African Women Enterprise, Wellbeing, Fitness Through Dance Movement Improving Mental Health
3
The Pitch
Problem statement
African Women migrants, Refugees and Asylum seekers often experience considerable mental distress and trauma due to migration impact, leading to severe stress related problems, mental illness. There are also disproportional levels of people from black minority migrant communities suffer with mental health and physical problems issues. Statistics around Nottingham / Nottinghamshire, research findings 2013- 2017 show that 95% are asylum seekers without any status; 3% have refugee status, and 2% are immigrant workers on work permits. The majority (76%) is between 31- 60 years. 12% are between 21-30, and 8% are below 20 years, reflecting high nos in limbo hence suffers mental instability
Solution
AWEF seek to develop a programme to support these groups, being at the edge or been through problems and seek to help in returning to normality via the Wellness and Recovery Action Plan. The organisation seek to establish an ongoing weekly workshops on wellness toolbox where individuals will be able to understand wellness, daily maintenance, various triggers and early warning signs, what to do when things are breaking down, developing a crisis plan and a post crisis plan and post crisis plan along with an awareness outreach programme. The programme will also go alongside a dance session twice a week, for movements and fitness. Will engage with 120 people on dance and WRAP training.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
AWEF was established in 2006, by women Refugee and asylum seekers with lived experiences from the African origin. Over the years we have been working with these women, gaining the first-hand knowledge of their mental issues. The problems have been discussed in forums and form part of our baseline research. The recent new horizons mental health consultation held in Nottingham in 2017 of which AWEF was a partner to BEAM ,identifying the need for programme planned and identifies priorities for action. AWEF developed nine leaders to qualify as WRAP facilitators who are professionals supporting the WRAP method to benefits new arrivals to roll an early intervention for psychosis among BAME.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| PROJECT COODINATOR COSTS 1day /weekly x 3months | £800 |
| Facilitators/training and development | £200 |
| Material printing and development including design | £200 |
| Volunteers expenses | £100 |
| Hall Hire | £250 |
| Tea and biscuits | £200 |
| Conference expenses | £250 |
Beneficiaries
120 people
Expected impact
-The impact is to promote higher levels of wellness, stability and quality of life to 120 participants over 3months -Help to decrease the need for costly, invasive therapies, reducing isolation -Help to decrease the incidence of severe symptoms -Help to decrease traumatic life events caused by severe symptoms --Increase participation among refugees and migrants bring community cohesion principles to play help to decrease traumatic life events caused by severe symptoms. Help increase understanding of the illness, bringing people together to share experiences. - Help raise awareness and reduce fear amongst the host communities and within own communities on mental health issues. -Empower communities to take responsibilities caring for each other- building life skills to many communities sharing stories. Help people to make their own decisions and being to engage into the labour market contributing to the economic development. - Help to publish health material and dance fitness.
Track record
AWEF is a lived experience leadership organisation since 2006 run by volunteers who understands the issues that refugees have to go through to integrate into the society, hence we have developed a uniquely tailored service to boost moral for this group of people. The charity have served over thousands of lives in the years impacting many refugees who are new and those who have left in the limbo for over decades. AWEF have delivered successful project of this nature partnering with the NHS Nottingham and we have collected data per every cohort many being able to support each other after attending our WRAP methods. During COVID AWEF volunteers have also worked as a front agent to deliver a crisis project helping 33 individuals to recover and 8 of them being able to bounce back into work.