An exciting project to develop services for women on important issues they have identified is about to kick off in the South Wye area of Hereford.
The South Wye Regeneration Partnership, Herefordshire Council, NHS Herefordshire, Here4Women, Newton Farm Information Centre and the South Wye community, are jointly developing “The South Wye Women’s Project” - a new project for women which will be based at ‘No. 14 The Oval’ in Newton Farm.
Responses by women to an initial questionnaire indicate that popular services they want to see developed cover such issues as breastfeeding, stopping smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, relationships and self-esteem, sexual health and contraception, alcohol and substance misuse, and looking after yourself.
To encourage more input from the community, the project is working with LocalEyes, which has received funding from the Ministry of Justice to run a series of pilot projects in the local area aimed at increasing public participation in decision-making.
Nick Sherwood, project manager for LocalEyes , said: “LocalEyes is a revolutionary website which promotes community interaction and cohesion.
“Located within the LocalEyes site, ‘The Voice’ is a tool which enables communities to suggest ideas, to discuss these and decide which are most worth pursuing, and to take action to implement their chosen options. We are very pleased to be working with this project and with others in the South Wye,” added Nick.
Mandy Evans, from the South Wye Regeneration Partnership, said: “We’re planning to deliver a community-based project at the heart of the South Wye area, enabling women to address important issues affecting them.
“We recently used a questionnaire to get women’s views and working with LocalEyes will encourage more women to get in touch and let us know what they want from the project”.
Anyone interested in giving their views and participating, can do so by going to www.localeyes.org where they can enter the site by giving their postcode, and then search “South Wye Women” where further information will be found.
“For those without internet access or who are unsure what to do, we will be holding a series of help and training sessions around the South Wye in coming weeks and women are invited to contact us now for further details,” added Mandy.