Are you looking for a space to share ideas, experiences, and support with likeminded people? Even with droves social media followers, it’s not always the easiest thing to find in the “real world”. Loneliness, isolation, and being overlooked, sucks. Here is a list of groups who may experience these kinds of problems more often than others, along with a few Notts organisations who’re tackling issues head on...
Black and Minority Ethnicity Communities
Our city is multicultural, progressive, and diverse. Awesome. Everyone needs to feel supported, and that’s why it’s important for marginalised communities to have access to appropriate services and groups. Black Lives Matter for example, is working towards rebuilding the black liberation movement, and has a strong presence in Notts. As explained on the official site; it’s a call for action and response to anti-black racism within society.
In the same way Black Lives Matter wants to move towards a more accepting and equal society, Nottingham Black Archive is working towards preserving black history, so we can honour and celebrate untold stories that are a part of our local heritage.
Other groups provide a range of support, sourcing activities, education and lunch clubs, such as the Muslim Women’s Organisation. Then there’s Nottingham Equal, which acts as a BME umbrella organisation, bringing Nottingham’s black and minority sectors together, to give a voice to many diverse communities and influence better services and policies to Afro-Caribbean, Asian and Eastern Europeans living in Nottingham.
People with Mental Health Issues
Nottingham offers a range of free organisations that are accessible for anyone living with a mental health condition. Services such as Harmless aim to support carers and professionals in helping to develop coping strategies, and to offer assistance for people who self harm.
Next Step Network is a voluntary membership service that provides peer-led social activities, assisting adults with serious mental health problems through the recovery process. They’re all about empowering individuals to reach their highest potential in society.
Another informative service that provides advice and support for the people of Nottingham is Wellness in Mind, connecting people to services that best support their specific needs. It has an open-door policy and hopes to improve mental health and wellbeing in loads of ways – online, face to face and over the phone.
Trent PTS provide flexible, responsive and accessible psychological therapy services, face-to-face. It’s a referral-based organisation, accepting both professional and self-referrals. There’s also The Human Flourishing Project, who offer free counselling as part of wider projects in the University of Nottingham, and you can find them in the same building as us lot.
The Homeless Community
We can all do our bit to help out homeless people seeking shelter in Nottingham, whether that’s volunteering for one of the following organisations or simply donating food and resources, every selfless act helps.
One organisation that offers a life-changing and positive service to homeless people in Nottingham is Framework; preventing homelessness, helping the homeless community, and assisting people to live independently are just a few supportive measures that Framework can offer.
Emmanuel House is also an essential service, providing hot food and drinks, shower and laundry facilities as well as mental health, training and benefit support.
Hope, as the name suggests is a Christian charity serving those in need, residing in neighbourhoods all around Nottingham. The service relies on food donations, specifically non-perishable in date food donated by the public at a range of locations such as churches, business and schools. The donations are then sorted into boxes by over 40,000 volunteers and distributed to people in need.
Nottingham YMCA provide housing and a variety of voluntary opportunities within their hostels, supporting people to become independent both practically and financially.
The LGBT Community
Nottingham has its fair share of LGBT+ groups and support services. Whether you’re looking for support, or simply a place to meet fellow members of the community, the following organisations offer just that.
Healthy Gay is a sexual and emotional wellbeing service, targeted at specifically gay and bisexual men and people with any issues relating to sexuality. It offers sexual health screenings for STIs, psychotherapy, group work and sexuality awareness training for professional organisations.
Nottingham Chameleons is a social and support group for trans people and their family and friends. A safe space where you can be yourself; partners, parents and friends are also welcome.
Notts LGBT+ Network offers a switchboard service, giving advice to members of the LGBT+ community in Nottingham, you can call, direct message or email their staff about anything from questions about sexual orientation to legal advice.
Notts Trans Hub organises events within the community and is also responsible for distributing information about trans-friendly organisations, listing local trans-friendly events, services and resources.
Refugees
There’s a lot of refugee support in the Nottinghamshire area. Himmah, for one, assists in providing food bank services, housing and campaigning, as well as offering support to individuals and families in need, refugees and communities that are being discriminated against.
In 2010, a man named Ahmed was finding food in bins to survive and sleeping on cardboard in the street. This sparked a call to action, which saw a community come together to help a man who had been abandoned by the society he lived in, and the organisation was founded in this action.
Nottingham Refugee Forum is an organisation putting asylum seekers and refugees at the heart of it; there’s an advisory board made up of service users which feeds into the wider board. Many of the board members have been there since the inception and come from a variety of backgrounds, providing a diverse and experienced support network.
Nottingham Arimathea Trust is a voluntary service, welcoming donations, and Refugee Action aims to organise a Nottingham-wide collections for the survival of refugees in Europe. Then there’s Bras Not Bombs; an organisation that collects and donates clean underwear for women and children living in camps.
Women
Ensuring that women have safe spaces and groups to attend is essential in our community, which is why Nottingham offers a variety of services specifically for women in the local area. POW Nottingham is a peer-funded charity supporting individuals involved in or affected by sex work. POW promotes health and dignity by empowering, supporting and educating women.
Nottingham Women’s Centre provide advice and guidance for training and careers, counselling for women over the age of eighteen, and supply a wide range of courses, activities and support to help women update and improve their skills. Courses can be anything from basic maths and english skills, to personal development courses such as confidence building.
Nottingham Women’s Counselling Service offers a counselling service to help women process and understand feelings of anger, anxiety, grief, shame, depression, and the rest of it. The service hopes to enable women to express their feelings and seek ways to accept and empower themselves, choosing a way forward that is right for them.
Women’s Aid Integrated Services is a free and independent charity working with women and children affected by domestic abuse, providing a 24-hour support helpline.
Survivors of Sexual Assault and Abuse
It’s important to have services on hand and available for those in immediate danger and survivors.
Nottingham Counselling Service offers affordable prices for specific sessions with no GP referral necessary, it’s a direct service and there’s no limit to the number of sessions you can have.
ISAS, incest and sexual abuse survivors is a Nottinghamshire-based registered charity that provide face-to-face, telephone and group counselling services for adult and female service users of childhood sexual abuse, their partners and family members.
S.H.E. are a service based on mutual support, offering adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse a wide range of activities including social activities, outreach support, fundraising, survivor-led support groups and personal development groups plus many more.
People with a Disability
Nottingham has a very supportive and active disability network. My Sight, for example, is a charity dedicated exclusively to improve the lives of people living with sight loss in Nottinghamshire. The service provides support, leisure opportunities, information and advice to thousands of local visually impaired people and their families.
Nottinghamshire Deaf Society offer access to a range of tailored information and support services, such as; welfare and benefits advice, training, luncheon clubs and befriending schemes. NDS acts as a bridge between a hearing and deaf world.
Disability Direct prides itself in being able to make a difference to disabled people, older people and carers residing in Nottinghamshire. Promoting positive change in a non-political and non-campaigning way; an organisation with a strong sense of commitment to empower people to make their own choices with regard to positive decisions and independent living opportunities.
Disability Nottinghamshire provide a free, confidential and independent advice service relating to any aspect of disability to disabled people, their families, friends and carers. Supplying information and advice on areas such as health, welfare benefits, social care and an online service directory is also available.
Do you know about an organisation in Nottingham worth shouting about? Get in touch via the comment section below...
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