the why behind the elevate project
The Bridge received funding to run its first elevate programme at the end of 2021. This 12-week programme was developed for young women whose mental wellbeing has been impacted by the pandemic.
After careful consideration relating to the rates of covid-19 in the borough, elevate was given the green light and ran from wednesday 23 february to wednesday 11 may ‘22. The programme focused on women aged 16–30 in Southwark and Lambeth.
what’s the need for the ‘elevate’ project?
At the time of the first lockdown, The Bridge moved many of its projects and services online in order to continue providing support digitally. Since London started to reopen in mid-2021, we’ve too have progressed through a slow and steady return to the in-person.
Feedback from members of our gym highlighted the need for additional mental health support within our service user community. At least 10 members in November 2021 reported that their mental wellbeing had been impacted by the pandemic.
“topics of increased anxiety, loss of confidence, difficulty in getting back to their previous habits of health and fitness regimes or studies, experience of depression and loneliness, etc. were frequently being communicated”
Inspired by the request for something new from the people we work for, the team carried out extensive desk research into the effects of the pandemic on women. Research showed that young women in particular were adversely affected by the pandemic in terms of mental health. This helped shape the elevate project and set it’s focus audience as ‘women aged between 16–30’.
Some significant supporting research came from The Prince’s Fund (2021), which looked into impacts of the pandemic on young people. Over 2,000 young people aged 16–25 responded. It reported:
67% of young women ‘always’ or ‘often’ feel anxious (compared to 47% of young men);
48% of young women ‘always’ or ‘often’ feel down or depress (compared to 24% young men);
57% of young women say that their mental health has worsened during the pandemic (compared to 44% of young men);
53% of young women say that they have experienced self-loathing since the pandemic;
32% of young women say that they feel “unable to cope with life”;
25% of young women also feel that the pandemic had destroyed their career hopes.
The deterioration of women and girls’ mental health isn’t new, although it may be seen to have been made worse by the pandemic. The signs of an approaching mental health crisis have been visible for many years. According to the Mental Health Foundation (2021), one in five women are likely to experience a problem with their mental health.
In 2016, the Mental Health Foundation reporting on a World Health Organisation study, reported that one in five women aged 16–25 reported recent self harming, and that suicide rates in women were at their highest for decades. It was also reported that rates of suicide and self-harm were higher in non-white communities, highlighting racial inequality as a significant factor.
For a number of years, young women have been constantly and disproportionately more affected by mental health problems in comparison to young men, and this demonstrates the impact of widespread gender inequalities, gender-based violence and discrimination, which need to be addressed before it is too late. In response to some of these inequities, the elevate project looked to focus its priority on women from under-represented minority communities, LGBTQI+ women, women who are unemployed or on low wages, women with low mental wellbeing, carers and single parents.
There are a number of factors that may have led to this worrying increase in reported mental health issues in women and girls. Agenda, an organisation for women and girls at risk, conducted a significant research report with the support of over 150 voluntary organisations in 2021 called ‘Voices From Lockdown: A Way Forward for Women and Girls’.
“it is abundantly clear that there is a stark and pressing mental health crisis currently underway that is very specific to women”
Their report included the following concerning results:
76% of organisations reported demand for their services has increased from the first lockdown;
100% of organisations reported that over the course of one year, the complexity of women and girls’ needs had increased;
95% of organisations agreed that the pandemic has made existing mental health problems worse;
77% of organisations said that they had struggled to meet the demand of mental health needs for the women and girls’ they work with;
50% of the specialist ‘by and for’ Black and minoritised women’s services highlighted increased poverty and related needs among their service users.
Elevate has been designed in response to the complex and intersectional, physical and mental health crises, but we’re aware that The Bridge and our projects can only support a small proportion of those who need it, meaning much more work will need to be done in the community at large.
what does the delivery of our project look like?
Elevate was developed directly from the experiences of our gym members and a wider community of young women. The programme was set to run for 12-weeks, and is based on the NEF’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing (stay active, connect, keep learning, give, take notice), which have been proven to support mental wellbeing.
The programme consists of:
12 x 1-hour workouts:
10 x This Girl Can sessions led by a trained instructor;
2 x fitness classes, focused on weight-training, core-work and toning;
a buddy support system;
30-minute meet ups in the café with a health snack following all workouts to discuss topics agreed by the group, such as anxiety triggers, coping mechanisms, sleep, etc.;
3 x 2 hour ‘coping mechanism’ sessions to be led by a qualified therapist.
To ensure COVID-19 secure sessions, numbers were limited to 15 participants and there was the option of zoom attendance.
For accessibility, the programme ran at no cost to the participants. This included all of the fitness and therapy sessions of the project, gym membership for the duration of the programme, and a ‘completer’ sweatshirt at the end for those who complete at least 9 of the 12 sessions.
If you would like to talk about running this project, either yourselves or led by our team, please reach out to elevate@thebridge-uk.org.
what are the project outcomes?
We set the following minimum outcomes expected from the elevate project.
75% of women will complete the programme;
80% of women on the programme will be aged 16-30;
80% of women will have increased their activity levels;
80% of women report improved wellbeing;
80% of women report improved self-confidence levels;
80% of women feel more engaged and are better able to function (studies, job-hunting, work, connecting with friends and family, pursuing interests etc.);
70% of women will have made at lease one connection with a peer which will be maintained post programme;
65% of women will go on to join mainstream classes.
The results of the project will be shared at the end of May 2022, once the final sessions have taken place and will be published on our website.
who funded the programme?
Elevate received funding from London Sport and used This Girl Can for 10 of the 12 sessions to give participants the opportunity to have a taste of a wide range of fitness activities. A massive thank you to both organisations for their support.
We’re always looking for donations and support to help us to continue to reach those who need us the most. Any support you can provide is gratefully received.
do you have comments, questions or would you like to work with us on a future project?
Contact the team via email at elevate@thebridge-uk.org. Our programmes welcomes all referrals, including self-referral. If your enquiry is general, you can access us via our main contact details.