Horizon and Lighthouse services recently headed out and took part in Blackpool’s annual health initiative, ‘Spring into Spring’.
Made up of four venues across four days, ‘Spring into Spring’ is a series of community health and wellbeing events held across the town – with a larger showcase celebration taking place at Winter Gardens at the end of the week.
Director of Health and Care Integration, Karen Smith, said: “First and foremost, Spring into Spring is a celebration – it highlights things to do and places to go in the town, along with some key services available for our residents.”
The Horizon team hosted stalls at each event, offering attendees the opportunity to learn more about the substance-use and support services we provide across the local area.
Visitors to our stalls were able to learn more about us and even have a go at ‘drunk darts’, which went down a storm. Participants had to wear beer googles to simulate being drunk, leading to loads of fun watching people try to hit the darts board.
Gemma Mukadam, Deputy Service Manager at Horizon, said: “It was a great opportunity for Horizon and Lighthouse staff to get out and network. They have come back with lots of ideas, contacts and resources to help our clients”.
She continued: “I would like to give a massive thank you to all staff involved, in particular Julie and Duncan who attend the full week. We’re now looking at ways to make our stalls even more engaging for next year.”
Having stalls at each event gave us an excellent opportunity to network with other health agencies and engage with the general public; with members from NHS organisations, local authorities and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sectors all coming together to take part.
The big end of the week celebration welcomed Alison Slinger from the Crown Ballroom, who hosted a ‘Let’s Dance’ session, plus music from the Salvation Army band.
‘Spring into Spring’ takes places every April in Blackpool. It highlights all the amazing services available across the town and provides the perfect opportunity for people to get together, seek advice and most of all – have fun.
Karen continued: “So much work goes into these events, so we want to say a huge thank you to all the organisations who are helping to make this happen. We couldn’t do it without the kind donation of time and support from so many people, and we are very grateful.”
To learn more about the support and services we provide, get in touch with the team on 01253 205157.
