Angels of Hope for Women
18/11/2021
GM Walking has given grants to local voluntary and community groups with the aim of getting Greater Manchester walking. We offered the grants to support a huge range of activities that encourage people who are usually less active to start or to increase the amount they walk regularly.
One of the groups benefitting from this was Angels of Hope for Women, which is based in Manchester. Here we look at what they did and how they got on.
Who is Angels of Hope for Women?
Angels of Hope for Women runs an outreach service working with women and girls who have lived through harmful situations such as domestic abuse and forced marriage. Most of these women are asylum seekers and refugees living in sheltered accommodation. The group empowers women to become independent and self-reliant, and then to go on to support others by volunteering.
Who took part in the project?
Angels of Hope for Women engaged with 25 local women from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds
What did they aim to do?
The aim of the project was to encourage the women to build their confidence to walk more often, with the hope that they would go on to inspire their families and friends to do the same.
How did it go?
Angels of Hope for Women held workshops and talks in which the group learnt more about the health benefits of walking, as well as the environmental benefits. They then went on walks in parks and other interesting places to familiarise themselves with local routes which they could then use to walk independently.
The women kept a log of their daily walks and shared these amongst the group to help motivate each other. Angels of Hope for Women also shared photos of the group’s walks on their social media to inspire their hundreds of followers to keep active by walking.
Feedback from participants
The women gave lots of excellent feedback on how they’d changed their habits to incorporate more walking into their lifestyle because of the project, including:
“Before the project, I would get out of breath crossing the road, and I felt tired all the time. Now I feel energised!”
“I feel fitter now at 59 than when I was 50, and walk to the local shop with ease”
“I now take my children for a walk”
For more information
To find out more about Angels of Hope for Women, the activities on offer and how you can get involved, please see www.angelsofhope.co.uk or www.facebook.com/Angelsofhope