New gym equipment helps people with sensory loss get active
North East Sensory Services logo
A north east Scottish charity is helping people with hearing and sight loss get active and stay fit with new gym equipment.
North East Sensory Services (NESS) has upgraded its gym equipment thanks to a grant from the NHS Grampian Charity. The £6,979 from the charity’s Community Grants Programme paid for a brand-new cross trainer and rowing machine for NESS’s service users’ gym in Aberdeen.
NESS service users and volunteers Mary (using cross trainer) and June
The gym is adapted for people with sight loss and includes tactile buttons, Braille, and control panels that are easier to see. Two people can use the gym at one time and trained volunteers are on-hand to assist and guide people around the equipment.
NESS supports thousands of people with visual and hearing impairments across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Dundee, Moray and Angus.
The gym is one of the ways the charity helps people with sight loss and hearing loss live their lives to the full. It also tackles social isolation and loneliness and supports confidence and independence for people with visual and hearing impairments.
Graham Findlay, chief executive of NESS“Sensory impairment can make it difficult to access mainstream gyms as they often have features like spotlights and very loud music. Our gym gives service users a safe environment where they can feel confident exercising, with obvious physical and mental benefits. Being deaf or hard of hearing, or having a visual impairment, can lead to loneliness and social isolation. NESS helps increase independence in people with visual and hearing impairments and supports them to participate more fully in society. The gym is another way we can support people with sensory loss to live their lives to the full. We are very grateful to the NHS Grampian Charity for their support.”
Nicky MacBeath, communications and engagement officer at NHS Grampian Charity“We are delighted to have supported NESS with a grant to purchase new gym equipment through our Community Grants Programme. Exercise can provide incredible benefits to an individual’s physical and mental health, and the gym facility provided by NESS plays an important role in ensuring that people living with sight or hearing loss in the north east do not miss out on the opportunity to experience these benefits. We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to enhance this facility and help more people in Aberdeen access facilities to improve their health and wellbeing.”
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