Mental Health HQ is a Community Interest Company running projects in the community to support mental health. One of our ongoing projects which will run until May 2022 is the Ukrainian Women’s Well-Being Project. This project supports Women who have arrived in the UK since February 2022. It is funded by the Royal Borough of Greenwich and running at The Big Red Bus Club.
The war has caused a lot of emotional distress for families. For the women arriving in a new country with or without children, leaving behind loved ones has been a really difficult time. Some placements with host families have been really successful while others have been less successful for a number of reasons.
Living in someone else’s home with people you don’t know, trying to be strong for young children, earn some income and not having support from your husband, partner or family members means a large number of emotional needs are being unmet.
What does the Well-Being Project involve?
This Ukrainian Women’s well-being project aims to support newly arrived Ukrainian Women in Greenwich to get their emotional needs met. It will help them to develop a community and provide a space for them to share their emotions. It is important for them to have a space for themselves in order to meet the needs of other family members. The project won’t change the war in Ukraine but it is a safe space for them.
Every week we do some kind of well-being activity. Examples include yoga, art, textiles or pottery. They can engage in these and chat. Once this is complete we have a peer-led discussion about something topical. Participants will learn techniques to manage stress and look at how they can live their best life in tricky circumstances. We are linking closely with Ukrainian Support Greenwich, Social care and other services supporting those who are newly arrived. We will signpost to other services where appropriate to ensure safety and feedback to commissioners on anything we notice as a running theme.
All women who are newly arrived in the UK are welcome to attend and can be referred by services working with them. It is free of charge and running until May 2023. To sign up please complete the form below