Saving Souls Self defence class
The Pitch
Problem statement
The murder of Sarah Everard shone a spotlight on a culture of male harassment and violence against women and girls however the murder of Sabina Nessa which was in a nearby borough, literally on our doorstep showed us how important creating safe and empowering public spaces with women and girls is something that needs to be tackled even more. For some women the emotional trauma that has had an impact on their well-being has not been spoken about as this space has not been provided. 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Furthermore, women are more likely to experience violence in their homes and communities, rather than in public spaces.
Solution
We would like to put on more mental health self defence and forum programme for women as we look to empower those women in the community that are isolated to receive this form of support through lack of support structure, funding & openness to their overall living circumstances. Self Defence Women Session - We aim to create a safer community by educating women on how to recognise potential dangers, avoid dangerous situations, & defend themselves if necessary Women's safe space Forum - Facilitator led mental health meetings for women looking for a sense of purpose & belonging which will increase their confidence & give them a sense of control over their well-being from previous trauma.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
Winning grassroots project of the year 2022 for having a successful men's project, we took the same approach to research what would be beneficial for women in the community, we have been able to shape our projects to ensure we are targeting the main needs of the beneficiaries. To do this we have now team with a former multiple British and European Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champion & has also trained in Muay Thai for over 10 years to deliver our sessions. Doing the pilot and now having regular weekly sessions, the demand for spaces has increased massively. As we have put in the ground work already to confirm there is a need for this, we need to expand to support more women in the community
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Extra Gloves and Pads £20 per set x 7 due the increase | £140 |
| Studio Hire for weekly self defence sessions - £45p/h x2 hours per week for 12 weeks | £1,080 |
| classroom hire £30p/h for weekly womens forum x2 hours per week for 12 weeks | £720 |
| Paid social media boosts x £20 per month (12 weeks) | £60 |
Beneficiaries
75 people
Expected impact
Residents that rely on extra enrichment or seek social inclusion throughout different community spaces at a cost, whether it be adults or parents that pay for the youth that we work with, may now not have the option to participate due to difficulty affording basic necessities such as food, housing, and healthcare, leading to over subscription and disruption to the local mental health services. At saving souls, we can respond to the immediate impacts of the cost of living for its members by providing free space ensuring that those that are in desperate need, are not isolated. We offer a lifeline to people who are unlikely to engage with traditional support services but will see merit in our peer support model. The impact that we have made so far is reducing isolation and loneliness, improve the safety of women and improve their wellbeing. By empowering these women through all our methods of self defence and safe space conversation, we will create more confident women in our community.
Track record
With our men's programme which is for the upliftment of men & provided a lifeline to men who are unlikely to engage with traditional support services. We have managed to create a brotherhood that over time has seen us engage with over 100 men in our community which contributed in to receiving different accolades in the community. We recently launch a three day taster session for international women's day to grasp the appetite then we created a weekly session and we are completely taken back by the amount of women in each of the sessions with some testimonies such as - I would love to do this every week - Jacquie made me feel so comfortable during the session - I feel like it was keep fit as well as mental therapy session - If this is frequent, it could be the best class that Bellingham leisure centre has With quotes like this, and the numbers growing weekly, we are more than confident that we will be able to replica the same achievements by growing a strong community among women