People come to KHL for a reason. They progress to something more.
Our Impact
What 341 clients told us about KHL:
People arrive for their physical and mental health. They stay for the people.
People join KHL for many reasons: to improve their health, manage a condition, recover from illness, meet new people or try something new. Over time, they become part of a supportive community where wellbeing, confidence and connection grow together.
93%
met people and made connections
95%
feel happier or more positive
91%
are moving more than they used to
79%
say KHL played a major role in their change
35%
say they would have had nowhere else to go
What We Did This Year:
Supported
4723
people
Delivered
1797
weekly and monthly sessions
Delivered
7243
one-to-one’s
Read our latest impact report
*March 2025 – April 2026
What Changes For People?
Belonging comes first, then wellbeing, then confidence.
Giving back comes later for some.
Outcomes reinforce one another, and each turn climbs higher towards the goal.
Each person progresses at their own pace. Not everyone reaches the end goal because, due to their circumstances, they need sustained support to maintain their health and wellbeing but many who stay go on to support others. Others progress through quickly.
What People Talk About Changes Over Time
The longer people stay, the more they talk about belonging and friendship
Among people in the first three months of their KHL journey, 21% wrote about a health condition: a stroke, a hip, pain, weight. 11% wrote about friendship or belonging.
After five years, it flips. 59% write about the people. 5% mention a health condition.
It isn’t that health doesn’t stop mattering. It becomes part of the background, and the people become the thing worth writing about.
*Based on 189 written comments. The middle years rest on smaller numbers, so the overall direction is more reliable than any single point.
In Their Own Words:
Without my classes I would be a mess. I need them in my life for my mental health.
This is the first group in which I’ve felt no longer a guest, and no longer an outsider. I don’t leave these sessions feeling lonely, whereas I did with previous groups
Coming to my groups gives me purpose to my day, a rhythm to my week.
Because of the encouragement of your team, I have successfully managed to get to the park and actually have fun with my kids. — Rethinking Pain
I wouldn’t get this anywhere else. — Maternity Circles
Made friendships. Take life less anxiously. Still lonely and working on it.
Background I was invited to KHL by my GP after I had a fall and broke my wrist. I’ve always had aching knees and, if I’m honest, I knew I needed to do more exercise. When the Falls Prevention course...
In 2024, I had a breakdown. Over the past 12 months, I reached rock bottom. I couldn’t have sunk any lower. I had suicidal thoughts and genuinely didn’t want to be here anymore. I’d had enough. Life...
It was back at university after I graduated, I wanted to do an observation and shadowing and I was going through some information about that, and I came across Keighley Healthy Living through my...
Why KHL Matters
For many people, KHL fills a gap between clinical support and managing alone. Participants told us we played a significant role in the changes they experienced, particularly those of working age living with long-term health conditions. Many also discovered benefits they weren’t expecting, including greater confidence, stronger connections and a sense of purpose.
New people arrive every week and mostly because someone already coming told them to. Nearly a third of our members were brought in by a friend or family member.
After two years, people start to giv back. Several of the people quoted on this page now help run the groups they first joined as members.
“I’ve been using KHL for a few years now, as my mental health declined. The groups and Mental Health Connect helped me a lot, to get routine and signposting to other forms of help. I’m now a volunteer for the Conversation Café, and this has helped my teamwork as KHL has trained me well. I feel much better.”
Some services measure success by how quickly people leave. For the people we work with, managing conditions that don’t go away, that isn’t the right measure. Ours is whether someone moves from needing support to being part of what supports others.
35%
had nowhere else to go
79%
55%
77%
Our Awards
Judges’ comments:
Keighley Healthy Living is a pioneering community-based charity working tirelessly to support its local population to be physically and mentally well through lifestyle changes. Through its excellent partnership-working and innovative approach, it plays a huge role in bringing people together, reducing social isolation, as well as supporting people with specific health conditions. It is now rightly being recognised for its impact on supporting its community while reducing pressure on the NHS.
In November 2023, KHL were delighted to receive Locality’s award for Transforming Lives, in recognition of our work in improving the health and wellbeing in our community. The award springboards community organisations who have had a significant impact on changing people’s lives to a national level of awareness.
341 people completed our annual survey, with 189 sharing comments about their experiences, alongside interviews carried out by an independent evaluator to better understand how change happens at KHL.
The findings reflect the experiences of people who currently engage with our services, particularly those attending exercise, walking and social groups. Some programmes, including Rethinking Pain, Mental Health Connect and Maternity, are under-represented, and we’re improving how we gather feedback from those groups. Unless stated otherwise, percentages are based on the number of people who answered each question. Where we report reduced NHS demand, we rely on medical records rather than self-reported data. We’re also exploring ways to hear from people who stopped attending, whose experiences are not yet reflected in these results.
If you would like to learn more or talk to us about supporting a programme, please contact us
Watch Impact Stories
“One of the things that I’m sad about is that they don’t have a KHL in every town in the country.”
Has KHL impacted your life? Send us your story
Information For Professionals
Are you a health care professional or do you work within the VCS? Find out more about collaborative working and striving for system change.
Volunteer
We have a supportive and dynamic volunteer community, offering opportunities and support through training and experiences.
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