Womens Health Matters Summer 2015 Newsletter

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Summer 2015

Focus on our BME groups

We have 2 groups for women from BME communities. Details of the groups are here:

Sitara BME Women’s Group, Bangladeshi Community Centre, Roundhay Road, Leeds LS8 4HS Every Thursday 1pm to 3pm Hopes and Dreams BME Women’s Group Bramley Childrens Centre (Fairfield Community Centre), Fairfield Street, Leeds LS13 3DQ Every Friday 10am to 12pm If you would like to know more about the groups or would like to join one of the groups please contact Angela Singh on 0113 2762851 or e-mail angela@womenshealthmatters.org.uk

The groups have recently been having a great time trying out new

skills with fabric painting, glass painting and henna

painting.

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Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

Do you want to be in a women’s group?

For all women with a learning disability or difficulty to get together, have a cuppa and talk about health

Wednesdays 11am-1pm

at Womens Health Matters, Bridge House, Balm Road, Hunslet, LS10 2TP

Contact Jane Bethell for more information:

Ring: 0113 2762851

Text: 07504 232989

E-mail: seen@womenshealthmatters.org.uk

We’d love to hear from you!

When All Else Fails Womens Health Matters has a small fund called When All Else Fails. This is used

to help women when literally all other avenues of support have failed. The fund is used in crisis situations, such as fleeing domestic violence.

If you would like to help us to continue to provide this crisis support and you

would like to have a direct impact on the life of a woman or her children who we work with please think about making a donation to the fund.

Cheques can be made out to Womens Health Matters and sent to the

address on the back page of this newsletter.

Thank you from all of us.

Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

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Women’s Holiday Centre

Horton in Ribblesdale The Women’s Holiday Centre is based in the quaint Yorkshire village Horton-in-Ribblesdale, and is the only collective, not for profit, co-operatively run holiday centre for women and children in the UK. The holiday centre was set up in 1980 as a charitable co-operative, by women involved in feminism and the women’s liberation movement. Since then, this volunteer-run women’s co-op has been making a difference to the lives of thousands of women and children from all over the country, by providing affordable holidays with a sliding scale for payments according to income. The Women’s Holiday Centre is for all women, with or without children, on their own, or with friends. Women from all walks of life are welcome and visit regularly. The house offers a safe and friendly environment, where women and children can feel at home and get to know each other. Items such as towels, toiletries, and both adult and children’s spare coats/hats/gloves/wellies etc. are kept at the house so that those using public transport have less to carry. The part B&B, part hostel-style accommodation consists of a mix of private and shared bedrooms, plus two sitting rooms, a large playroom, large kitchen and garden. There is a very relaxed and informal self-catering arrangement, with vegetarian and vegan food provided. During mid-week term-times, the house can offer a quiet place that can be ideal for women recovering from various illnesses or stresses. Contact them for more information: www.hortonwhc.org.uk

The Women’s Holiday Centre tel: 01729 860207 The Old Vicarage Horton-in-Ribblesdale e-mail: info@hortonwhc.org.uk Settle North Yorkshire office hours: 10am to 8pm BD24 OHD

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Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

“I Choose…

to live by choice, not by chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be motivated, not manipulated; to be useful, not used; to excel, not to compete. I choose self-esteem, not self-pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the random opinion of others.

I choose to be me.”

Author unknown

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.” Mother Teresa

Women’s words

We would like to say thank you to

Lush Leeds for their continued support.

We and the women we work with really appreciate it.

A big thank you to all at Lush!

Womens Health Matters Enquiry Service Do you have any concerns about your health and wellbeing?

Our enquiry service is free and confidential. Contact us on 0113 2762851

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Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

Carousel

Congratulations!!!

Huge congratulations to Leeanne (our fabulous Include and YUMs worker) and Zak who got married on

May 9th. We wish them, and their gorgeous son Arlo, all the luck and love in the world!

We would also like to say a big thank you to all the wedding

guests who donated to our When All Else Fails fund in lieu of gifts.

Thank you to all of you for your generosity!

Refugee week

Our Rainbow Hearts group celebrated

Refugee week with music and dancing

and had a great time - even the

children joined in!

Opera North We were lucky enough to get tickets to see Opera North’s production of Carousel at the Grand Theatre recently. The women were really excited to be going to this wonderful

theatre and the production of Carousel was fantastic!

“It was fabulous! Thank you so much, I’ve never been to the Grand theatre before and it

was brilliant.”

“The theatre is beautiful and I loved the show!”

Massive thanks to Opera North for giving us the opportunity to experience a night at the theatre.

Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

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The road to votes for women - women’s voices

"Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, do not grovel. Take courage, join hands, stand beside us, fight with us."

Christabel Pankhurst, Suffragette 1880-1950, Britain

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is; I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me

from a doormat." Rebecca West, The Clarion 1913, England

"Parliaments have stopped laughing at woman suffrage, and politicians have begun to dodge! It is the inevitable premonition of coming victory."

Carrie Chapman Catt - International Woman Suffrage Association, 1913

"We must remind ourselves that the weapon of the vote will be for us, just as it is for man, the only means of obtaining the reforms we desire. As long as we remain excluded from civic life, men will attend to their own interests rather than to ours."

Hubertine Auclert - France, 1879

"Extending over more than a century and including most nations of the globe, the cause of woman suffrage has been one of the great democratic forces in

human history."

Ellen Carol DuBois - USA, 1989

"How long are women to remain a wholly unrepresented body of the people? This is a question that has of late been agitated in England, and women in this colony read, watch, and reflect...Why should not New Zealand also lead?...Why has a

woman no power to vote, no right to vote, when she happens to possess all the requisites which legally qualify a man for that right?"

Femmina (Mary Muller) - New Zealand, 1869

"It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts," Aung San Suu Kyi - 1991, Burma (Myanmar)

"Why should we pay taxes when we have no part in the honours, the commands,

the state craft for which you contend?"

Hortensia, Speech before the Roman Triumvirate - 42 B.C. Italy

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Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

Fond farewells….

We are sad to be saying goodbye to Marianna, who is moving on to pastures new and who has

run our women’s groups with such passion and commitment over the last 7 years.

We wish her well in her new role.

We and the women we work with will miss her!

Here’s a piece written by one of our young women straight from the

heart - we think it sums it up beautifully!

Marianna

“Marianna, you have been there for me for two years, You’ve seen me change from a nervous, shy, naïve teenager to this,

I can meet other girls and not feel the need to be silent, The best thing about you is you always make me laugh no matter how

down I feel, On group day even though I have college, knowing I am coming here gets me through the day because I know I won’t be bored,

I will miss you because you’ve helped me so much, I haven’t self-harmed in three months because I talked to you,

I just want to say thank you for everything.”

Marianna with 2 of our amazing Shine volunteers

Come and join us!

Ask about our groups Visit one of our market stalls

Use our enquiry service

If we can’t help we’ll know someone who can!

0113 2762851

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Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

Kamaljit Giller and Reshma Singh, 2 of our BME volunteers, write about their experience after completing a

cookery course with Zest Health For Life at The Ministry of Food in Leeds.

“The Hopes and Dreams Group enabled me to go on an 8 weeks cooking course. This was easily accessible by bus which was situated in Leeds city centre market. I gained a range of experience and skills from kitchen safety to food hygiene. I was given guidance on how to gain a well balanced healthy lifestyle, learning about how much salt intake a day and different ways of using fruits and vegetables in your meals. I also met different people and learnt their views and ways of cooking. I learned about eating healthy breakfast everyday which gives you the best start of the day. And I never skip a breakfast and I avoid fizzy drinks, sweets and crisps. The course had hands on experience and lots of Jamie’s top tips. Every week was a new recipe and I was shown how to adapt the recipe according to my dietary needs. I shared my experience with family and friends. On completion of this course I was presented a certificate and a Ministry of Food recipe book. I have really enjoyed this course and would like to thank my group for support and Womens Health Matters for funding the course for me to do. I do recommend to others in the community to do the course.” Kamaljit “Thank you to Womens Health Matters for funding which has allowed me to complete this 8 week course. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you. I started the course with Kamaljit and we both found the staff at Zest very helpful and friendly and we had many giggles learning about cooking styles. I learned about quick and easy foods from the beginning, food hygiene, how to read food labels, chopping skills and gaining a better understanding overall about how a little effort cooking with fresh ingredients can create amazing healthy food dishes and as well as having the ability to change recipes that I like. I gained a lot of confidence and knowledge and I opened my views about cooking with simple foods like fish. I learned to be more creative and eat healthy food like a protein and vegetables. I learned how to make fresh bread and I have already tried it at home with my daughters who enjoy cooking.” Reshma Contact The Ministry of Food team on 0113 2425685 for more details

Learning new cooking skills at The Ministry of

Food!

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Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

“Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Was it worth it?”

Author unknown

Massive thanks to One Billion Rising in Leeds!

One Billion Rising is a series of actions in communities all over the world celebrating and supporting local work to

stop violence against women and girls

We would like to thank Priya Sidharh who organised an event at Morley Town Hall recently with music, dance and poetry, in aid of

One Billion Rising and who nominated us to benefit from it. We and the women we work with are really grateful for the support - thank you!

Free workshop sessions for women’s groups! Womens Health Matters are offering FREE information and awareness workshops for women’s groups in Leeds on cancer screening, prevention and health checks. The workshop will cover: Free sessions and information about a range of cancers including cervical

screening and cervical cancer, breast cancer awareness, bowel cancer and lung cancer

Who is asked to come for a test and what it involves Any worries women may have about having a test for any of these cancers Ways of overcoming anxieties and worries about the test Providing language support and giving information in an accessible and culturally appropriate way The workshops last about 1½ hours. Please contact Jane, Sally or Angela on 0113 2762851 or email: Jane - seen@womenshealthmatters.org.uk Sally - sally@womenshealthmatters.org.uk Angela - angela@womenshealthmatters.org.uk

Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

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What can Womens Health Matters do for you?

We run women’s groups and also offer one-to-one support to women

We offer cancer screening awareness sessions

We deliver training on a range of issues

We can deliver sessions and work in schools by arrangement

We can help you get in touch with local and national organisations and support groups

We have developed a resource pack to support domestic violence training ~

please contact us for more details or to order a copy

We can help with disabled access audits

We can deliver awareness raising sessions on a wide variety of topics, including assertiveness, setting up women’s groups and group work skills

We conduct research on issues which directly affect women’s health

Contact us for more details or an informal discussion:

Tel: 0113 2761851 text: 07504 232989

admin@womenshealthmatters.org.uk www.womenshealthmatters.org.uk

Womens Health Matters market stalls

Every Friday our ‘Shine’ project runs a market stall between 11am and 1pm where they give out health information, free condoms and pregnancy tests. Find them on row G of the indoor market next to the Ministry of Food. Thanks to all our Shine volunteers for all their hard work! On the third Thursday of each month we run a general health information stall between 11am and 1pm in the same place ~ come and see us!

Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

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Cancer screening As part of our work we raise awareness about cancer screening for women. In this issue of our newsletter we are looking at ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer usually - but not always - occurs after menopause, with 8 out of 10 cases in women over 50. Detecting cancer early means it is more treatable so if you have any of the following symptoms on most days, for 3 weeks or more, see your GP to check it out: Unexplained bloating Feeling full quickly or loss of appetite Pelvic or stomach pain Needing to wee urgently or more often than usual Lots of other things can cause these symptoms too, so put your mind at rest with a check. You won’t be wasting anyone’s time and your GP would be happy to help. You can find your GP’s contact details at nhs.uk/persistentbloating or use this link nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-ovary/Pages/Symptoms.aspx to find out more. Contact us if you would like an awareness session for your group: 0113 2762851

Huge thanks to White Rose

Thank you to White Rose in Leeds for their continued amazing support which makes

such a big difference to the women we work with. We all really appreciate what you and

your staff do for us - thank you!

YUMs

Our young mums group recently completed first aid training with the British Red Cross. The group have had this training annually since the group started and say that it really increases their confidence for any emergencies as they might arise. Contact the British Red Cross for more information: 0845 591 8950

Womens Health Matters Summer 2015

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Staff members

Jane Bethell - disabled women’s groups, cancer

screening awareness

Sally Blyth - English language support, group support, cancer

screening awareness

Lucy Fishwick - domestic violence support groups

Nicola Hardman - Include,

The Key (young women)

Fi Kellett - Finance

Elaine Roberts - Admin and Information, Shine (sexual

health)

Leeanne Rowinska - YUMs, Include (young women)

Angela Singh - BME groups,

group support, cancer screening awareness

Megan Waugh - Maternity Services Liaison Committee

co-ordination

If you would like to support our work you can make a donation to our postal address below; cheques should be

made payable to Womens Health Matters ~ thank you

Womens Health Matters Bridge House Balm Road Leeds LS10 2TP

web watch

www.easyhealth.org.uk Easy reading leaflets about important health conditions

www.nhs.uk/symptom-checker

NHS symptom checker

A big thank you to our supporters!

Contact us

Telephone: 0113 276 2851

E-mail: admin@womenshealthmatters.org.uk

Fax: 0113 201 6040

Text: 07504 232989

Web: www.womenshealthmatters.org.uk

And a huge thank you to everyone who has donated to our women, projects and groups this year!

Charity no. 1048788 Company no. 2835637

Safer Communities Fund