The Alliance
Asha Neighbourhood Project
Basis
Behind Closed Doors
Getaway Girls
Joanna Project
Leeds Women’s Aid
Nari Ekta
Shantona
Support AFter Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds (SARSVL)
Together women
Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service Leeds
Womens Health Matters
ASHA NEIGHBOURHOOD PROJECT
We work to advance education, employment, and health. This involves tackling barriers to progression, underachievement and the effects of discrimination and poverty. We do this using a holistic, person-centred approach that brings lots of services together in one safe and welcoming setting. This is reflected in the range of services that are provided which are intended to not only foster the development of new skills but also to support people in accessing services, enhance knowledge and make use of the opportunities that exist to increase confidence and empower women to make informed choices and develop their own solutions. Services include: a health project, advice and advocacy, ESOL and IT classes, a Preschool nursery and playschemes during school holidays.
The Asha Neighbourhood Project first opened its doors in April 1985 and through services and activities designed to support and empower women, aims to enable all women and their families to participate fully in the social, cultural, and civic life of Leeds.
Basis
We are a specialist service offering highly personalized practical and emotional support alongside advocacy for women and young people to access health, housing and criminal justice services. We offer support on a 1 to 1 or group basis as well as offering outreach and drop in services. Our staff are trained to understand and recognise trauma and work based on a non-judgemental, harm reduction principles.
We share our practical experience alongside national and international research in training to professionals nationally in our areas of expertise and campaign for improved access and rights for women and young people.
“Basis value working in partnership at operational and strategic level: being part of a Women and Girls Alliance helps us advocate more strongly for women and girls rights to safety, housing and healthcare. We are proud to stand in solidarity with the Alliance to ensure the voices of women and girls are represented in the city– including the most marginalized.” – Moya Woolven, CEO of Basis.
Behind Closed Doors
Getaway Girls
We offer group work, individual support, outreach, detached, residential opportunities creative arts, sports and adventure education, holiday projects, exchanges, training, peer support, volunteering, social action , opportunities for voice and influence within Getaway Girls, Leeds and nationally.
Joanna Project
Leeds Women’s Aid
“Personally, l love being part of the Women & Girls Alliance – Leeds. The power of being in a room of 12 female leaders, setting our strategy to influence things in Leeds for the benefit of women and girls, and being part of a dynamic alliance of women’s and girls’ organisations is a pleasure and is absolutely essential for our organisation and Leeds to thrive. We are great organisations on our own, but as an alliance, we are unstoppable 😊 We will make change happen. – Nik Peasgood, CEO of Leeds Women’s Aid
Nari Ekta
Their courses provide opportunities by giving the necessary vocational knowledge, skills and training to unemployed ethnic minority women, who are socially and educationally disadvantaged due to language and cultural differences. Nari Ekta offer free courses for women including: Maths, English, Life in the UK, Driving Theory, Peer Support, & Steps to Success.
Shantona
Alongside services for women, we also provide youth interventions around esteem, empowerment, and environment – and we have an Early Years Centre, which follows the national curriculum, whilst upholding traditions and values that are important to the community we support.
“The alliance is extremely important for our organisation, we are proud to be part of this alliance, where we can learn, influence and bring huge impact in the lives of women and girls together.” – Nahid Rasool, CEO of Shantona
SUPPORT After RAPE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE LEEDS (SARSVL)
together Women
From our women centres, we provide tailored support across a range of different pathways, including housing, domestic abuse, debt and unemployment. As a charity led by women, for women, we provide trauma informed, holistic support to help break cycles of trauma, abuse and re-offending, and evoke systems change.
WOMEN’S COUNSELLING AND THERAPY SERVICE LEEDS
“Being part of W&GA is important to Women’s Counselling as part of our passion to support each woman and girl in Leeds access the support she needs at the right time. Being an Alliance means our services are complementary rather than overlapping, we can see a bigger picture of need, demand and gaps in the city, and together we can bring a clear strong voice to policy makers.” – Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service Leeds
Womens Health Matters
At Women’s Health Matters, we work intensively with around 1000 women, their families, and girls each year in and around Leeds. These women and girls are most at risk, including those experiencing domestic violence, sexual and emotional abuse, those with children in care or at risk of being removed, young mums, women seeking asylum, women with learning disabilities, and women with complex needs and mental health and wellbeing needs. We also support with parenting and pregnancy choices. We take a woman-centred holistic approach, creating a safe, nurturing environment to help women recover their confidence, explore their own needs, and regain control over their lives. We specialise in group work, one-to-one support and peer support.
“For WHM, being part of W&GAL means that we feel connected to other fantastic organisations across Leeds and are able to tap into their wealth of knowledge. The benefits range from gaining new referrals from our sister organisations and being able to refer to them with confidence that the women and girls we work with will get a fantastic service, co-delivering projects, to keeping up to date with events and new opportunities around Leeds. Being part of the alliance makes us stronger by creating connections across the city and being able to feed into research that’s conducted by the W&GAL, which in turn makes our work stronger.” – Women’s Health Matters