Healthworks Newcastle

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Why we're here

HealthWORKS is here to reduce health inequalities, exploring new ways of helping people to better health, whatever their age, health problems, ability or background.

What we do

Healthworks strives to improve health equity to the communities in the most deprived areas of Newcastle. We do this by providing guidance for positive lifestyle changes - increased physical activity, healthy eating, one to one Health Trainer support and many other services established to help the most vulnerable.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, world expert on health inequalities and author of Fair Society, Healthy Lives strategic review of Health Inequalities 2010, became our Patron in February 2014.

What we've achieved

• In 2014-2015: 65,737 attendances at our centres. 16,892 NEW unique individuals engaged with our services

68.9% from areas<30% IMD

Gender Split: 71% female; 29% male

Ethnicity: 27.5% BAMER; 72.5% White British

How we do it

• We offer low cost access to exercise at our community gyms in Benwell and Lemington, including Exercise on Referral.
  
  
• We support elderly people who are at risk of falling through our Falls Prevention Staying Steady classes across the city.
  
  
• Our Community Health Trainers work with individuals for up to 8 weeks implementing Support from Next Door approach.
  
  
• Our Food Skills Team deliver Cooking from Scratch and Love Food Hate Waste sessions to maximise budgets and reduce fuel use as a part of a range of programmes that encourage healthy eating.

• We also deliver Level 1 and Level 2 Food Hygiene courses.
  
  
  
• Our Breastfeeding Peer Support team works with parents and volunteers across the Sure Start Community Family Hub areas to support and encourage breastfeeding and offer training to Breastfeeding Peer Support Volunteers.
  
   
• Support delivery of a range of projects such as NHS Health Checks and Change4Life in West Newcastle

Every penny is vital to enable us to continue on employing and working with local people using a community development approach.