IWD 2023 – meet the women embracing equity in our communities every day

Paula works as the Creative Development Manager at Alt Valley Community Trust, seeking to address cultural inequalities and ensure all people have equal access to quality arts provision.

Based in the Croxteth ‘Communiversity’ building but often seen travelling to venues across our neighbourhoods to make it easier for all to access, she has developed a range of free arts activities to bring different sections of the community together to support mental health and wellbeing and strengthen community cohesion.

Paula says: “While Liverpool is a city with a strong cultural offer, many of these activities are based in the city centre and include additional barriers to marginalised communities. Our activities are designed to meet the needs of specific audiences in the community to maximise the impact, with musical outreach programmes taking place for all residents to access, including tailored sessions for primary school age pupils, young people with autism spectrum disorders and adults with additional needs.”

Through funding from Cobalt Housing, Paula also transformed a space within the Communiversity building to become a new rehearsal, recording and podcast space offering local residents creative opportunities to develop new talents and foster relationships. The ‘We Can’ podcast is now led by people in the community for people in the community to talk about issues, support and activities for people in Croxteth and Norris Green.

Dr Cheryl Lowes works as a GP at Jubilee Medical Centre in Croxteth and community development lead for primary care, and has held a pivotal role in the ‘Our Croxteth’ project and supported the development of the Partnerships for People and Place (PfPP) government-funded levelling up project ‘the Good Help Hub’.

Cheryl is a champion of social and wellbeing ‘equity’ and its impact on a person’s health, and has been integral in bringing social prescribing to our neighbourhoods.

The term social prescribing has been in use in the UK for a number of years. It describes an all-round personal care approach to health and wellbeing. Patients are put in touch with a ‘social prescriber’, more commonly described as a link worker, whose role is to support patients in unpicking often complex issues affecting their health and wellbeing.

Through social prescribing, patients are encouraged to explore what matters to them in life, and to work with their link worker to devise a wellbeing plan based on their individual needs.

Cheryl says: “As a GP, I know that the pandemic has exacerbated many people’s concerns with issues such as housing and money matters, but also isolation and general mental distress. I am passionate about showing patients a way through, not with unnecessary clinical interventions, but by linking patients to practical advice and wellbeing support within our communities; also known as social prescribing.”

Hannah is a Cobalt Housing tenant who received funding from us to undertake training from the ‘Freedom Programme’ which is a domestic violence programme, and PEGS, which supports parents and professional with child to parent abuse.

With her new skills, and after bravely talking publicly about her own experiences and impact on her mental health, Hannah saw a big response from others and identified a need for better support services in our community.

Hannah set up ‘Rooting For You’, a mental health support service which offers a range of sessions including compassion led talking therapy, walking groups, listening circles, craft sessions and family fun sessions, and equity sits at the heart of the support.

Hannah says: “We understand mental health is personal to everyone, therefore we have an adaptive approach to meet the individual where they are at in their mental health journey. We take a holistic approach to our sessions and understand that in order to support each individual, the outside circumstances matter, so can provide support for children, family support and tailored domestic abuse support. Each individual and service provider has their own story and their own abilities. We use all this to ensure our users always feel listened to, and most importantly, understood”

A talented artist and PGCE art teacher, Sarah is so much more than an educator. She has used her talents to develop a creative wellbeing business, ‘A.ur.tistic’, which supports people of all ages across Liverpool through ‘art wellbeing’, helping them to express emotions and be creative, learning healthy coping strategies, mindfulness and meditation through art.

She was recently commissioned to create visual minutes for the Good Help Hub, and has even started her own podcasts to talk about her own personal experiences to support others to gain peace with inner self talk and intrusive thoughts, and shift their mindset. Understanding everyone’s uniqueness in identity, needs and abilities, every session is tailored to the participant(s).

Sarah says: “I run a range of courses for people of all ages and backgrounds, with each one taking a different approach to support their individual needs and outcome aims. I often work around themes, such as bullying, inclusion or diversity, and some of my recent workshops include sessions for men’s groups, young people, youths with Autism and multi-generational projects to bring people together. Art allows self-expression, openness and honesty meaning that people who may struggle to talk about their own feelings, struggles and identity often find solace in creative working.”

Dawn is the co-ordinator of Karonga Gardens, a community space gifted by Cobalt Housing to local residents in Fazakerley. Formerly a vacant space, Dawn has headed up a team of volunteers who have been working hard over the past year to transform the space into a beautiful green community garden.

The site now houses sheds and polytunnels, and alongside regular meet ups to bring people of all ages in the community together, they have recently partnered with local further education provider Myserscough College to run a practical horticulture programme in the gardens with a Level 1 qualification for participants.

Aiming to find ways to connect with people of all backgrounds, Dawn has developed an extensive network of partners to maximise the use of the space and its impact, and the site now also houses the ‘Beautiful New Beginnings’ forest school, getting young children outdoors and learning new skills. The space offers an outdoor “extension” of the services offered by Dawn and the team at Fazakerley Community Federation and library, a community hub offering support and activities.

Dawn says: “Karonga Gardens has been a great addition to the community, and we have a great group of committed volunteers who have been working tirelessly to bring the space to life, fully understanding the positive impact it can have on local people. Nature has huge benefits for mental health, and it’s such an adaptable space that we are encouraging people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved with to improve their wellbeing, offering different activities and events to bring them outdoors and learn new skills. We’re always ready to welcome new friends and invite everyone nearby to come along to join in some of the activities.”

 If you live in Croxteth, chances are your path will have crossed with Karen Campbell. Karen is the manager at Croxteth Family Matters – a community hub, charity, and hotbed of activity that sits at the heart of the Croxteth community.

Starting over 30 years ago as an advice centre, Karen has worked to identify residents’ needs, evolving the space to become a family support service offering a home to a number of groups, projects, and a successful food pantry, aiming to reduce poverty, and offering people of all ages the chance to meet other people and feel less isolated.

Youth and adult activities are offered daily, with the community space being used for support sessions including a ‘women’s only’ group to support isolated members of the community to gain social inclusion, promoting new found friendships, networks and community integration.

Karen says: “We work right the way through from birth to the elderly. All the different activities that we put on get people through the door and then we find we can try and meet their other needs as well. People might come in for the creative activities, or bring their children along to the After- School club, and then we find out that they might need other help as well. We have family support workers, play workers and wonderful volunteers, and there is plenty of advice available for anyone who needs it.”