Theme 4 - Investing in Public Services Scheme 4B – Physical and Mental Health of Residents

Overview

The Council is committed to improving the health, wellbeing, and quality of life of all the borough’s residents. This is particularly important in the context of the cost of living crisis, with rising poverty’s negative impact on residents’ health, particularly in relation to diet and access to affordable heating.

Residents and communities should be empowered to be more aware of their wider health needs and how they can maintain good health. There is also a need for more awareness and acceptance of mental health support needs and to offer support for these needs through community networks.

The Council is committed to working with the NHS and VCS organisations to promote life expectancy and the quality of life of the borough’s residents. This involve working with communities to reduce social isolation and promote participation in healthy activities, such as physical exercise.

Outcomes

The outcome we want to achieve through this scheme are:

Improved physical and mental health outcomes for residents
Residents are better positioned to manage health conditions and make healthy choices
Socially excluded residents are supported by neighbourhood initiatives to feel part of the community and feel less socially isolated
Reduced health inequalities in Tower Hamlets’ communities.

Priorities

15 organisations delivering activities to meet the following priority:

Promoting health and well-being through tackling inequality.

Projects

A total of £1,341,473worth of projects have been funded under MCGP Theme 4 Scheme B to deliver projects until 31^st March 2027. Below are the list of projects which have been funded.

Organisation name	Project Title	Project description	Amount (£) (Total 41 Months)
Sister Circle	Healing Conversations	Healing Conversations provides minoritised mums of pre-school children/survivors of gender-based violence with complex needs with specialist, culturally competent, trauma-informed counselling delivered in community settings, in multiple languages.	124,377
deafPLUS	Improving the Health and Wellbeing of the deaf and hard of hearing community	A borough wide health and wellbeing project that addresses health inequalities for deaf and hard of hearing residents, addresses their mental health issues and enables them to make healthy lifestyle choices.	136,667
Body & Soul	You Are Not Alone	A suicide-prevention programme for young people (aged 16-30) most at risk of suicide in Tower Hamlets, addressing increasing demand and complex needs, particularly among marginalised communities that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and rising cost of living.	85,417
Carers Centre Tower Hamlets (London Buddhist Centre)	Building Resilience and Resourcefulness for Unpaid Carers	Carers provided with a range of therapies, respite, and learning opportunities including, wellness days; art and creative activities; practical workshops on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle; and courses delivered by professionals to develop the skills required to effectively manage their caring role; and look after themselves.	85,417
Bromley By Bow Centre	Connect for Health	Working alongside local self-employed sessional leads (physical activity coaches, artists, and facilitators) to support residents to participate in activity sessions. Sessions are designed to improve health and connection, and include both broad open access activities and those targeted at specific audiences.	85,417
Canaan Project	Canaan Project: Young Women's Mentoring	A mentoring programme offering 1-1 support for young women with the aim of seeing them flourish, have broadened horizons and raised aspirations.	85,417
Mind in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Redbridge	Our Voices Sakinah	A co-produced, community-based project for diverse Muslim women to come together to support each others mental health and wellbeing through creating a network of safe spaces. The project supports women to have a greater voice and access services that promote positive mental health.	85,417
Toynbee Hall	Playful Tower Hamlets - Nurturing Bodies and Minds	Playful Tower Hamlets - Nurturing Bodies and Minds project aims to connect children to nature, tackle food poverty, and improve physical and mental wellbeing. The project provides outdoor play activities, forest school and weekend gardening sessions for disadvantaged children and their families.	85,417
Working Well Trust	Upskill Choices	Upskill Choices aims to support people who have lived experience of mental health enabling them to access community opportunities to support their health and wellbeing.	85,417
Tower Hamlets Parents Centre	Women’s Health Matters	The Women’s Health Matters Project aims to improve the Physical and Mental Health of disadvantaged Women in Tower Hamlets, by developing their knowledge, providing Fitness and Nutrition Activities and enhancing their Access to Services.	85,417
elop (East London Out Project )	Tower Hamlets LGBT+ Support	LGBT+ Community Support aims to enhance peer networks, lessen isolation and provide mental health crisis prevention support. The project includes facilitated social support groups targeting older people, people with mental health needs or other disabilities, and LGBT asylum seekers and one to one mental health support providing individual mental health crisis prevention support.	85,417
Positive East	One-to-one counselling for residents living with HIV and poor mental health	The project includes one-to-one counselling supporting people living with HIV in Tower Hamlets.	55,425
The Shadwell Community Project	Grow, Eat, Cook! Children's Café Project	Grow, Eat, Cook! Children's Café Project provides access to free healthy meals for children especially from low income and ethnic minority backgrounds in Tower Hamlets. Project also includes providing weekly sessions where children grow, cook and eat meals together in a supportive, active environment and increase their health, fitness and wellbeing.	85,417
Vallance Community Sports Association	SEND Health & Wellbeing Project (Young People)	SEND Health & Wellbeing Project (Young People) is a programme of weekly sports and physical activities and a social club for young people (8-25 years) with special educational needs and disabilities for the purpose of increasing sports participation, improving health and wellbeing (including mental health), and reducing loneliness, isolation and exclusion.	85,417
Council Of Mosques - Tower Hamlets	Council of Mosque Healthy Mind, Healthy Lifestyle Reach	Healthy Mind, Healthy Lifestyle Reach project aims to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of BAME residents through a programme of community events, practical workshops and one-to-one health support, advice and information that will raise awareness of health risks, illnesses and diseases most profound amongst the borough’s BAME communities.	85,417