Funding

Women’s Health Matters at Nottingham Women’s Centre

6 November 2024

Nottingham Women’s Centre is thrilled to be hosting the Women’s Health Matters series of workshops and events, funded by the Women’s Health Community Fund, run by Wellbeing of Women and Holland & Barrett.

Nottingham Women’s Centre’s Women’s Health Matters project aims to bring education, empowerment & awareness to women about their health and well-being. Women’s Health Matters is here for you, because your health is so important. We’re here to increase knowledge and raise awareness about women’s health issues. We’re creating spaces for conversation to break down barriers. Together, we’ll smash taboos about gynaecological health! And we’re here to listen to your lived experiences on these matters too.

Louisa Matthews, CEO of Nottingham Women’ Centre said:

“We are delighted to receive funding from the Women’s Health Community Fund. This money will help us to ensure that we can reach more women in the communities that we work with, to provide education and empowerment on gynaecological health. We are excited to create space for important conversations, remove stigma and to celebrate women’s bodies and health. 

Our workshops will give women the opportunity to feel seen and heard, and feedback to us on what topics are the most important to them. Thank you to Holland & Barrett, and Wellbeing of Women for the grant!”

Janet Lindsay, Chief Executive of Wellbeing of Women, comments:

I am thrilled to continue our partnership with Holland & Barrett and the important work that we are doing to improve women’s health education across the life-course from within local communities working with marginalised women. This aligns closely to the work that our Health Collective is doing to give a voice to women from marginalised communities, enable them to influence policy and provide a space for them to share experiences and solutions to common problems.

This new funding initiative will enable grassroots organisations to reach more women from marginalised communities. From periods to menopause, the workshops being funded by the Women’s Health Community Fund will provide critical resources, education, and support, fostering an environment where every woman can thrive and be heard.

Clare Stafford, Director of Communications at Holland & Barrett said:

We’ve already seen the huge impact that community-based projects like Women’s Health Matters can make, so we’re pleased to be able to offer much needed support and funding in partnership with Wellbeing of Women. At Holland & Barrett, we are on a mission to increase education and access to women’s health, break down stigmas, and offer women a safe space to go for support at all life-stages from menstruation to menopause and beyond.

The fund, which has committed a total of £75,000 since September 2023, forms part of Holland & Barrett’s ‘Women’s Wellness Commitment’.

Castle Rock Brewery’s IWD Brew Day 2024

15 February 2024

Our fantastic caseworker Wez has written about the fabulous day we spent at Castle Rock Brewery, on Wednesday 7^th February, during their preparations for International Women’s Day…

[The following post contains references to alcohol and alcohol production]

For the second year running, Castle Rock Brewery has chosen Nottingham Women’s Centre as their charity of choice for International Women’s Day!

Like last year’s Crystal Clear, a new beer will be brewed especially for IWD and will be launched at a special event on the evening of 8th March at the Old Cold Store. This year’s beer will be called ‘Order and Disorder’ and will be a hazy pale. The Brew Day event at the Old Cold Store on 7th February was a chance for women interested in brewing to take part in the process of making the beer.

This year, the Brew Day was in collaboration with No Half Measures, a group of female beer and brewing enthusiasts from Nottingham. It was an early start, at 7am, but Castle Rock Brewery kindly provided breakfast. There were guided tours of the brewery, with the brewers showing participants around, and describing the brewing process. All the brewing staff who participated were really helpful and accommodating, willing to answer all our questions.

Also, on hand to advise us on the more technical aspects was Steph from Murphy’s. I was asked to give a short talk about our work here at Nottingham Women’s Centre, and how the money raised will help us continue the work we do supporting women in Nottingham. We were also given a chance to take part in the brewing process. I chose digging out the spent grain from the mash tun: a messy job but lots of fun!

Designing the pump clip with Pop Up Print Making

We were treated to a tutored beer tasting with Lucy Simons from Let’s Beer. Lucy also co-runs The Abdication Micropub in Daybrook with her partner Matt. The brews we sampled were Elsie Mo and Oatmeal Stout. The name ‘Elsie Mo’. comes from the variety of malt used, Low Colour Maris Otter – L C MO! Initially the pump clip showed a 1940’s pin-up, of the style often seen on the side of US aircraft during WW2. However, as a result of a campaign to remove sexualised images of women from beer advertising, the picture was changed. Now she’s now the pilot!

Another interesting fact we learned was that the yeast used by Castle Rock is a ‘heritage yeast’ and is actually older than the brewery itself! Sorry, I never thought to ask where it came from in the first place – possibly a now defunct brewery in Nottingham.

There was also an opportunity to try your hand at screen printing with Lizzie from Pop-Up Printmaking, to design a pump clip for the new beer. I had a go, it was brilliant fun and some really striking designs were produced.

All in all, it was an interesting and informative day, with some brilliant hands-on opportunities. It was fabulous to see so many women with an interest in brewing coming together to meet, talk, learn and to join Castle Rock in supporting Nottingham Women’s Centre.

Follow the link below to read more about the event and the evening launch event!

IWD @ Castle Rock Brewery

AGM & Annual Review 2022-23 Launch

8 February 2024

50+ Years of Support and Sanctuary at the Heart of Nottingham

Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

Nottingham Women’s Centre is celebrating over 50 years at the heart of the city, providing much needed support and services for all self-identifying women, from all backgrounds, in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. On Wednesday 10^th January 2024, we held our Annual General Meeting at our headquarters in the historic 30 Chaucer Street building to mark this fantastic achievement!

The event showcased the vital work of Nottingham Women’s Centre over the last 50+ years, supporting women through many challenges, including isolation; access to mental health services; seeking asylum; escaping abuse; financial difficulties and leaving the Criminal Justice System to name just a few.

“I truly believe in the difference Nottingham Women’s Centre can make to the lives of women in Nottingham, be it learning new skills, meeting new friends or accessing affordable support for wellbeing and mental health.”
Vandna Gohil, CEO of Nottingham Women’s Centre.

Protest artwork at Nottingham Women's Centre — Protest artwork at Nottingham Women’s Centre

The support at Nottingham Women’s Centre today includes counselling services, person centred support, advice, guidance, courses, activities, volunteering opportunities, and a welcoming space for all women to meet, visit Nottingham Women’s Library and Archive, and join campaigns for women’s rights and women’s voices to be truly amplified together.

These services and spaces were of utmost importance during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which isolation and abuse were most severely felt, and support and safe spaces such as Nottingham Women’s Centre provided much needed sanctuary.

“We noticed that the call on our services increased post-pandemic, and with the cost-of-living crisis having a disproportionate impact on women. We are proud to offer a free, safe community space in Nottingham City Centre where any woman can drop in for a cup of tea in our Welcome Space or relax and browse our Women’s Library”
Justine Weston, Chair of The Board of Trustees.

During the evening AGM event, stakeholders, supporters, members and partners heard first-hand evidence and testimonials about the services provided, and the lasting positive impact this has had on the lives of so many.

Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

The AGM also saw the launch of Nottingham Women’s Centre’s Annual Review 2022-23, further detailing how the work of the last year has supported so many women throughout communities in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Recent figures show that in 2022 there were 476 referrals from the probation service, 766 hours of much needed low-cost counselling for women on low incomes was provided, 104 women received specialist domestic abuse counselling and support, and 265 women were referred for emotional wellbeing support.

Services users have said of their experiences:

“The strength and support have given me both mental and emotional stability and I aim to do the same for others.”

“Coming to the Centre has let me be in an environment surrounded by passionate and positive women. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

This just goes to show how vitally important Nottingham Women’s Centre is, and how crucial it is that we continue to provide a safe, supportive space for all women to flourish and gain strength, and have their voices heard for another 50 years and beyond!

Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

Autumn / Winter Policy Updates 2023

22 December 2023

Nottingham Women’s Centre is excited to bring you this autumn / winter update on our policy and campaign work.

1. What we are working on right now!

The Impact of Alcohol Tags on Women

Background

Since March 2021, courts in England have introduced Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirements (AAMRs) where drinking was a factor in a crime. An alcohol tag is imposed within an AAMR for adult offenders as a requirement of a community order or suspended sentence order for an alcohol-related offence, or an associated offence that is alcohol-related.

AAMRs bans offenders from drinking alcohol for up to 120 days and offenders must wear an alcohol monitoring tag as part of their community sentence. Compliance is monitored electronically through the alcohol tag which monitors the presence of alcohol in offender’s sweat. A recent report shows high compliance rates, however there is yet no evidence of their impact on offenders.

Through its case work, Nottingham Women’s Centre has identified the case of the use of alcohol tags and its adverse impact of its use on women.

Action

We are calling on relevant stakeholders to feed into our briefing proposing that the government looks into the women’s health needs and possible impacts on alcohol tags.
We are working with Alcohol Change UK as well as Severe and Multiple Disadvantage (SMD) Partnership Nottingham to better understand the prevalence of this issue and make changes at local and national level.

If you have lived experience of or work with women who have experience of alcohol tagging, or would like to feed into our briefing to the government please email ezinwanne@nottinghamwomenscentre.com.

Prosecution for School Non Attendance – a disproportionate impact on women

Women who are single parents have to split their finances between the rising cost of food and energy bills with childcare costs, making it almost impossible to work or survive. This is further complicated where single mothers have children with special needs. Recent evidence shows that single mothers are over represented in the Criminal Justice System for failure to secure their children’s attendance in school.

Prosecuting parents for their children’s non-attendance in school is yet another government intervention that has failed to consider and support the intersecting needs and experiences of women. We have worked with women at the Centre who have been sentenced (mostly for the first time) because they ‘failed to get their children to attend school’ where in reality, such children either have unmet special educational needs or are bullied in school. These huge fines (up to £2500) further puts women under enormous financial pressure in the current climate.

Action

We are calling on the Council to look into the root causes of the prosecution of parents for their children’s school non-attendance, especially for single mothers as this is an unfair burden in the current cost of living crisis.

2. On our radar…

Other issues we are aware of:

Rehousing from Refuge: There is an increased risk of homelessness as women seeking rehousing in Nottingham city are in Refuge for significantly longer which seems to have a direct correlational impact on symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Impact of proposed Public Order Bill: In April 2023, the Public Order Bill passed its final stages at the House of Lords. This bill will introduce more powers to restrict people’s fundamental rights to peaceful protest. This will impact us in two ways:

Reclaim the Night and many other peaceful protests for women’s rights will be impeded as the law gives police power to define disruptive protests and issue protest bans preventing people from attending protests.
Stop and search without suspicion, interferes with women’s rights to privacy and the right to freedom from discrimination particularly for Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority women.

Lack of access to GPs for prison releases: Women released from prisons are struggling to register with GPs as their prison badges are not accepted as valid proof of ID/address.

Lack of support and inconsistency from solicitors and judges for domestic abuse survivors through the court processes

3. What We Achieved!

We were at Parliament on December 6th!

In October, we submitted evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee highlighting the impact of the rising cost of living on women in Nottingham. We were invited to give further oral evidence on the experiences of women in Nottingham.

Watch our oral evidence here

Read our evidence submission here

Free hours for childcare from April 2024

We submitted evidence to the Education Committee on the impact of unaffordable childcare costs on women after a survey and focus group conducted with women. The Department of Education has now announced new changes for free childcare to support more parents returning to work after parental leave.

Read the full announcement here

Read our evidence submission here

Women’s Health

Our evidence submission to the Women and Equality Government Committee, asking the committee to look into the health challenges women face and the impact of these experiences on their health and lives was published. We also fed into the ongoing health needs assessment for women in Nottingham. We believe this brings us a step closer to ensuring women’s health needs are taken seriously.

Read our evidence submission here

4. Partner Radar

Issues From Some Of Our Partners

A common issue across all partners is the limited funding to deliver services. Nottingham City Council’s issue of a section 114 notice in late November, has resulted in funding cuts and subsequent reductions in service provision. Other emerging issues experienced by our partners are noted below.

Notts LGBT+ Network

Notts LGBT+ is an all-volunteer organisation that provides a comprehensive database of LGBT+ information, 5 nights-a-week helpline, training, volunteering opportunities and an active presence for LGBT+ people in Nottingham.

Emerging Issues

People struggling to come to terms with their sexuality and/or gender status
People being unaware of local routes to socialising

Base 51

Base 51’s OutBurst provides a safe space for LGBTQIA+ young people (aged 11-14).

Emerging Issues

Supporting young people who identify as LGBTQ through their transition from high school to college to ensure they are able to deal with the challenges and emotions involved.

Kairos

A network run by lesbian volunteers for Lesbian and Bisexual Asylum Seekers and Refugees around Nottingham

Emerging Issues

Supporting members with mental well-being
Cost of living / hardship
Housing shortage

Notts Trans Hub (formally Trans Space Notts)

Notts Trans Hub is a trans support charity which runs two in-person support groups a month as well as an in-person social event.

Emerging Issue

Challenges about national news stories about trans people and comments made by people affecting mental health.

Nottingham Muslim Women’s Network

Nottingham Muslim Women’s Network continues to provide women and girls (primarily Muslim women and girls) with advocacy and support around issues that affect their daily lives.

Emerging Issues

Encouraging new attendees to attend services
Limited funding

Vanclaron CHATS

Vanclaron CIC is a community interest company with a mission to shape the design, development and provision of health and wellbeing services to be inclusive.

Emerging Issue

Organisational capacity
Limited funding

POW

POW Nottingham supports sex workers and empowers vulnerable exploited people so they can be safe, secure and have choice.

Emerging Issue

Housing needs
Rising Cost of Living

5. Policy Updates

Autumn Statement/King’s Speech

The King’s Speech and the Autumn Statement in November respectively outlined a number of important updates and policy decisions relating to the UK economy. Here are some highlights from the autumn statement:

National Insurance contributions will be reduced from 12% to 10% next year for employees paying the standard rate
Benefits will increase by 6.7% (in-line with September’s inflation figure)
State pension is being increased by 8.5% to £221.20/week
As of April 2024, the national living wage will increase to £11.44/hour
Class 2 National Insurance will be abolished for the self employed

There is a ‘back to work plan’ by the government to get more people into employment as there are actions around reforms to work capability assessment before people qualify for benefits.

Discretionary Friday/pre-Bank Holiday Release Scheme Policy Framework takes effect

The framework/process for bringing forward the release date of a person leaving prison by up to 2 eligible working days, where release date falls on a Friday or the day preceding a bank/public holiday has been published, will take effect from 30th Nov.

People will no longer have to disclose sentences for most jobs

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act has brought new changes to spending period for convictions. This means that people will no longer have to disclose sentences for most jobs, although there is a list of excluded offences which will still remain unspent for life. People sentenced to community orders will be free to move on and stop disclosing their conviction as soon as the order ends.

Find more info here

Employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment from happening in their workplace

The landmark Worker Protection Bill has passed its final stage in the House of Commons which means it will become law before the end of the year. This bill requires employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment from happening in their workplaces including making clear policies, training and conducting proper and impartial investigations. This also means that the Equalities and Human Rights Commission will be able to take action against organisations that breach this duty, and employers will be liable to individuals at an employment tribunal for sexual harassment claims.

6. Upcoming Policy & Campaign Work

Manifesto for Women

Are you a woman or a representative of a woman’s organisation? Come join us at our next Women’s Organisations Network (WON) meeting as we put together a Manifesto for Women that represents specifically women’s needs for the forthcoming general elections.

Get your voice heard! If you would like to attend, RSVP here: samra@nottinghamwomenscentre.com

We hope to disseminate this Manifesto widely and hold our candidates accountable through our Hustings event.

Can you help us support women through the cost-of-living crisis?

31 October 2022

With the rising costs of living, now more than ever we need your help to support women in Nottinghamshire.

We heard that people are donating their energy rebate payments to charity and wanted to let you know that any contribution you can make, big or small, helps us ensure that 30 Chaucer Street remains a warm, holistic, and friendly space for many women in need of financial, mental health and other forms of support.

Nottingham Women’s Centre is run by women, for ALL women. We have over 50 years’ experience helping women to become stronger and more independent via our support services, counselling services, wellbeing courses and activities, person-centred advice and ability to offer an open, safe space that’s free to access.

We’re also pretty proud to be home to one of the country’s only remaining women’s libraries – Nottingham Women’s Library!

Make a donation

In the space of just one year, over 12,000 women come through our doors. We helped them gain a total of £300,000 through our financial support services and we offered upwards of 1500 hours in counselling. We also awarded over £90,000 in community grants to grassroots organisations working to support some of Nottingham’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities of women.

Our FREE courses and activities are attended by thousands of women each year, who each take away new skills, increased confidence, greater sense of wellbeing and more.

As well as the above, we’re also drivers of change! Through our extensive campaigning and policy work, we’ve had a major impact on local and national policy decisions affecting women, such as the recent Misogyny Hate Crime legislation changes.

In supporting our work, you help us reach vulnerable women across Nottinghamshire who are in vital need of support. Thank you!

Good news from the National Lottery Community Fund!

21 January 2021

Connecting women with their data and technology needs

We’re very pleased to share that we won a recent National Lottery Community Fund bid to help more women in Nottinghamshire with their technology and data needs.

The £4,000 funding means we’ll be able to loan out the laptops, tablets and Wi-Fi units in the below picture over the coming months, so that more women are able to:

Complete job searches & online courses
Access online support
Find resources
Find support and forge connections to reduce isolation and loneliness

Funding

Nottingham Women’s Centre is thrilled to be hosting the Women’s Health Matters series of workshops and events, funded by the Women’s Health Community Fund, run by Wellbeing of Women and Holland & Barrett.

Louisa Matthews, CEO of Nottingham Women’ Centre said:

Janet Lindsay, Chief Executive of Wellbeing of Women, comments:

Clare Stafford, Director of Communications at Holland & Barrett said:

Our fantastic caseworker Wez has written about the fabulous day we spent at Castle Rock Brewery, on Wednesday 7th February, during their preparations for International Women’s Day…

For the second year running, Castle Rock Brewery has chosen Nottingham Women’s Centre as their charity of choice for International Women’s Day!

50+ Years of Support and Sanctuary at the Heart of Nottingham

Services users have said of their experiences:

“The strength and support have given me both mental and emotional stability and I aim to do the same for others.”

“Coming to the Centre has let me be in an environment surrounded by passionate and positive women. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Nottingham Women’s Centre is excited to bring you this autumn / winter update on our policy and campaign work.

1. What we are working on right now!

The Impact of Alcohol Tags on Women

Background

Action

Prosecution for School Non Attendance – a disproportionate impact on women

Action

2. On our radar…

Other issues we are aware of:

3. What We Achieved!

We were at Parliament on December 6th!

Free hours for childcare from April 2024

Women’s Health

4. Partner Radar

Issues From Some Of Our Partners

Emerging Issues

Emerging Issues

Emerging Issues

Notts Trans Hub (formally Trans Space Notts)

Emerging Issue

Emerging Issues

Emerging Issue

Emerging Issue

5. Policy Updates

Autumn Statement/King’s Speech

Discretionary Friday/pre-Bank Holiday Release Scheme Policy Framework takes effect

People will no longer have to disclose sentences for most jobs

Employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment from happening in their workplace

6. Upcoming Policy & Campaign Work

Manifesto for Women

With the rising costs of living, now more than ever we need your help to support women in Nottinghamshire.

In supporting our work, you help us reach vulnerable women across Nottinghamshire who are in vital need of support. Thank you!

Connecting women with their data and technology needs

Our fantastic caseworker Wez has written about the fabulous day we spent at Castle Rock Brewery, on Wednesday 7^th February, during their preparations for International Women’s Day…