As new social spaces replace the pubs and bingo halls of yore, groups focused around physical activities offer a laid-back way to connect.
“When Elliott Blackmore discovered Mental Health Swims, it felt like home. Swimming and paddleboarding alone had felt lonely; other groups seemed a little unwelcoming. This community felt “totally, 100 percent nonjudgmental,” he says.
At Mental Health Swims, volunteer hosts around the UK organize meetups at the beach, lakes, rivers or outdoor pools, so that anyone can benefit from, as the organization puts it, the “healing power of cold water and community.” For Blackmore, a deputy headteacher (principal), the effect was immediate. He first joined a local swim, in Margate on the southeastern coast of England, during the winter holiday period. “Christmas was a really difficult time for me. [Swimming that day] meant that I felt, for the next two or three weeks, so much better,” he says.”