Skip to content

Boxer's charity launches tie-up with rehab centre

Ollie Conopo
BBC News
Reporting fromDaventry
James Grant
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Ollie Conopo/BBC Four men sit at a table covered in a grey table cloth. Frank Bruno, in a blue suit, signs a document with former MP Chris Heaton-Harris, wearing a charcoal suit.Ollie Conopo/BBC
Frank Bruno (centre right) was at the launch of the collaboration between his foundation and the Reach for Health Centre

Former world heavyweight boxer Frank Bruno has joined up with a rehabilitation centre in Northamptonshire to offer new mental health programmes.

The collaboration between the Frank Bruno Foundation, based in Northampton, and the Reach for Health Centre in Daventry, aims to tackle mental health challenges by combining physical activity with rehabilitative services.

An event launching the collaboration was held in Daventry last week and attended by about 200 people, including Bruno and former town MP Chris Heaton-Harris.

Bruno said: "I think it's going to be a good working partnership... and will hopefully help people."

PA Media Frank Bruno stands in a ring in the 1990s with his arms raised in triumph, wearing red boxing gloves. PA Media
Frank Bruno was one of the biggest names in boxing during the 1990s

The boxer, who won the WBC heavyweight title in 1995, started the foundation in 2017 after experiencing mental health challenges throughout his career.

His foundation offers wellbeing programmes and non-contact boxing sessions for those with similar issues.

Meanwhile, the Reach for Health Centre supports people with sports injuries, as well as those who have had strokes, heart issues or diabetes, and aims to improve mental wellbeing.

Ollie Conopo/BBC Jacob Shane with sandy coloured hair, wearing a black hoodie stands against a grey wall and smiles at the camera.Ollie Conopo/BBC
Mental health coach Jacob Shane said he hoped the partnership would help a new demographic of people with physical and mental health struggles

Jacob Shane, a mental health sport coach from the Frank Bruno Foundation, said: "To have someone like Frank who's seen as such a warrior... talk about their emotions, I think it will motivate a lot of people and help them realise it's not a scary thing, and that it's something you can talk about."

Darren Harper, the course lead at Reach for Health, added: "I feel in this day and age, the more we can work on those deeper levels, the more benefits people have long term and the happier people's wellness will be."

John Miller, who has been using Reach for Health services for six years for his PTSD, said: "It works really well. It is a gym but it's more of a meeting centre, there's always someone to speak to of different ages. It's a really friendly place."

The first mental health programme will begin on 5 March, with further details to be announced at a later date.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

You may also be interested in
Related internet links