Kate Green, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, visited our Tameside Women’s Centre in Ashton-Under-Lyne to find out about how it supports women who face complex needs.
The centre aims to develop better health and wellbeing for women and their families in Tameside by working with local partners to provide a varied programme of sessions. It is also the centre for our Bridges Partnership, Tameside’s domestic abuse service.
The visit was organised by Greater Manchester Women’s Support Alliance (GMWSA), an organisation made up of nine women’s centres across Greater Manchester, including the Tameside Women’s Centre.
GMWSA delivers services on behalf of His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and Greater Manchester Combined Authority with the aim of ensuring offenders complete their community orders and licenses and to provide rapid access to the support they need to avoid re-offending.
Donna Kelly, our Group Director of Support and Neighbourhoods, and Tracey Sparks, CEO of GMWSA, welcomed Kate Green to the centre and they where they met with some of the women who have accessed support and listened to their stories.
One of those was Taylor, who said: “I have been supported by Anne, my keyworker, throughout. She recognised that I needed mental health support, and she helped me access lots of therapy to help me move on. I had been struggling to keep my place at university, but I eventually graduated with a 2:1 degree in Criminology and Counselling. This is a field I want to work in, and I’m currently working for Partners of Prisoners, supporting their Men’s Wellbeing hubs. I could not have done it without the regular support I had here.”
Donna Kelly said “It was good to show Kate the wide range of support we offer at the centre, a safe and gender responsive environment where women can access a range of services, and access support. This includes parenting, personal development, volunteering, and employment, surviving and recovering from domestic abuse, mental health issues, substance misuse, debt, housing, and physical and emotional wellbeing.”
