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2024-03-31-annual-report

Greenway Women’s Group Annual Report April 2023 -

Greenway Women’s Group Greenway Women’s Centre 19-23 Greenway, Belfast BT6 0DT Greenway Women’s Group is a Company Limited by Guarantee No. NI381399 Inland Revenue Charity No. XR34419 Northern Ireland Charity No. NI C100610

March 2024

Annual Report

Introduction

G reenway Women's Group has been providing services to women and their families within Cregagh and the wider community since 1985.

Greenway Women's Group exists to provide women and their families with positive opportunities for development by breaking down barriers which prevent women's full participation in society.

Greenway Women's Group provides a wide range of educational and support services to local marginalised women, many of whom are lone parents often neglected by traditional educational and other statutory provision.

Greenway Women’s Centre operates in Cregagh Estate in East Belfast. The area is ranked 241 of 890 (27%) on the NI Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 (NINIS, 2019). Whilst this does not fall within the top 25% as in previous years, we are not restricted by postcode and offer our services to anyone who wishes to access them and the area in itself is surrounded by pockets of deprivation.

(NINIS, 2019)

The Centre is located at 19-23 Greenway, just off the Cregagh Road, Belfast BT6 0DT

Greenway Women’s Group

Company Limited by Guarantee No.NI381399 Northern Ireland Registered Charity No.: NI C100610 Inland Revenue Charity No.:XR34419

Telephone Number: 028 9079 9912 Website: www.greenwaywomenscentre.org

Greenway Women’s Centre

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Cregagh Estate - Belfast

Background

W ithin an area of major social and economic deprivation, the needs of the local community include provisions for education, training, childcare, advice, developing confidence and addressing issues of health and the environment.

Many local women are lone parents who are unable to afford childcare costs whilst training or developing their skills and so remain in the ‘benefit trap’. The Targeting Social Need anti-poverty strategy recognises that the bottom 30% of income distribution is over represented by high risk vulnerable groups, one of which is lone parents, 92% of which are women. The most recent TSN also highlights the connection between inequalities associated with gender and child poverty, as 95% of parents in receipt of key benefits are women.

Greenway Women’s Centre's services include:

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Our Mission Statement

Greenway Women's Group exists to provide positive opportunities for women to achieve their potential, through recognising and respecting them as individuals. We achieve this by breaking down barriers which prevent women's full participation in society; specifically targeting social need within Cregagh and surrounding areas.

Greenway Women’s Group

Greenway Women’s Group are the Board of Directors of Greenway Women’s Centre. Greenway Women’s Group was formed in 1985 and the Group formed a Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable status in 2000 (Registered Charity Number: XR34419). We were also successful in securing charity status in Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Charity No. NI C100610). The Board of Directors of Greenway Women’s Group are all women from the local community and surrounding areas who volunteer their time, energy and commitment to providing vital services.

Not only do they provide support for volunteers and staff members, they also represent the group on various committees and external boards. External Board Representation includes: EBCDA (East Belfast Community Development Agency) NI Housing Executive WSN (Women’s Support Network) WRC (Women’s Regional Consortium)

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Chairperson’s Statement Liz Oslon - Chairperson

and this year, in the aftermath of a global pandemic, the impact to the economy from cost of living crisis which has seen the need for one to one services quadruple. In times of difficulty women have a tendency to do what they always do – try to make do.

Our determination to continue has not weakened in the face of continued demand for our services. We continue to look at more innovative approaches. Unfortunately, as it has been over the last few years, this year more than any before does not bode well. Despite more varied usage of our training rooms, childcare rooms and our IT suite changes forecast via our main funders and the anticipation of further cuts leave us with an uncertain future.

A very challenging year, but a successful one. We successfully lobbied for the reinstatement of the Pathway fund in spring 2023. We, like many other community groups which can see the direct impact and benefit of the Pathway fund, were saddened to learn that the Department had decided to withdraw the fund for the 23/24 year. After many weeks of lobbying and highlighting the importance of the fund we were delighted to be informed that our efforts were successful and the fund was reinstated. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our service users and especially the parents, past and present, who took part in the petition to have the fund reinstated. Your continued support benefits many families and especially those children who are most in need.

We have noted a continuation of the huge surge in requests for One to One support which began after the pandemic and subsequently from the cost of living crisis. In addition, austerity issues have come to the forefront of problems that families are facing with many working families in need of support via food banks and assistance with the costs of gas and electric. The prices of fuel, electric and food have become in some cases completely all-consuming for women, as many were faced from as early as 2022 with the “heat or eat” dilemma within their own households. It was an extremely difficult winter for many of the women using our services. Many faced a very bleak Christmas with little money for gifts for their children and family or no heating during the colder months.

Greenway Women’s Centre supported women by the provision of food parcels, toy parcels at Christmas and referrals to other community based organisations for support for a wide range of other issues.

This alarming rise in requests for support have varied from poverty and austerity issues directly linked to the poor recovery of the economy from the Covid 19 pandemic and the huge rises in the cost of food, gas and electric due to the cost of living crisis. Support offered included advice on mortgage and rent payments, debt, gas and electric, food, movement from employment onto Universal Credit and uniform grant issues, in addition to Family Support issues such as loneliness, issues with behaviour management of children and home schooling, health issues and anxiety as well as referrals to other agencies for issues such as welfare advice, food hampers, housing issues and bin collections.

I would like to extend my personal thanks to the childcare and family support teams who even in these uncertain times continued to work to ensure that the most vulnerable of our women were being cared for. The family support team have worked tirelessly to ensure that all our women who are accessing essential services are being cared for and that their needs are met, both in the terms of physical and mental health and also in terms of poverty and austerity.

The childcare department underwent some major transition with the extension of opening hours and an additional room and have rallied and worked together as a team in order to make this a success.

After several long years we finally managed to open an additional childcare room in our new build in October 2022. Whilst this expansion offers exciting opportunities for growth, I want to highlight how challenging it was for board and staff to get to this point and wish to offer my thanks for their commitment and hard work during this time. We aim to continue with the expansion in the new build but have found recruitment for childcare posts extremely challenging and the impact of generated monies that would normally cover salary costs is being swallowed up with running costs as the gas and electric prices sky rocketed.

The volunteers continue to support us regardless. Many have been accessing the Centre for years and want to give back. Their support and contribution is priceless and they play a crucial role in our survival. Over the years they continue to be more involved in the development of the Centre, by way of various focus groups and sub committees. In the aftermath of the Covid 19 pandemic I would like to recognise once again and give my personal thanks to our media support volunteer who manages our Facebook, Newsletter and Website. I am aware of the pressure we have placed on her and that more and more of her own time is being consumed by volunteering and supporting Greenway. Her efforts have been amazing and we have relied very heavily on her to ensure that our presence and information has been freely available online for all our families and women who access our services. Once again thank you for your fantastic efforts which are very much appreciated.

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On behalf of the Board I would like to take this opportunity to thank those funders who have had the insight to support the work we do, despite an uncertain future and continued funding cuts. In particular those funders who have recognised the devastating impact the cost of living crisis has had on the operation of the Centre and its services. They have adapted and supported us to ensure that we continue to deliver essential services to support and develop our local community.

To our staff team, who despite ongoing uncertainty about their future have continued providing the high standards we have come to expect and who have went above and beyond their remit to ensure that Greenway is successful and thriving, I personally thank you for going above and beyond in these difficult circumstances. The commitment and drive of our staff team is what keeps us going on a daily basis and in this time of uncertainty and crisis they have demonstrated an amazing and resilient attitude to the development and continuation of the Women’s Centre ethos and services.

My fellow directors devote as much time as they can to this organisation and face every difficulty. To those board members who continue to give up their free time and are committed to the success of the Centre, my personal thanks. We are united in our determination to continue the work and ethos of Greenway Women’s Group.

Liz Oslon Chairperson

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Centre Manager’s Statement

Lindsay Cooper - Centre Manager

This report encapsulates the work that the organisation has carried out for the years 2023/2024. Our primary objective this year, as it has been every year, is to focus on sustaining our high levels of service delivery and ensure that all contracted outcomes continued to be met and we feel that the staff & board members have rallied in partnership with the volunteers to ensure that the quality of service is of an equally high level as was the case in previous years.

I became Centre Manager in October 2014 having previously worked for the organisation for 14 years as the Childcare Manager. Since October ‘14 I have made it a priority to ensure that the organisation is represented on various committees and forums within the community. We successfully secured core membership on the East Belfast Family Support Hub and South East Family Support Hub. We are represented on East Belfast Sure Start Management Committee and regularly attend the Locality Planning Group, Cregagh Interagency Partnership and are represented on the Women’s Regional Consortium and Women’s Support Network. All these memberships are crucial in the positioning of the Women’s Group for networking, partnership building and strategic planning.

At this stage we are uncertain of the continued funding of the WCCF (Women’s Centres Childcare Fund) and the CIF (Community Investment Fund). These are the two core pieces of funding that we could simply not survive without. The low staff turnover and continued support of our Board of Directors, funders, members and volunteers has supported us through this time of uncertainty.

After a difficult few years we managed to open an additional childcare room in the adjacent building. We also extended the childcare opening hours to try and accommodate working parents. We envision that the extension to the service would mean we can effectively meet the unmet need of the local community. We have continued to face significant challenges this year in getting the final room open. We have found recruitment for childcare posts very challenging and have struggled to get posts filled in order to meet the demand. However we have had success with the small expansion made thus far and aim to continue to grow.

Our Training & Education programme continues to evolve and expand based on the needs and gaps in services of our local community. At the end of this financial year however, we were fortunate enough to be awarded funding from the Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland Community Grants Programme which now funds the Women’s Empowerment Project salary and in addition we are fortunate to also have the Women Breaking Barriers Project funded via Women’s Resource and Development Agency (WRDA). We aim to continue to deliver good quality accredited and non-accredited training, information workshops, focus groups and health events. We expect that the next few months will be challenging with the current funding climate but the board, staff and volunteers are committed to ensuring that the service delivery will continue to be of a high quality and meet the needs by addressing the gaps in education and social disadvantage.

The Family Support service continued to grow in demand over this past year. The organisation noted the alarming high number of referrals made to outside agencies via the Family Support team and many of these were as a result of the poor recovery after the pandemic and the cost of living crisis which has thrown many families into crisis. A well-attended Family Support scheme ran in August 23 which included day trips and fun activities. This event has been running for several years and has always been a great success in bringing families together.

However I am pleased to say that the commitment and hard work of our Board, staff and volunteers has ensured that whilst we had to adapt, we continued on providing those essential services to the women and families who need it most.

We are now entering into another year of uncertainty for 2024/2025. The organisation is committed to ensuring that the most deprived families in our community have access to the wide range of support and services we can provide.

Lindsay Cooper Centre Manager

Greenway Women’s Group Board of Directors

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Liz Oslon Chairperson (Volunteer Support) Julieanne Thompson Treasurer (Volunteer Coordinator) Mae McQuillan MBE Secretary (Finance & Personnel) Yvonne Summerville Director (Volunteer Representative) Stephanie Waite Director (Women’s Empowerment) * Appointed April 2022 Karen McCullough Director (Peer Mentorship) * Appointed April 2022

The Board of Directors work in partnership with many other women’s groups and organisations throughout Northern Ireland in the community, voluntary, statutory, public and private sectors to develop services for local women in the areas of childcare, health, employment, housing and finance.

The work of Greenway Women’s Group is based upon the principles of Community Development and Active Participation, as well as Community and Individual Capacity Building, involving local women in identifying and responding to local needs in an active and responsible manner within the limits of available funding.

Greenway Women’s Centre offers a wide range of educational and support services to local marginalised women, many of whom are lone parents, often neglected by traditional educational provision. Cregagh falls within the top 10% of the most deprived Super Output Areas in Northern Ireland in the Education, Skills and Training Domain.

Through its education and training programmes, Greenway Women’s Centre provides opportunities for women to gain vital skills and qualifications, thereby increasing the prospects available to them for meaningful employment and breaking down barriers which prevent their full participation in society.

Greenway Women’s Centre Staff Team

Lindsay Cooper Centre Manager
Sarah Kidd Finance/Admin Officer
Helen Smyth Training & Education Officer
Jodie Wilson Childcare Co-Manager
Natalie Horrocks Childcare Co-Manager
Lynsey Gilliland Deputy Childcare Manager
Jean Ho Childcare Practice Leader (Appointed January 2024)
Trudi Kenny Childcare Practice Leader (Left March 2024)
Sarah Robinson Childcare Assistant (Appointed to Practice Leader March 2024)
Suzanne Watson Childcare Assistant
Karen Downey Childcare Assistant
Asha Caldwell Childcare Assistant
Shannon Flynn Childcare Assistant
Caroline Stratton Childcare Assistant
Nicola Maguire Childcare Support Assistant
Julieanne Thompson Domestic Assistant
Trainees:
Fatima Mohammed

Bank Staff: Julie Stewart

Greenway Childcare Services

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Greenway values the developmental potential of all children, regardless of their background or abilities. We provide high quality, affordable childcare services, including intervention by way of respite care and parent/carer support sessions.

Greenway’s childcare services have been successfully supporting children and their parents/carers for almost forty years and during this time we have watched hundreds of children grow and develop. Currently, we provide Sessional Day Care for pre-school children, from birth up until their fourth birthday.

We endeavour to work in partnership with parents to provide care and education that unites us in giving children the best possible start in life.

Our aim is to cover the six areas of learning with each child who attends, while encouraging parents to do what they can at home to further enhance, promote and develop these areas:

At Greenway Women's Centre we promote inclusion for all and work with a range of agencies to integrate children with additional needs.

The Greenway Childcare staff members are highly qualified and understand how important it is for parents/ carers of young children not to miss out on any part of their child's development. The Childcare staff members provide each child aged from one up until their fourth birthday with their own individual art folder, including photos through which parents/carers can see the development of their child from month to month. For babies under a year old a photo album is collated throughout the year. We are extremely fortunate to have equipment and software which allows parents to log in at home and view a detailed profile of observations of their child using the Tapestry software. The software allows us to engage more effectively with parents and gives them a platform for feedback and general comments. This software has been essential as it gives us an excellent route in which to communicate with the parents, in a safe and secure manner.

Every year in June we hold our annual Celebration Day, when all parents, carers, grannies, granddads, aunties, uncles, friends and family are invited to see their child receive their folder, certificate and a gift followed by a buffet lunch and entertainment especially for the children and their families, however this year as a special treat we subsidised a trip to the local farm instead. Feedback from this trip was extremely positive and allows staff and parents to get to know each other on a more informal level. We were fortunate this year to host a fun packed day in December for our Santa’s Grotto event. It was wonderful to host this event to its fullest after two years of lockdowns and restrictions. The event was very well attended by extended family members and a good time was had by all - which included a magical visit with Santa himself!

It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child - we believe that the village should also celebrate the child's achievements, and share in play and social interaction with the children.

For further information see Childcare Report 2023-2024

Copy available on request, or visit our website:

www.greenwaywomenscentre.org

Treasurer’s Statement

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This has indeed been a difficult year and we prepare ourselves for more difficulties ahead. Despite this we remain determined to ensure that our services continue. Copies of our annual financial statement and accounts are available on the Charity Commission website.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our current funders as follows:

Community Investment Fund & Women’s Centres Childcare Fund Women Breaking Barriers – Delivered via WRDA as lead partner Belfast City Council – revenue grant Sponsored Day Care & Family Support Funds childcare staff and supports children with additional needs Maternal Mental Health Project via WDRA (Concluded 2023) National Lottery Awards for All – Domestic Assistant Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland: Community Grants Programme - Women’s Empowerment worker

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Annual Report Greenway Women’s Centre Family Support Services

Greenway believes in a holistic approach to everything that they provide by way of services and Family Support is no different. Our aim is to support those in need and provide pathways in order to integrate them to all of the Centre’s activities and provide an opportunity to move on with their lives. Family Support is funded via WSN through the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust.

Greenway Family Support Services are available on a daily basis and include information and support regarding parenting issues, respite care, listening ear and referral to specialist support, e.g. Complementary/ Alternative Therapist, counselling and Advice and Advocacy.

Family Support activities include:

Family Support events, courses and activities are regularly highlighted on the Greenway Women's Centre Website.

Individuals are encouraged to integrate with all Greenway activities and particularly our main training programme.

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Education and Training at Greenway

Greenway Women’s Centre is a first step back into education and training for many women and the Centre has a successful record in delivering training and education programmes.

Greenway provides an integrated range of support services to participants on self-development programmes and certificated training on health, education, volunteering and employment, as well as one-to-one study support and on-site childcare services.

Greenway Women’s Centre offers:

Greenway is an outreach centre for Belfast Metropolitan College (BMC) and has built partnerships with local training providers, including BMC, DEL, Bryson Future Skills, East Belfast Mission and Peoples First, as well as local business and enterprise agencies.

Classes offered at Greenway Women’s Centre from April 2023 to March 2024 included:

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Essential Skills Programme

Essential Skills qualifications are for anyone over the age of 16 in Northern Ireland who wants to improve their literacy, numeracy or ICT skills to help get a job or get on in life. An Essential Skills qualification can help improve reading, writing, maths or computer proficiency to promote employability across a whole range of different jobs.

Greenway Women’s Centre offers OCR Basic Skills Awards in Literacy, Numeracy and ICT at Basic, Level 1 and Level 2 and offers progression routes to the participants within the Centre and with other learning providers. Greenway’s Essential Skills operate on two levels; group sessions, where participants complete the OCR qualification, and one-to-one sessions for individuals who require additional support.

Greenway’s objectives are to target adult learners who have Essential Skills needs and to provide training that will enhance personal development as well as career and educational progression.

With major cuts to community based education which have taken place over the last three years, Greenway Women’s Group has sought to host essential skills based training as well as other accredited training via external organisations such as East Belfast Mission and Belfast Metropolitan College.

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The Greenway Volunteer Programme

The contribution of volunteers has been invaluable to Greenway Women’s Centre since its conception in 1985 and without it we would not be able to exist. The organisation was originally formed by volunteers and is managed by a voluntary Board of Directors. Over the years volunteers have continued to play an integral role in the delivery and development of Greenway’s services.

Although in the past we have been able to access bursary monies for volunteers who wished to access training, the volunteer programme at Greenway is currently without funding, however we are still able to offer some benefits to our volunteers:

The dedication and generosity of volunteers is an inspiration. The Board of Directors at Greenway fully appreciate the vital work that volunteers carry out within the Centre and, in light of this, a Celebration Day is held in June each year in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the Centre.

Volunteering Opportunities at Greenway Women’s Centre

Volunteers play a pivotal role in Greenway Women's Centre's ability to provide its services to women and their families in the local community.

Drop-In Café

The Drop-In Café is Greenway's main volunteer project, managed and operated entirely by volunteers. The Drop-In provides tea, coffee and snacks for Centre users, staff and visitors, all at very low cost. Drop-In volunteers also prepare and serve food at all social events which take place within Greenway Women's Centre.

Childcare

Greenway Women's Centre operates a Sessional Day Care facility for children under the age of four. Volunteers working within the Childcare Department assist staff in delivering play and child development activities, preparing snacks, supervising break and lunch times and tidying up at the end of each session. All those volunteering in the Childcare Department are fully vetted through Access NI and Health & Social Services before commencing their role.

Reception

Reception is the first point of contact for all those entering Greenway Women's Centre. Those volunteering at reception greet visitors entering the building and answer incoming telephone calls, taking messages if required. Full training on operating the telephone system is provided prior to commencing this role.

Monthly Newsletter, Website &Facebook

Greenway Women’s Centre publishes a monthly newsletter, which is contributed to by Board members, staff, volunteers and other Centre users. The Newsletter is written and produced by our volunteer editor and contains up to date information on classes and events being held in the Centre. Along with printed copies which are available within the Centre and an electronic mailing list with over 150 recipients, the newsletter is now available to download from the Greenway Women’s Centre website.

The Greenway Website

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www.greenwaywomenscentre.org

The Greenway Women’s Centre website was officially launched in October 2011. This has proved to be an excellent way to highlight the services on offer within the Centre, from Childcare and Education to Volunteering and Events.

As well as providing details of Greenway services, the Greenway website also includes information on partner organisations and funding bodies. In June 2020 we moved to a new website host provider which enabled us to reduce costs and streamline our site, while still retaining our service brand domain name.

The website is maintained and regularly updated by a Greenway volunteer.

Other volunteering opportunities:

The Volunteer Programme at Greenway is an excellent way for women to meet new people, build confidence and selfesteem and develop new skills. In return for their time and commitment, volunteers receive support, encouragement, free role-based training and, where applicable, a work-based reference.

Benefits of Volunteering

Volunteering is a two-way process; volunteers will have their own personal motivations and reasons for getting involved and as a good volunteer organisation, Greenway asks volunteers about those motivations and endeavours to meet their needs as well as the needs of the organisation.

Quotes from Greenway Volunteers:

“I enjoy volunteering as it gets me out of the house” (Drop-In Volunteer)

“I enjoy volunteering as I get to meet new people” (Reception Volunteer)

“Volunteering has really helped with my mental health and I find it really fulfilling” (Reception/Drop-In Volunteer)

“The benefits outweigh the challenges” (Greenway Volunteer)

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External & Self Help Groups at Greenway

Greenway provides space, room hire and facilities for groups which meet at the Centre on a regular basis, including:

Greenway Older Women’s Group – Recycled Teenagers

Greenway Older Women's Group or “Recycled Teenagers” is a group established in 2015, which accesses space three times per week within the Centre.

Shared Space at Greenway Women’s Centre

While the primary function of Greenway Women's Group is to break down the barriers which prevent the full participation of women in today's society for whatever reason, particularly targeting those who are socially isolated, another of our functions is to encourage the development of and whenever possible provide space for, a wide range of supportive groups and organisations.

Over the years Greenway Women’s Group has built up strong working relationship with many such groups and organisations.

This demonstrates how groups and organisations with differing ideologies can work together to sustain a shared space in order to provide support and guidance to those in need, through mutual respect and cooperation.

Due to the nature of our work all external groups are vetted and must carry their own insurance.

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Annual Report Greenway works in partnership/in association with the following organisations:

...and many more.

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