15, May, 2020

POSITIVE SUPPORT FOR BEAT THE STREET PROGRAMME FROM LEADING RUGBY MAGAZINE

Positive support for BEAT the Street programme from leading rugby magazine

The Foundation’s BEAT the Street programme which addresses homelessness has received positive support from “Rugby World”, the world’s leading rugby magazine.

An article in the current (June) issue features the experience of Louis Stone, one of the participants in the inaugural BEAT the Street programme. Louis had minimum expectations when he first joined and has had a life-transforming experience that included leading an England team that competed in the fourth Homeless Rugby International Cup in Edinburgh last year.

Commenting on why he thinks rugby has been so beneficial to him, Louis talks about how the sport mirrors life, providing tools to deal with different situations. “I was aware of rugby as a child but I’d always dismissed it for football, football, football. If only I’d played rugby, my life would be totally different and I think children would really benefit from a chance to play rugby. It can really change lives.”

BEAT the Street is an intervention programme for people affected by homelessness in and around the Borough of Spelthorne, south-west of London.

The programme which started in 2019, not only introduces participants to rugby, it also provides workshops that help with mental health, addiction and essential steps in moving forward to a better life.

Read more about Louis’s story in the magazine or click on the link below. You can find out more about the BEAT the Street programme in the “Projects” section of this website.

http://liadmin.studiorepublic.com/uploads/london-irish/originals/9b7b8a46-cc6c-4ec1-8d65-dcfaf96eb9b9.pdf

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Rugby helps our participants to get active again,” said Joseph Pegg, the Foundation’s Manager, “while the game’s core values provide the base for the development of other skills.”