A Green Social Prescribing report evidences the powerful impact the VCSE sector has on the health and wellbeing of communities

Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (HNY HCP) has recently completed its work as a ‘test and learn’ site for Green Social Prescribing (GSP), one of only seven sites across England.

Led by HEY Smile Foundation, and supported by both a Steering Group and HNY HCP’s Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Collaborative, the programme, delivered over 2 years, set out to understand the current landscape, support VCSE organisations to run GSP activities for their communities, and to follow people on their GSP journey.

Through collaboration with healthcare, VCSE and academic partners across Humber and North Yorkshire, a huge amount of learning has been captured, alongside valuable evidence that shows the significant impacts that GSP activity can have on those with mild to moderate mental ill health.

Key findings include:

• 67% of individuals who took part saw improvements in their overall wellbeing
• 70% saw improvements in their overall anxiety
• 62% saw improvements in overall depression
• The impact on wellbeing was significant, with the largest improvements seen in life satisfaction and living a worthwhile life
• The greatest benefit in wellbeing, anxiety and depression were associated with between five and 12 weeks of GSP activity engagement.

Read the full report here.