Community Wellbeing in Action

We believe that we can create wellbeing, and that sometimes this is an active hands on process. Participating in activities which may improve the quality of life supports us in connecting with groups and individuals.

Naturally during the current restrictions we have had to rethink how this might be accomplished.

It was a great opportunity to play an active role in making connections and communicating with those who have been isolating during the pandemic.

Culturally appropriate items included for distribution to community members

Door step deliveries to locations across the city.

Balm Women

Balm women is a therapeutic group which supports women of African Caribbean heritage towards maintaining mental health and wellbeing. We explore the experiences of Black Women and the impact of these experiences on mental health. During workshops and seminars we have focused on issues which are both historic and topical, whilst examining the processes by which it is possible to move towards a position of healing.

This has involved group process, meditation and creative visualisation. Going forward we will include a range of holistic therapeutic interventions.

Currently we maintain contact via social media, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic we were able to meet in person, regularly participating in workshops. Within the group we create safe spaces in which women of Black African Caribbean heritage are able to explore the reality of their experiences, an exploration which is free from judgement . It is a safe space in which women feel held and supported.

Please check in to identify developments as we will be delivering Balm Therapies events via zoom covering a range of topics, including body image and the impact on mental health, as well as spirituality and healing from an holistic perspective.

Covid-19 Response

During the first phase of the national lockdown, many organisations irrespective of size, found that they would have to adapt to new ways of working and delivering their services, faced with this challenge as a small organisation we have had to think creatively about what is possible within the current climate.

Many services have transferred to online platforms, as the application of social restrictions did not allow for the possibility of meeting in most physical spaces.

It has been a new experience for many of us and has led to many adjustments in ways of achieving our objectives.

Online interactions naturally, are not quite the same as being able to occupy physical spaces and the benefits which come from being in community with each other, and where we look forward to the time where we return to some semblance of what we consider to be normality, maintaining continuity is currently often as a result of WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, and online platforms.

Balm Therapies Covid-19 response involved creating wellbeing boxes which provided equipment and essential items, which we hoped in some way helped to recreate aspects of the workshops and seminars delivered through Balm Women( which focuses on the mental health and wellbeing of women of Black African Caribbean heritage).

We considered elders within the community, many of them of the Windrush Generation, the contribution they have made to the community is immeasurable, and it seemed appropriate that we should reach out to them, as well as others who were shielding during this time.

The wellbeing boxes were a great opportunity to reconnect, on doorsteps across communities.

We were pleased to have been supported in this activity by Nottingham Women's Centre, and it would be true to say that this allowed for the possibility of linking with individuals, enabling us to gain first-hand knowledge of the range of impacts the pandemic has had on wellbeing.

We are looking forward to the continuation of this process, and although the second lockdown is regrettable and not necessarily expected we intend to meet the continuing challenge by reaching out across the spectrum and diversity of our community, focusing on practical emotional and psychological needs.

This assists us in learning and understanding the value of difference and allows us to seize the opportunity to develop and grow as individuals and as an organisation.

Elsa one of our volunteers who helped to pack and deliver wellbeing boxes.

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