Moving Rotherham

Ray came along to the S62 wellbeing walks this month. Ray is a gentleman in his 50s who suffered a stroke last year and has been living with mental health. Ray was a keen walker prior to the stroke and had become quite inactive. Ray reached out to the walking group as a way back to activities but needed to know that it was accessible and understanding off his needs. Sarah (the walk leader and S62 lead volunteer) spoke with him prior to the walk to ensure this was manageable to him, we adjusted the route to ensure his first walk with us was accessible and inclusive. Ray had a fantastic time; the group chatted the whole way round about anything and everything. Ray joined the group after for a cuppa, a biscuit, and another chat at the local library after the walk. Ray said “I’ve had a lovely time, I wasn’t sure I would be able to get back to activities following my stroke, but the compassion shown and the small changes that were made to enable me to participate really helped. I already feel part of something which is a feeling I haven’t had in a long time, just chatting and looking around at the beautiful surroundings made me feel 100% happier than I have in a long time.” Ray also spoke about tenancy problems he was having, which was picked up by Sarah and a referral was made into RotherFed to help him sort this, this was something he certainly wasn’t expecting as an outcome and he is very happy to receive the support to hopefully alleviate his concerns.