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Shawmind

Shawmind is Sheffield’s own Mental Health Charity, with a mission and duty of service to Sheffield’s children & young people, so that there are no more broken dreams. Our mission and duty is to support and showcase a community that will ‘Leave No One Behind’.

About Shawmind


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Shawmind is a charity on a mission to improve mental health awareness. We are committed to educating individuals and organisations so they understand mental health & emotional wellbeing, and how to manage them effectively to lead successful, fulfilled lives.

Our Project:
The Big Idea: The Integrated Esports Development Programme

Our ambition is to use online Esports and our partnerships with top Esports content creators and competitors, as well as with elite sports clubs and other organisations actively involved with children and young people to create a sustainable programme that helps young people to develop intellectual skills as well as social competencies to reach their full potential in life.

Being the first initiative of its kind to link Esports intelligently to the physical game, the programme aims to use the medium of online video gaming to bring together in physical spaces children and young people who may come from deprived communities, struggle with Mental Health conditions, are Neurodiverse, are physically challenged, or have some other physical, emotional or psychological reason why they may currently be isolated in society. The initiative aims to provide online and in-person coached sessions (through dedicated Esports facilities at football clubs and other venues around the country), peer mentoring programmes, and mental and emotional wellbeing sessions, as well as regular online competition days at the Esports venues, promoting the development of social interaction skills in a fun and safe environment

Esports provides a “levelling of the playing field” in which all are equal, regardless of physical ability, socio-economic background, ethnic background, age, gender, geographic location, etc. Everyone is treated equally and has equal chance to grow and advance in the various stages – from grassroots online gaming to elite international Esports competitions. The dedicated Esports suites at various venues will provide funded opportunities for those from deprived communities to compete on world-class equipment and thereby participate in social and educational activities that they would otherwise be excluded from. These suites will also be the core for the online/offline training, coaching, education and monthly competitions that will promote social engagement activities in real-world settings, encouraging the social interaction skills development of the next generation in a safe, controlled manner. This programme has been proven during piloting to help young people who are struggling with conditions such as Autism and OCD.

Your Impact

Liam, 23, Manchester
"When I got involved in the programme in 2019, my autism was out of control, I would spend unhealthy amounts of time in my house and avoiding new situations. Since being part of the programme, I now visit events put on by the Esports team at the football club and I even have the confidence to take trains alone and stay overnight in a hotel on my own."

Henry, 16, Sheffield
"I Joined the programme last year and it has really helped me develop my communication skills. I now have the confidence to make eye contact with people and speak on many levels. My plan is to go onto the esports BTEC at one of the local colleges."

Harrison, 16, Leicester
"I was 14 when I started the programme and have enjoyed the experience. I would love there to be more of a competitive element and play against other schools, just like real football."

Marko, 19, Glasgow
"I lost my mum and dad in a tragic car crash when I was 12 and have been raised by my aunt.
So, I suppose you can say I didn’t have the best start in life. I found the esports programme and I was still only 15, and I made lots of new friends and it really helped me with the grieving process. I had a girlfriend, and everything was going well until my girlfriend suddenly passed away following an asthma attack. My life hit rock bottom again, but my esports team gave me support through this and the support from the programme was excellent."