From watersports to Wembley Arena: busy week for early intervention clients

A group of clients from Charlton Athletic Community Trust’s (CACT) early intervention programmes travelled to Lydd in Kent this week for an action-packed programme of watersports.

A busy week for CACT’s early help and prevention team also included a Charlton Upbeats trip to Wembley Arena for a recording of The X Factor auditions and a day at the London Stadium for the World Para Athletic Championships.

The watersports group enjoyed sunny weather for much of the trip to the coast, which was supported by Kent & Medway NHS Trust and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. The timetable of events included water skiing, banana boats and paddle boarding.

The group were joined by CACT East Kent Officer and legendary Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Bob Bolder.

Carl Krauhaus, CACT’s Head of Early Help & Prevention, said:

“Our staff work very hard to present the young people we work with unique and exciting opportunities.

 “It’s been a very busy week and the continuation of what has been a hectic but fun year. It’s great to be able to offer these events and activities to our mental health groups along with our Upbeats and short breaks provisions.

“Kindly hosted once again by Action Watersports in Lydd on the South Kent coast, our watersports week was a unique opportunity for 16 to 35-year-olds recovering from their first episode of psychosis. More than 70 of our clients benefited from three days of activities, which ranged from water skiing to banana boats.”

The Charlton Upbeats, CACT’s Down’s syndrome team, received complimentary tickets to a recording of The X Factor from Applause Store.

They also joined young people from the short breaks programme at the World Para Athletic Championships in Stratford. The biennial event sees the world’s top para athletes compete. A group of 30 will be in the crowd to cheer on Team GB courtesy of London 2017 as part of their Football Backs Para Athletics campaign.

The Upbeats recently won their fifth DSActive National Tournament title and travelled to Belfast to compete in the George Best Community Cup.

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