[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A local AM will highlight the success of a local club in an Assembly debate on tackling loneliness and social isolation.
Joyce Watson AM was bowled over when she recently met the Pembrokeshire Disabled Bowlers Club at Milford Haven Leisure Centre.
Members meet ever Monday afternoon at the growing club, which helps disabled people get healthier and happier through bowling.
Mrs Watson AM said:
“I’m bowled over by the club, and I will be highlighting their important work in a forthcoming Senedd debate.
“Disability can be very isolating, and this club can be a lifeline to members. Team activities like these aren’t just good for health, they also help tackle loneliness and improve wider wellbeing.”
The Labour AM led her own backbench Senedd debate on loneliness, Hidden in Plain Sight: Loneliness in Welsh Communities, and How to Tackle It, in January. This followed the publication of new research that reveals that almost a fifth of adults in the UK are ‘always or often lonely.’
Club secretary and head coach Stephen Whitmore and his wife Olwyn run the bowls club for anyone from Pembrokeshire with a disability, while many similar clubs are geared towards particular conditions.
Mrs Watson met members with a range of challenges, including one who is recovering from a stroke. She continued:
“I was particularly pleased to hear that work is underway to create adaptations for wheelchair wheels, to allow wheelchair users to fully access the green.
“Currently they play from a wooden platform in the corner of the green to avoid damaging it, and these adaptations will make a huge difference in how they play the game.”
A recent National Lottery grant helped the club work with local designers and engineers to create clip-on adapters for the wheels of the chairs, allowing wheelchair users to move around the green safely. This gives them the freedom to fully immerse themselves in the game like other members.
The club is also raising funds for bus hire, organising boot sales and other activities to allow members to travel around the county and beyond to compete.
Stephen Whitmore says the club has doubled its membership since he took over the helm four years ago.
The club was founded in 1984 and has 34 members aged between nine and 89 years old attending regular sessions, including members who have competed at Paralympic Games and for Wales in the Commonwealth Games.
Stephen, who was registered blind four years ago after living with visual impairment since birth, is ambitious to continue to grow the size of the club and welcome more people with disabilities from across the county through their doors.
He is keen to reach out to other community groups that might benefit from playing bowls, such as people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
See when the club was recently surprised by an undercover National Lottery player with news of their National Lottery grant for £7,414 to help them adapt the wheelchairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGJqVwKo5Vk
For details about Joyce Watson AM’s work contact her office on 0300 200 7092 or visit her website www.joyce.watson.org.uk
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For more details of Joyce Watson AM’s debate on Hidden in Plain Sight: Loneliness in Welsh Communities, and How to Tackle It see https://www.joycewatson.org.uk/joyce-praises-powys-and-pembrokeshire-day-centre-campaigns/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
