Addi Moves

Addi Moves is a free, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed physical activity service designed to support people experiencing or who have experienced various forms of trauma. Led by Accredited Exercise Physiologists, our mission is to create a welcoming space for everyone to move their mood and experience the mental and physical benefits of exercise.

Nicknamed the 'not gym,' Addi Moves was developed through an extensive co-design process published in 2024 (see explainer video here) and presented in over 10 countries, including Armenia, Colombia, Indonesia, and Ukraine.

Addi Moves welcomes anyone unable to access community-based exercise programs, including for example, people experiencing mental health challenges, victim-survivors of gender-based violence, people experiencing food insecurity, or people affected by forced displacement including refugees or asylum seekers.

Since 2022, Addi Moves has delivered over 1,700 exercise sessions and provided more than 1,000 placement hours for UNSW Exercise Physiology students. Our home is the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville, a vibrant hub hosting over 40 community organizations working together to create meaningful change. Addi Moves also supports a number of higher degree research students from the Nutrition, Exercise and Social Equity (NExuS) team in the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health at UNSW Sydney.

We have also been privileged to welcome esteemed visitors, including Prof. Brendon Stubbs (King’s College London), Prof. Jeroen Deenik (Maastricht University), A/Prof Katharina Luttenberger (Universitätsklinikum Erlangen), Dr. Michelle Pebole (Veteran Affairs Boston), and Laura Fischer, CEO and Founder of Traumascapes (UK).