Building confidence and connections for women

NOT-FOR-PROFIT organisation Action on Disability within Ethnic Communities (ADEC) will host a series of free women’s empowerment workshops for the Geelong community, beginning this month.

The seven-week program will run until March 25 and will be held every Tuesday between 10am and 1pm at Vines Road Community Centre in Hamlyn Heights.

Each session will include new activities ranging range from wellness sessions, cooking and self-defence to mindfulness and the creative arts.

The program will also touch on topics such as finance, legal support, mental illness and family violence.

ADEC capacity building team leader Kerry Maher-Musarra said while the workshops had been developed to support disadvantaged women in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, they were open to all women.

“The sessions are run by women for women,” she said.

“There will be no male facilitators for any of the different weekly sessions. It’s not that we’re excluding them, it’s just that we’re trying to be culturally mindful as well in the delivery of these programs.

“The idea is that we can empower and support the women within the community to feel like there’s a safe space for them to come each week [and] be able to ask questions that they might find challenging or aren’t sure who to ask.”

Ms Maher-Musarra said the aim was to build up the group over the course of the program, allowing them to feel increasingly comfortable having their voice heard, while providing links to local support services that might be of interest and benefit.

“We’ll be enjoying food together, sharing experiences, having a laugh,” she said. “It’s advocating, it’s building self-confidence, it’s connection to local supports within your local area.”

The program will run each term throughout the year, with the flexibility to adapt to the needs of those registered. Those who have previously attended one of the programs are welcome to attend again.

A seven-week program aimed at supporting carers who may be feeling isolated and detached from the community is also slated to begin in May.

For more information or to register for one of ADEC’s programs, phone Ms Maher-Musarra on 0490 059 026 or email [email protected].