Uplift grant to Queen's Crescent Community Association

Cost-of-Living Uplift

‘Forever Young: Covid Bounce-Back’ will increase our support to some of London’s poorest pensioners, fighting isolation, loneliness and poor health caused by Covid. Cost of Living uplift to existing grant, March 2023.

Grant to Queens Crescent Community Association (QCCA)

£109,000 over two further and final years (£42,000; £67,000) towards the Forever Young programme for older people, specifically a Project Coordinator (3 dpw in the first year and 35 hpw in the second); IAG worker (3 hpw in the first year only); and associated running costs of the Forever Young programme for older people.

MCF Large Grant

A grant to support older people in Camden through social groups and activities to improve mental and physical health and reduce isolation.

Grant to Queen's Crescent Community Association

COVID19 - This grant will fund an online youth and sports programme for BAME young people in low income families who are isolated and in poor physical health exacerbated by Covid-19. This will reduce isolation, improve physical fitness and reduce the risk of abuse.

QCCA (Queen's Crescent Community Association)

QCCA provides free services to 3000 people annually in one of the poorest areas of Camden. Our universal youth service alone supports 600 young people with sports, activities and mentoring.

14. What is your project? (400 words) ‘ZenW5 – a safe space for BAME and migrant women’ - is a unique project. It tackles the fact that BAME, refugee and asylum-seeking women often live in poverty and language isolation, with no access to the kinds of things that other women do when they feel ‘low’ – yoga, meditation, stretching exercises, massage or just coffee and cake with friends. These may sound like luxuries, but they aren’t. The space to think, breath, get sweaty without judgement, talk, feel another person’s fingers unknotting the tension in your shoulders. These are the ‘sandbags’ of the body’s initial mental health defences, preventing serious depression, especially for women. This programme will offer three activities a week; an hour’s yoga class, an hour’s Zumba class and a ninety minute ‘Massage and Meet-up’ session. To encourage refugee and asylum-seeking women to participate, we will provide an Arabic translator at yoga and Zumba. The class teacher will work with the translator beforehand to ensure smooth delivery of the class in both English and Arabic. ‘The Massage and Meet-up’ sessions will offer fifteen minute seated or Indian head massages. QCCA has already talked to Richdales Institute and the London School of Massage about trainee masseuses getting work experience with us. We believe these sessions won’t need a translator. We have budgeted for drinks and snacks after all three activities, so that women can chat and make friends. QCCA will recruit at least one volunteer for each activity to serve coffee and offer support, especially helping with English conversation. Those on lowest incomes will be offered £3 travel expenses. QCCA already has experience running popular women-only exercise classes as part of our Camden Health Kick (CHK) programme. Our women-only Zumba classes attracted between 8 – 12 women a time, most from local BAME communities. The CHK manager would co-ordinate ZenW5 using her contacts with existing users and teachers. Local knowledge tells us that there are also significant numbers of refugee and asylum-seeking women in Camden who could attend. We could launch this programme quickly. QCCA will measure impact by collecting quantitative data on who comes and how often. Participants will also take qualitative surveys. At the start of term they will be asked holistic wellness questions (‘Do you feel anxious/stressed/physically fit/happy/confident? etc). Answers will include ‘Yes very/yes averagely/no not very/no not at all/not sure’. This survey will be repeated at the end of term and progress measured.

To raise awareness of the importance of having eye tests and leading a healthy lifestyle as a way of preventing avoidable blindness. To enable blind and partially sighted people to exercise by giving them support to use the Gym.

QCCA (Queen's Crescent Community Association)

QC Summer Carnival 2019

Camden Nutrition Programme