Open Arms has been developed to support women from ethnic minority and migrant backgrounds, who cannot access mainstream services, due to low income, lack or low level of integration, or isolation and to improve their physical & mental health.
The project would not run without the help of the amazing ELREC team and our funders – the National Lottery Community Fund! Thank you very much for all your support!
Open Arms has been developed to support women from ethnic minority and migrant backgrounds, who cannot access mainstream services, due to low income, lack or low level of integration, or isolation and to improve their physical & mental health.
The project would not run without the help of the amazing ELREC team and our funders – the National Lottery Community Fund! Thank you very much for all your support!
Open Arms, Champions of Health
We provide the following services free of charge:
1- Weekly exercise classes, including body maintenance exercise, Bollywood dance, and head and face yoga
2- Weekly arts and crafts workshops
3- Monthly outings and socialising events
5- Daily peer-support-based group activities on WhatsApp (since being the most accessible and widely used mobile application amongst BME groups
Our activities are open to all women, however, primarily aimed at women from black and minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds, particularly those living on low incomes, with low or no English language proficiency, at low levels of integration into British society, and new migrants and refugees, who live in Edinburgh and Lothians.
We collaborate closely with our well-established and wide network of BME support organisations in Edinburgh as well as the statutory organisations in order to reach out to women from the target groups, as well as to share resources and maximising the impact.
We provide our classes and workshops both online and in person. Most of our activities are led by members of BME communities.
Over the course of two years, our planned activities are set to help women from BAME and migrant communities to:
1- feel less isolated
2- feel physically and mentally healthier
3- feel more confident in communication in English
4- feel more confident in taking up leadership roles
Get in touch
The project would not run without the help of the amazing ELREC team and our funders – the National Lottery Community Fund! Thank you very much for all your support!
