Women’s Empowerment Workshops are coming to Geelong to create a safe space for women and to provide opportunities for connections.
Vines Community Centre will host the workshops every Tuesday from February 11 to March 25 from 10am to 1pm, with participants taking part in a new activity each session.
Action on Disability within Ethnic Communities capacity building officer Rachel Westhorpe said the sessions were open to women from culturally diverse backgrounds, carers, and females living with a disability or dealing with mental health.
“Lots of our participants do feel quite isolated in their community, so if we can get some friendships and relationships going, that would be incredible,” she said.
“It’s about empowering attendees with the confidence to self-advocate and share learnings with their families and communities for broader benefit.
“We have designed this workshop around the aim of empowering women. We have women presenters and facilitators to empower participants with knowledge and skills.
“The more we educate ourselves and give ourselves the confidence to self-advocate, the more we can help ourselves when problems and things arise. Knowledge is power.
“It’s also empowering participants by creating greater awareness and understanding of available resources and support services they have in their area while combating social isolation.”
Sessions will include cooking, arts and crafts, free legal support, self-defence, wellness and wellbeing, and more.
Ms Westhorpe said the workshops would touch on topics like mental illness and family illness and that anyone interested in participating should email an expression of interest to rachelw@adec.org.au
By Jena Carr