Founded and run by Reepham couple Ian and Clare Kenvyn, the Evexia Foundation aims to achieve this through a range of activities.
 
Last October, the charity was able to deliver free mental health first-aid training to two groups in the town.
 
The overwhelming feedback from participants was that there was a real need for more work and opportunities to support resilience and mental health in the community.
 
“We used that feedback to structure our application to the National Lottery Awards for All, with the intention of delivering more mental health first aid courses, but also workshops on resilience,” said Dr Ian Kenvyn.
 
“We will also be tapping into local talent to deliver tasters of a range of activities, including yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi, as well as gardening and informal mutual support opportunities that we have called ‘conversation cafes’.”
 
“There is a tremendous amount that is already happening in this lovely town: our project will work with groups such as the Reepham Good Neighbour Scheme, youth organisations, the Bircham Centre, the town council and the church to make a healthy and caring community even more of a reality,” added Clare Kenvyn.
 
The £10,000 grant will enable Evexia to develop a range of online resources that will help people who are socially distancing or self-isolating. These will include bite-sized sessions on resilience, anxiety and stress.
 
There will also be practical activity sessions, such as chair Pilates and Daoyin (Chinese breath therapy) – more details will be available soon.
 
Mr Kenvyn said: “As soon as the restrictions are eased, we will be promoting face-to-face work on areas such as mental health.
 
“One of our visions would be to offer mental health awareness training to everyone who has a person-facing role in the town: in this way we can ensure that everyone has the mental tools to support themselves and others after this hugely traumatic period.”
 
See or earlier story:

• Free workshops on mental health first aid