Nikolai May Yde is standing outside his exercise buddy's entrance and waiting. They are going for a walk on their usual route. Nikolai May Yde's exercise buddy has an autism diagnosis and therefore likes the routine of always going for the same walk.

On the trip they talk about anything and everything. About what's happening in her life. About Donald Trump. Or about the municipality, which she usually doesn't have much to spare. And Nikolai May Yde remembers one conversation in particular clearly.

“She said the only good thing the municipality ever did was suggest she get a mobility buddy. That was sweet. That stuck with me. Especially because people who have autism are generally not that good with other people. So it means something,” he says.

Exercise Friends is an offer for people with mental vulnerability, for example people with an anxiety disorder or people on the autism spectrum, who want to get more exercise in their everyday life. Exercise can be anything from a walk to strength training or running.

According to Nikolai May Yde, there are many volunteers who prioritize strength training or running and have the energy to take someone with them who wants to get started or has difficulty going to the fitness center alone.

"It's just really rewarding to be able to help someone get started in that way. Mentally vulnerable people are often lonely too, so being able to show up and you know they're looking forward to that hour when you go for a walk is very rewarding," says Nikolai May Yde and continues:

“It might be the only time in a whole week that they get out of their apartment and talk to another person. And then they actually become healthier. So it's a direct path to well-being that you're helping this person with. And it's motivating.”

The age range of both voluntary movement friends and participants is wide. Nikolai May Yde has spoken to 18-year-olds, 80-year-olds and everything in between.

The perfect match

Nikolai May Yde is a volunteer movement friend and team leader. As one of the team leaders, he helps to match volunteer movement friends with participants. But the waiting list for movement friends is long, and it can take time to find the right match.

Many things must come together. That the volunteer and the participant have the same desires and needs for movement. Whether they live close to each other. And whether there is potential for them to be able to talk to each other. But when it succeeds, it is something quite special.

"Every time there is a match, I call those who have signed up as participants and say that there is a volunteer who could be a good match, and you can hear how happy they are. It's a bit hard to really put into words, but you can maybe imagine what it's like. And that's why we do it. It's to help them," says Nikolai May Yde.

Nikolai May Yde has a background as a consultant and started as a volunteer because he felt he lacked human relations in the job he had.

"We always talked business. It didn't help anyone, you could say. And that's what I missed. Then I got interested in the individual who has difficulty with different things. There are some who do it very abstractly. So, we do something better for society. Hopefully that's also true enough. But I like that I can see that the person I'm sitting across from is getting something out of me being there."

Today, Nikolai May Yde works as a project manager at the Danish Foundation for Social Responsibility. A job he would not have imagined he would have just three years ago. But working with people took hold of him and pulled him “into its fold”.

“It has been absorbing – in a good way.”

Full waiting lists

Movement friends meet twice a month. According to Nikolai May Yde, some movement friends meet more often. For some it is a fixed day every other week, while Nikolai May Yde and his movement friend make arrangements from time to time.  

There has been such a large number of participants joining the Movement Friends that it is difficult to overcome the waiting list. In addition to volunteer Movement Friends, the group also lacks team leaders who match volunteers and participants and can deliver the good news when a match has been found. 

To address the full waiting list, the Red Cross has set up movement communities, where a volunteer does an activity together with approximately five participants. In addition, a pilot scheme has been set up, where a volunteer arranges for two mentally vulnerable people with the same needs to meet.

"You can get a lot out of meeting like-minded people who you can talk to and reflect on. There simply aren't enough volunteers. From a larger societal perspective, there is so much need for help or services for some of these mentally vulnerable people."

An hour after the walk started, Nikolaj May Yde and his exercise buddy are back at her entrance. In about two weeks, the two exercise buddies will meet up and walk again.