Women’s Voices (WV) is a small, not-for-profit, front-line community organisation based in Long-sight. WV exists to amplify the voices of Black and racially minoritised (BRM) women, supporting them to be heard within their communities and beyond. Our work is rooted in challenging the institutional, social, cultural, and economic inequalities that disproportionately affect BRM women. At our core, we bring women together in safe, non-judgemental spaces to foster strong relationships, build confidence, and encourage fuller engagement in community life. We are committed to creating sustainable change through partnership, participation, and engagement, with a firm belief that long-term transformation must be driven by the women themselves through a shared vision. Most of our service users are women from migrant communities, many living in poverty and experiencing multiple forms of marginalisation. Often, they live below the radar, with limited knowledge of life in the UK. Most have little or no English and are digitally excluded, making equitable access to in-formation, education, and essential services a key priority of our work. As part of our commitment to community-led change, we conducted a consultation with women from diverse backgrounds. They identified systemic discrimination, lack of opportunities, and social isolation as core barriers - while also expressing a strong, collective desire to take action and transform their lives through agency, equity, and empowerment. To realise this vision, WV delivers a wide range of programmes designed to bring together isolated and marginalised women. These activities aim to build confidence, develop skills, foster resilience and independence, and create pathways to leadership through volunteering and peer support. Our Activities We provide weekly sessions including: - Sewing and Embroidery workshops - Yoga and exercise classes - Healthy Me workshops - Outdoor exploration - Cultural festivals and community events - Digital inclusion and IT skills training - Health awareness workshops (e.g. High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol ) - ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes - Creative art and craft sessions - Recycling/upcycling initiatives - Weekly drop-ins - Environmental awareness (including climate change and community clean-ups) All our activities are designed to create safe, inclusive, and welcoming environments where women can connect, grow in confidence, and engage actively in community life. Overview In the last financial year, funding enabled Women’s Voices to support over 350 Black Racially Minoritised (BRM) women, providing critical lifelines amidst a worsening cost-of-living crisis. With sharp increases in housing, food, and utility costs, many women and families in our communities have faced growing financial hardship. As these challenges deepened, so did the demand for our support services. Our Approach and Delivery To respond to the urgent and evolving needs of BRM women, we delivered a comprehensive pro-gramme of training, wellbeing support, personal development, and community engagement activities. These were designed to: - Build confidence and resilience - Improve employability and independence - Strengthen mental and physical wellbeing - Encourage peer support and volunteering - Foster community integration and voice We also trained BRM women as volunteers, equipping them with work experience and leadership skills that directly benefit the sustainability of our organisation and their communities. Community-Led, Needs-Driven Services We actively consult with our service users to ensure our work is led by lived experience. Common themes identified include: - Language barriers and limited access to services - Discrimination, inequality, and lack of confidence - Financial hardship and isolation - Need for greater mental health and wellbeing support Impact and Outcomes Funding enabled us to achieve the following outcomes: - Improved knowledge, communication, and confidence among BRM women – our service users felt that their confidence and communication skills have improved drastically. - Better English skills, enabling greater access to services and civic participation. The evaluation highlights that ESOL classes made it easier for women to talk to their local clinics to either get appointments, to be able to explain their health concerns, and being able to navigate the day-to-day tasks and conversations. - Enhanced mental health and wellbeing through creative and therapeutic activities – The workshops helped women in improving their mental health - weekly yoga and mindfulness sessions were helpful for women in managing their mental and physical wellbeing. - Reduced loneliness and isolation through regular community engagement – Focus group discussions with our services users shows that all our activities have made women feel drastically less isolated and that they look forward to coming to the sessions because of the ease and comfort that they witness. - Healthier lifestyles, including improved diets and physical activity – Through our regular work-shops we have recently published a recipe book that contains a variety of healthy recipes given by women from different backgrounds – sessions such as ‘healthy me’ has greatly improved the understanding of the service users towards the diet and their food consumption. - Greater understanding of sustainability, including recycling and environmental awareness – We continue to offer regular workshops that focuses on sustainability and recycling, as we have successfully made so many daily usage items from recyclable material and pots. We have encouraged women to make tote bags out of left-over fabric. - Development of new and transferrable skills, supporting personal and professional growth – Our aim is to provide women with skills that help them in strengthening their ground within the work sector, and to regularly improve and sharpen their skillsets. - Volunteering opportunities, with 25 women giving back to support others - our volunteers are the backbone of our organisation, as they regularly employ all the skills learnt in different settings that they are involved in. Sustainability and Legacy A significant proportion of our current volunteers are former beneficiaries who now mentor, lead, and support others. Many women have progressed into further training, employment, and active civ-ic participation, creating a ripple effect of empowerment across our communities. Conclusion Thanks to the support of our funders, we have been able to respond swiftly and effectively to growing community needs. The outcomes delivered this year reflect not only the scale of the challenges our beneficiaries face but also the transformative power of community-led, grassroots support. We remain committed to continuing this vital work and are seeking sustained funding to: - Expand ESOL and employability programmes - Scale our peer support and volunteer development model - Deepen mental health and wellbeing support - Enhance our digital and environmental education offer

Women’s Voices identifies its key stakeholders as: - The women who access our services and many of whom go on to become volunteers - Their families and wider local communities - Local partner organisations and networks, including Manchester Art Gallery, Wai Yin Society, Manchester City Council, Longsight Art Space, Manchester Local Care Organisation, and Sow the City Our primary and most important stakeholders are the Black and racially minoritised (BRM) women who use our services. We regularly consult with them to ensure our work remains responsive, relevant, and driven by their lived experiences. Women’s Voices uses several methods of consultation: - Focus groups and community conversations to assess the impact of our services and identify gaps in provision - Evaluations at the end of each project or activity, enabling us to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback on outcomes - 1:1 personal development sessions where individual women share their goals, challenges, and feedback, which then informs how we tailor services and support - Ongoing informal feedback gathered through weekly drop-ins and peer support sessions The feedback collected has been instrumental in shaping the evolution of our services. For example: - Many women reported reduced loneliness and isolation, increased self-confidence, and the development of practical and creative skills - Suggestions from participants led to new or enhanced programmes, including improved ESOL provision, driving theory classes, and expanded wellbeing and health awareness sessions - Based on consultation outcomes, more BRM women were supported to take on active roles in public, cultural, and community events, contributing their voices and skills to wider society As a result of our consultation processes, BRM women became actively involved in: - Co-designing and co-delivering community workshops - Participating in and performing at local cultural festivals and events - Representing Women’s Voices at external events, exhibitions, and stakeholder meetings - Leading peer-led sessions and mentoring newer participants This stakeholder-driven approach ensures that our services remain relevant, empowering, and deeply rooted in community needs. It also promotes ownership, sustainability, and leadership development among the women we serve.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration