In 2019 ICOS has started delivering a first ever Eastern European women’s group in the North East, the group was established to improve women’s wellbeing, skills and confidence but also to provide a safe and inclusive environment for women to meet and build new relationships through taking part in various activities and workshops (sports activities, wellbeing workshops such as mindfulness, arts and crafts, training, coffee meetings, trips, STEM, environmental and educational activities). Although the group is aimed at Eastern European women, it is inclusive and open for all women and children to attend and participate.
Our ICOS Women mum’s club provides an opportunity for mothers and their children to meet and take part in various activities which encourage integration and community cohesion, our ICOS mum’s club meetings are delivered on regular basis and include guest speakers, creative activities, local outings and healthy eating workshops.
Our aim is to support women to become community leaders and create a peer-to-peer support network through volunteering and taking part in various empowering activities. As a part of the project, we also offer one-to-one needs tailored support to women who experience issues such as financial problems, lack of opportunities, discrimination, domestic abuse, and we support women with safety planning and accessing services such as welfare benefits, housing and legal advice services.
Our ICOS Women project is co-designed by Eastern European women living in Sunderland, it has a Project Steering Group, made up of dedicated volunteers who meet on regular basis to plan activities, workshops, project accessibility and needs of our community.
Would you like to get regular updates about our Women’s group? Join our ICOS Women Facebook Page: HERE.
Support you can get through the project:
- Wellbeing support through attending activities
- One-to-one advice and guidance
- Community Leadership and volunteering
- Participation in co-designed research projects
- STEM employability and skills support
If you would like to get involved contact Julia on julia.wysocka@icos.org.uk or 07942583833
Update: February 2024:
Thanks to funding from the 1989 Willan Charitable Trust at the Tyne and Wear & Northumberland Community Foundation, in the 1st year of the project, we have been able to achieve the following:
-20 women and their 15 children have benefited from needs tailored one-to-one support, advice and guidance
-43 women attended women’s group activities, 37 women and 55 children attended mum’s club activities (some women have attended both)
-13 women have volunteered
-55% of women taking part reporting feeling lass isolated by the end of the project.
Engaging Environments project
ICOS Women took part in the engaging environments project delivered by Newcastle University. The group attended various activities and workshops including rock pooling exercises, visits to The Dove Marine Laboratory and took part in a citizen science exercise by taking part in two beach clean ups, in Hendon and Seaburn in Sunderland where we compared the data of the rubbish which was collected during the clean ups. Through this partnership we have been able to learn a lot about our local marine life and the environment, gain new skills and knowledge.
Engaging Environments – presentation
ICOS Women Research projects:
‘They see us as an easy target’: discrimination and hate crime against Eastern European women living in the UK
ICOS together with Sunderland University worked on a research project into the experiences of women from Eastern and Central Europe. This research helped us to find out what their needs and problems are, so that we can provide better support to them. This research should also help to ensure that local agencies and organisations take their needs into account.
https://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/17445/
Podcast:
https://www.audible.co.uk/podcast/Domestic-abuse-and-Eastern-European-women/B0CMDTCT1L
Community Buddies Programme:
Through the Community Buddies research project, supported by the British Science Association, we have been paired up with a researcher, Andrea Lawrence from NHS Foundation Trust. The aim of the research project is to raise awareness and importance of healthcare research among Eastern European (EE) women (especially including women in pregnancy or child bearing age/ young children) and to create equal opportunities in research participation.
Link to the PDF version of the report
‘Together Through Crisis’: An exploration of challenges and responses to the cost of living crisis affecting Eastern European families and children in the North East.
We are currently working on a project supported by Newcastle University, focusing on issues facing Eastern European families living Sunderland, and particularly investigating the extent to which the cost of living crisis impacts on their wellbeing, as well as the acceptability and helpfulness of ICOS’s interventions in supporting the families to deal with the crisis.
-Through the Community Buddies research project, we are working with the British Science Association. The aim of the research project is to raise awareness and importance of healthcare research among Eastern European (EE) women (especially including women in pregnancy or child bearing age/ young children) and to create equal opportunities in research participation.
-Through the Together Though Crisis research project, undertaken with Newcastle University. It aims at assessing the impact of the cost of living crisis on Eastern European women, children and young people.
Within the Year 2023 -2024 the projet has achiewed:
