The Athletic Club Foundation and the Biscay Mental Health Network renew their collaboration to support people with mental illness
The Health Counselor of Euskadi, Gotzone Sagardui, and the president of the Athletic Club Foundation, Juan Carlos Ercoreca, accompanied by the president of Athletic Club, Aitor Elizegi, the general director of Osakidetza, Rosa Pérez Esquerdo, and the director of the network of Mental Health of Bizkaia, Carlos Pereira, have signed a new collaboration agreement that aims to make it easier for people with mental illness to practice physical activities and sports as part of their recovery and social integration process.
The Athletic Club Foundation and the Biscay Mental Health Network have been collaborating since 2016 to facilitate the practice of sport in general, and football in particular, among the group of people served by the mental health network.
The Foundation provides monitors who travel to a total of 17 centers and sports centers in Bizkaia where multisport sessions are held and futsal league matches are held. Currently the number of participants is over 200 people.
These last two years, the restrictions imposed by COVID have made it difficult to carry out the usual activities, but with the receding of the pandemic, it has been possible to resume these activities.
In addition to these actions, the Athletic Club Foundation collaborates in raising awareness of mental illness and, therefore, in the fight against social stigma with the production of videos of the activities carried out within the framework of this agreement for their dissemination in the website. Visits from the mental health centers to the Athletic Museum are also organised.
For its part, the Biscay Mental Health Network trains the technicians of the Athletic Club Foundation in handling situations and helping people with mental health problems.
