Inclusive inter-generational Yoga/Zumba fun club + healthy diet + mental health support for disadvantaged inactive women
The Pitch
Problem statement
We work in Northolt and Southall which are among the 20% most deprived areas in England (IMD,2019). We work with underserved inactive vulnerable voiceless women who mostly live in overcrowded conditions, no garden, at risk of domestic violence, low income, negative self-image, poor diet, social anxieties, mental and physical health conditions, overweight etc. Covid-19 has disproportionately impacted them as they are at greatest risk. They need to break out of the prison of loneliness. Many of our users live inactive lifestyles as they are unemployed, suffer from social anxieties and fear being judged if they go to a gym(if they can afford it).
Solution
Our inclusive yoga/zumba club encourages users to bring their friends and grandmothers to cultivate intergenerational understanding and compassion. Elderly isolated BAMER women told us they enjoy Yoga and meeting new people, forming new friendships. Our fun sessions break their fears by letting them bring their relatives and friends so they can all exercise together in a safe relaxed environment. We will give them mental health support and educate them on healthy diet. We are fighting the mental health stigma by providing discreet support. We cross refer women to our culturally responsive counselling service run by our qualified multi-lingual counsellors who are women from the same community
Why are we best placed to deliver?
We are deeply embedded in the community and have been serving hard-to-reach disadvantaged women for years through many projects. Most of our staff are considered sisters/friends rather than outsiders. Our staff have strong buy-in and are deeply embedded in the community which enables us to coproduce community-led projects like this one here. We also have established demand from women who benefitted from our yoga pilot project and told us about their needs and problems. We have been serving the community since 2005 and our good track record means that we are the first port of call or last resort for many in their difficult times. We singpost and refer our users to our wide range of support