Pilton Community Health Project has won an award for Moving Forward, a review featuring an innovative programme of activities with the local community.
Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) is one of North Edinburgh’s longest-established community organisations, first set up as the Health Hut almost thirty years ago. Over that time the PCHP team has worked tirelessly to improve health and wellbeing across the area, so it’d great to hear that PCHP’s efforts have been recognised – PCHP has just won a prestigious Physical Activity and Health Alliance (PAHA) ‘Community Wide Programme’ award from NHS Scotland for the Moving Forward initiative.
‘Moving Forward’ used exciting, innovative research techniques to explore how to involve the community in encouraging people to become more active. It found that local people would like to be supported to take part in informal, community led activities in local spaces.
Lianne Pipskyj and Clare Symonds, Physical Activity Development Workers at PCHP who co-ordinated the Moving Forward review explained “The value of the work we do is that we do it together, in partnership with other organisations and local people. We have also established a forum which strengthens these relationships, lets us be creative and helps us all improve what we do”
The report also found out that increasing the use of local green spaces and cycle paths would remove obstacles to getting active.
Savita Purran (pictured above) who’s been dancing Bollywood for more than 20 years is dancing for joy at the news of the award. Savita is now sharing her skills and enthusiasm by leading her own class in Muirhouse, having been supported and encouraged by the PCHP team. Savita told us, “Its excellent news! I have been able to follow my dream of teaching Bollywood which gets people active while having fun.”
Shona Robison said: “I’m delighted to congratulate Pilton Community Health Project on their success in the Physical Activity and Health Alliance Awards (PAHA) 2014. It’s fantastic to know that there is so much innovative and truly deserving work taking place around Scotland to make the nation more active’’.
The award will be presented at the 7th National PAHA Conference, which is being held on 24 April at Murrayfield and will be aattended by Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison.
Congratulations to all at PCHP!
PCHP_MovingForward
The Living in Harmony project aims to work with local people to increase understanding and friendship between different ethnic and cultural groups. The group, which is supported by Pilton Community Health Project, also works to reduce barriers to accessing services which people from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds have said they sometimes experience.
