Kirklees Together

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’d like to throw a spotlight on the WomenCentre – one of the local organisations we work with to support women in Kirklees.

The WomenCentre encompasses both Kirklees and Calderdale, working with local authorities like ourselves – as well as lots of other partner organisations – to provide a wide range of support to women who really need it.  Their support covers counselling, housing support, community events, and breaking down the stigma around many issues facing women today.

Last week, one of the chairs of our women’s network here at the council caught up with Maxine Edwards, spokesperson for the WomenCentre. 

Watch the videos below to find out what she had to say about the support offered, and how you could get involved!

We asked Maxine why what the WomenCentre does is so crucial, and how the work of charities like the WomenCentre fits into the national agenda around crime against women and girls.

Maxine’s role is to spread the word about the WomenCentre, and the support and services offered.  She talks about how raising awareness has given the charity the opportunity to help more women in Kirklees and surrounding areas, offer more varied support, and partner with other organisations to further extend their reach.

The WomenCentre is run by women, for women.  Many of the staff and volunteers Maxine works with every day are people who have struggled with issues now faced by those they support.  This informs every decision made by the charity, and how they plan to move forward.

We asked Maxine to reflect on the people this charity has helped, and the power this support has to change people’s lives.

The WomenCentre works closely with a lot of organisations so that they can provide more all-encompassing support for women who need it.  Many of the women they help face complex challenges, and having a range of support and connections means no-one is turned away.

The housing crisis has directly impacted many of the most vulnerable people the WomenCentre works with, as emergency housing and space in refuge centres is increasingly limited.  To tackle this, the WomenCentre has set up their own housing organisation – which they hope will also eventually make the charity self-sufficient.

Want to get involved?  We chatted to Maxine about different opportunities to volunteer or raise money.

The WomenCentre also offers lots of sessions and events which are open to the public.

We also chatted to Maxine about how other organisations, including ourselves, could make a positive difference for women in the workplace.

For those looking for support, it’s a very clear message: the WomenCentre is there to help.

The WomenCentre now offers a lot of its support online, too.  Like many organisations, the charity was forced to find innovative new ways of offering support to women during the lockdowns, when meeting in person wasn’t an option.  After realising remote sessions actually worked better for many people, the WomenCentre decided to go forward with the best of both worlds once the pandemic was over.

Now, most importantly, what’s going on for International Women’s Day?  The WomenCentre always have lots of events going on – visit their website for more information!

If you’d like to learn more about the WomenCentre, you can head to womencentre.org.uk, follow them on Facebook at WomenCentre or on Twitter @WomenCentreCK, or you can email info@womencentre.org.uk