Director, Glasgow Girls Club
As an organisation dedicated to empowering and supporting girls and young women in our communities, Glasgow Girls Club has been delighted to grow its community-based partnerships and programmes over the past year.
Staying true to our core mission to cultivate ecosystems that provide young women with empowering networks, opportunities, and bright futures, we have also supported several partners to build capacity and infrastructure to work with girls and young women and have secured funding to develop an App that can fortify the efforts of those who work with and support them.
Through various programs, partnerships, events, and initiatives, we have continued to create safe spaces where girls and young women can develop their skills, explore interests, and build lasting relationships with peers and workers alike.
STRONG GIRLS CLUB – Continuing with the successful partnership work with Police Scotland that began in 2021, we have since been delighted to secure multiyear grant funding from the National Lottery Improving Lives Fund that will resource the expansion and outreach of the Strong Girls programme.
The Strong Girls programme is an empowerment initiative designed to actively involve and unite young women in our communities. Through continued strategic partnerships with education, frontline and statutory services, we continue to reach those who might have become disengaged from school or are displaying risky behaviours. By offering safe spaces for young women to participate in our programmes, we strive to provide them with the necessary tools and skills to navigate life’s challenges. Our programme is group led and offers various core themes, such as:
- Creativity;
- social entrepreneurship; and
- cultural awareness.
As well as providing 2 after school weekly services we now also have programmes in 2 schools in the Northeast of Glasgow.
The initial partnership between Glasgow Girls Club and Police Scotland was funded by the local Area Partnership and aimed to provide a comprehensive program that not only supported and empowered at-risk girls, but also addressed key priorities identified by the Area Partnership. focused on:
- improving community safety;
- enhancing the health and wellbeing of participants; and
- providing essential services for young people.
Additionally, the programme sought to develop positive and healthy relationships among the participants, leading to increased resilience and a decrease in risky behaviour. The ultimate goal was to encourage active participation and positive peer leadership in the community.
Due to its success, and subsequent support from National Lottery Improving Lives Fund we are delighted to be able to continue to work with participants in the coming years. Consistency and reliability are crucial elements to the work we do with the groups, so we are thrilled to be able to offer core ongoing support to young women as they navigate their journeys into adulthood. By building confidence, illuminating career pathways and teaching skills such as budgeting and self-sufficiency, the programme aims to help break cycles of intergenerational poverty and build better and safer communities for all.
NO KNIVES BETTER LIVES – Glasgow Girls Club has partnered with No Knives, Better Lives + Youth Link Scotland, in an initiative that focuses on prevention, early intervention, and education on the theme of Violence Between Girls. Through this partnership, Glasgow Girls Club has supported the initiative to conduct focus groups sessions in Glasgow with groups of young women. The focus groups aim to better understand the root causes of this form of violence and develop resources and a toolkit to tackle the issue.
Community Tech Update – As a social enterprise we continue to build ‘Community Tech’ ~ Apps and software for ourselves as well as other third and public sector clients.
LET’S GET COMMUNITIES CONNECTED APP – The Let’s Get App has been live for over a year and continues to demonstrate good useability and engagement across the city. The App continues to connect organisations and individuals to support for various issues, such as:
- addictions;
- trauma;
- poverty;
- mental health;
- unemployment;
- homelessness; and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES).
The App continues to be accessed by a variety of stakeholders including Police and Social Workers to effectively connect individuals to over 800 services, ensuring the appropriate assistance and support can be accessed. By implementing preventive measures and early intervention strategies, this App serves as a valuable tool in reducing reoffending rates.
Over 2022-23, Glasgow Girls Club alongside Community Justice Glasgow – (who commissioned the App), delivered a programme of awareness raising and embedding the App – training staff and services including Glasgow City Council’s Criminal Justice and Children & Families Social Work Staff, Volunteer Glasgow staff, Skills Development Scotland; Police Scotland’s Campus Officers and a range of 3rd Sector Services.
Glasgow Girls Club have also completed a piece of additional development work to integrate the Let’s Get data set with that of A Local Information System for Scotland ALISS, the national directory provided by Health and Social Care Alliance. The App is also now available to download as a native App on Androids and Apple phones and will soon be included as a staple App for Glasgow City Council Staff on their work phones.
Figure 1 below shows both the number of page views and unique users of the Let’s Get Communities Connected App over 2022-23.
ADA – Currently we are working on the development of a new Girls Club App called ADA, which will be a digital resource to support girls and young women.
It will:
- link to relevant downloadable and online resources such as toolkits and workshop plans;
- connect vulnerable girls and young women (and those who support them) to local and national networks and services offering support; and
- signpost to specific themed training, blogs, videos, research, and legal advice.
We are currently consulting with the Glasgow Statutory and Third Sector stakeholders to ensure that we highlight and include all resources that offer support and resource on the App. The App aims to launch in 2024.
WOMEN’S SAFETY APP – Violence Against Women partners, Wise Women commissioned Glasgow Girl’s Club to develop a women’s safety App, with the objective to gather information about women’s experiences of harassment and abuse in public spaces, to help inform local policy and infrastructure developments. The App includes a survey that allows women to pinpoint and share their experiences of harassment and abuse. Since the App launched in 2021 a variety of improvements and considerations have already been made by local Council and other stakeholders to support the feeling of safety for women in public spaces including issues with lighting and foliage in a local park.
The use of digital technology in social justice efforts and structural change has become increasingly prominent over the past few years, and this project demonstrates how technology can drive positive transformations. By combining technology with local grassroots activism, significant progress can be achieved in improving women’s safety at both local and city levels. The survey’s success could also be attributed to the commitment and collaborative partnerships established with other grassroots organisations and partners who have played a pivotal role in ensuring widespread exposure such as Glasgow Women’s Aid, The Women’s Support Project, Possobilities, Yer Awrite, The Glasglow Girls Club, The Empowered Women Project and many others . This ecosystem of organisations working collaboratively aligns well with the Glasgow Girls Club aim of cultivating empowering networks to enhance women’s futures.
