”

“People that really want to help you.”

“I learned very useful and practical instructions on what to do”

“Boosts up your desire to do things.”

“I feel much more positive at just keeping at it.”

“I loved the personal, authentic, upbeat style of Lawrence and his group.”

“The mix of subjects really kept me engaged. Everyone chipped in.”

“Lawrence and his team are such inspirational, warm, uplifting people. It gets an energy permeating in the class. I loved the metaphors used in the presentations.”

“You would be silly not to. It builds you up, it’s energetic, but full of useful information. It’s not dry, and the people you meet are from all walks of life.”

“So Much Fun!!!”

Wow!!!  Obviously there is more to the report, and we will be adding a full pdf copy of it to our website this week.  But our unique delivery and fresh approach clearly work. We deserve seed funding. Surely someone will give it to us?

Wednesday 12th February 2020 - second day feedback is great

Posted 1:55pm

It has been longer than I thought since my last entry. But that is not because we have been standing still. The opposite, in fact. We are all working our socks off at the moment.

We have now had the second day for both our current courses. Feedback on both so far is fantastic. I just wish the numbers were higher. Both our Saturday and Wednesday groups immersed themselves into what we were doing.

This week we were using a story analogy around mind-set.  I have seen this done elsewhere but we have our own unique way of looking at it. It also creates a few laughs.  We went back over the exercises from last week, and were delighted to hear that the service users were actually implementing some of them into their routine.

For nutrition, Luke was looking mostly ar Carbohydrates and sugars. It always creates a great debate, and everyone was finding a voice, which we encourage. I am constantly learning things every day we research.

Luke and Dean ran boxability. This always is popular. Just putting on gloves and pads turns them into demons. But we stress this is not about any fighting - but more around flexibility and movement.  Finally today, we looked at targets and goals around health, concentrating on procrastination.

Ajani is great. I feel we need to do some more work on the health side of things. That is very important, and maybe we are winging it a bit too much. Self criticism is always good.

Friday 7th February 2020 - Pancras gym success

Posted 1:30pm

Our first foray into Pancras gym went well on Thursday morning. We started at 9am (not quite sure how I dragged myself there), but even though there was just five of us we all had a good time.

Lazza took us through some stretches before Dean was unleashed. We were using the weight bar for various lifts, some of us using lighter weights than others (Ollie was amazing, pushing himself hard).

We then did some cardio and interval training.

The managers were fab. Afterwards one of them came down to chat. He said he remembered our tweets from last year when we were using Highbury, and he supported our venture. It appears more and more people are aware of HMHB.

Lazza, Dean and Ollie then went back to Highbury to hook up with Luke and the Izzwalkers for a very pleasant stroll around Clissold Park. The weather was bright, but chilly. However, the sun kept popping out and was making desperate attempts to warm us up.

Wednesday 5th February 2020 - Finsbury Park success too

Posted 3:55pm

Just up from the station, at the offices of Better Lives (near Holloway Rd), we started our second course of the week - this time with Finsbury Park Job Centre.

Not as many attendees as expected - or desired - but we still had a great time. It was full of fun, ideas, information, and laughs. The feedback, as it always is, was fabulous.

We prepared well. No-one can accuse us of complacency. We walked with the local job advisers, we attended for over 8 hours at the job centre, and we even managed to arrange a venue close by.

With anything new, there can be a sense of wondering if we will be any good. And we certainly would hope to get a few more along next week.

It didn't start well, as we turned up at 9:20am to find that the people at Better Lives were not expecting us. Not sure how communication can break down like that. But we settled into our room - set up the laptop with a big tv - got the coffee and tea out, and eventually started with our depleted numbers.

HMHB were professional, smooth, and worked very well together. The banter was fab, knowledge was interesting, and we managed to keep everyone on board.

Tuesday 4th February 2020 - It's hard work, but it's fun

Posted 2:15pm

This is all totally exhausting. But we are enjoying ourselves. It's great being busy once more.

We need to keep tabs on current courses, future courses, and our fitness sessions, ensuring we are following up properly, and covering all our bases.

Here are Luke and Lazza attending the Finsbury Park Job Centre where they were promoting their Islington Ajani course starting tomorrow. I think we have five definite people, but hoping for more. The centre staff were kind, but I wish we had been allowed to go around and chat to people.

We seem to have met with a large number of various organisations around mental health and employment. Some can be quire protective about their clients - which I understand. I just feel it would be nice to network and help as many people as possible.

The Tuesday sessions are getting better and better - I am so so proud of them. The picture above is from this morning - and we had new people, lots of fun and laughs, but also sweated and pushed.

Saturday 1st February 2020 - So Proud. This is why we need seed funding

Posted 7:40pm

This is why we have worked so hard for such a long time. Our first course with the DWP - using the Camden Job Centres - went so well. I am so proud of us - and that is all three of us, as we have done so much work for several years, building up to this.

Yes, we have done quite a few courses up to this point, but we always intended it to be with the unemployed, building confidence, building self awareness about health and our bodies, creating guidance around nutrition that was simple but interesting, and developing a unique delivery that just gets better and better.

I was honestly concerned about numbers. Luke and I had attended the job centre twice to drum up interest, and although we took around 12 emails, only one came back to us, and that was a negative.

It was therefore comforting to have eight on this course, and everyone interacted and laughed, but also said they enjoyed it. They all said they would be returning - let's hope - as well as come along to our group fitness sessions. Again, let us wait and see.

Luke and Lazza were immense. We prepared very well, and even had to change and adapt during the course as the interaction was so good. Everyone participated, and the feedback was incredible - as it always has been.

This is why we deserve the funding for at least a year of two salaries full time and money for our personal trainer. Years of fantastic set up, and this was the culmination - and we have a new fresh approach to mental health - both preventive and corrective - but it appears so so so difficult to persuade the people who hold the purse strings to give us a chance.  Instead, a multitude of organisations provide similar style intervention (which I am not saying is bad), but they all seem to copy each other. Someone give us a chance. PLEASE!!!