Healthier Futures: North Kensington Self-Care Programme
Take care of you and your family with self-care support. Healthier futures - the North Kensington Self-Care programme, helps residents of North Kensington to take more control of their mental health and physical wellbeing, and build social contact with access to community, leisure, education, arts and volunteering opportunities. To do this we fund local voluntary sector to provide self-care information, activities and services which can help people to maintain and reach their health & wellbeing goals.
A list of activities and services are available here on the - Kensington and Chelsea Social Council website or view the weekly timetable.
These services are for those aged between 18-64, who live and/or work in North Kensington and have been affected by the Grenfell tower fire.
What is self-care?
Self-care is what we can do as individuals, taking small but simple steps each day to look after our mind, body and soul, and not waiting until we get sick.
We all know it’s important to take good care of ourselves so we are happier and healthier, but life can be very busy and ‘me-time’ is usually last on the agenda. Sometimes we can even feel guilty about taking the time required to take care of ourselves.
The Healthier Futures Programme is designed to support you to take time out. By helping to build your confidence, knowledge, skills and resilience, it will help you to recognise that taking time out is a positive investment in your own health and wellbeing.
Looking after yourself will not only help you feel better, it can also help to improve other areas of your life. This will have a beneficial effect on your work and play, as well as your relationships with friends and family.
Self-care is different for everyone - everyone has different needs. Are you ready to take this next step?
How do I get started?
If you live or work in North Kensington and have been affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, you are eligible for free access to Healthier Futures self-care activities. These services can help you to become healthy, live well and take care of the people most important to you.
So what is self care? Self-care simply describes taking care of yourself. Self-care activities can be as easy as brushing your teeth, choosing to eat healthily, or making time to exercise.
Taking care of ourselves can help us to better cope with the short and long-term effects of difficult life experiences and help the healing process. Start by reflecting on the last week and how you have felt, this can help to identify some areas where you need might need some help?
- How did you sleep?
- What made you stressed
- What did you eat and how did it make you feel?
- Screen time – did you have enough time away from screens?
- Exercise – did you go outside for a walk?
- How much did you drink?
- What did you do you enjoyed?
- When did you feel good? Stressed or emotionally drained?
Tools to help you assess how you're doing
Health & wellbeing apps
Health and wellbeing apps are helpful in assessing and tracking your mood, levels of activity and wellbeing.
- Sleepio – get into a better sleep routine
- One You – for healthy eating and much more
- My fitness pal – help yourself get fit
- Thrive – for your emotional wellbeing
- Catch it – Learn to manage negative thoughts and think more positively
Activities available in North Kensington
Healthier Futures (North Kensington's self-care programme)
Healthier Futures is the name given to North Kensington self-care programme.
This programme helps residents of North Kensington to take more control of their mental health and physical wellbeing, and build social contact with access to community, leisure, education, arts and volunteering opportunities.
The services are available for individuals aged between 18-64, who live and/or work in North Kensington and have been affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. They are grouped into four categories:
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Exercise and Wellbeing Services.
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Advice
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Group services
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Training
Additionally, family self-care activities include gardening and family coaching, exercise & wellbeing classes. Boxing, women’s only boxing and yoga are popular choices, as well as cookery classes, health workshops and the Men’s Shed.
Residents can access the full range of Healthier Futures self-care activities by speaking to their GP practice (who will signpost them to their service of choice). All of the activities and details on how to join are also available on the Kensington and Chelsea Social Council (KCSC) website: click here.
You can find a full list of voluntary and partner organisations via their directory Social Prescribing (Self-Care) Directory | Kensington & Chelsea Social Council (kcsc.org.uk) and also here:
|
Topic |
Project and provider |
Details |
Contact |
Type of activity |
Day/Time of Activity |
Location of session |
Access/referral route |
|
Gardening/ cooking |
Cultivate Create |
This is a project for families with primary-aged children with a focus on strengthening wellbeing and emotional resilience through gardening sessions. There is the opportunity to not only grow, but enjoy eating the produce.
|
Lisa Nash (programme manager) lisa.nash@acava.org; sarah.barrett@acava.org |
|
Alternate Saturday Afternoons |
Maxilla Studios and Forest School garden W10 |
Booking form: https://forms.office.com/r/nrDh5JY8nE |
|
Legal advice |
Action Disability K&C (ADKC) |
Provides specialist legal advice to individuals with disabilities aged 18 and over (no mental health) through a Positive Empowerment Group. A separate group supports local disabled people who have experienced truama and who have health needs.
|
|
oup providing peer support for local people with disabilities |
Legal Advice – Mon-Fri 9.30 – 5; Trauma Group – Tuesdays 11-1 (fortnightly); PEG Group – Mondays 11-1 (monthly) every 3rd Monday; Legal advice drop in Monday 2-4 |
Legal Advice - Online/by phone/email/Zoom/Face to face available by arrangement. Meetings/Groups (in person and online). People will have a choice about how they attend. |
Legal Advice – referral by email or phone, self-referral or through a professional. legaladvice@adkc.org.uk // For the groups – contact personaldevelopment@adkc.org.uk |
|
Information, advice, guidance |
Clement James |
Anyone in need of guidance |
Martha Thomas advice@clementjames.org |
1-1 appointments as well as group workshops, providing impartial information, advice and guidance to help people resolve their problems |
Monday to Friday 9-5.30 (pre-booked appointments only) |
95 Sirdar Road, W11 4EQ |
Self-referral or through a professional via email or phone |
|
Community Massage London (CML) |
North Kensington Self-Care Programme |
These therapeutic massages are offered to anyone aged 18 and over |
teresa@communitymassagelondon.org.uk |
6 sessions of Massage/reflexology/ |
Weekdays, Saturdays available for people that work in the week, |
Colville, Golborne, Barlby GP Surgeries and Notting Hill Methodist Church; Lancaster West; Hammersmith; phone for meditation session |
Refer via GP surgery, Social Prescriber, Grenfell Health and Wellbeing service |
|
Dalgarno Trust |
Digital Champions |
Kevin Onura kevin@dalgarnotrust.org.uk |
Elderly |
Digital support classes (laptops / digital devices) to help people understand how to use their devices. Includes downloading apps, accessing health and care services and appointments |
Time may vary on Wednesdays depending on the outreach location Drop-ins on Thursday run from 10am - 4pm. |
Dalgarno Centre and outreach locations |
Self referral or by a professional via email or the phone, or in person at the centre |
|
Family Friends |
Evolve NK |
Young people aged 10-18 years. |
Volunteer Befrienders provide 1-2-1 wellbeing support for 6-12 months. Those accessing our programmes will also have the option to attend monthly groups and days out. |
Sessions are a minimum of 2 hours. Sessions take place during the day, Mon-Sun. |
In the local or wider community (please note: sessions do not take place in the home) |
Referrals accepted from any professional agencies (GP, Early Help, Schools, other charities). Self-referrals also accepted |
|
|
FAWA |
Active for Health |
Marie Tameze |
Older minority ethnic communities |
health and wellbeing support and referrals; walking and yoga activities. |
Day/time of activities varied depending on the availability of the hall. |
Ladbroke Grove, Canalside house. W10 5AA |
Self-referral or through a professional via email or phone |
|
Meanwhile Gardens |
Music & Movement at the Playhut |
Katrina, playhut@meanwhilegardens.org.uk |
Families with children under 6 years old |
Drop in music and movement sessions - singing and dancing plus stay and play |
Mondays 12:30-2:30, Tuesdays 9.15-11.15, Wednesdays 9:15-11:15, Fridays 12:30-2:30 |
W10 5NT (next to the skate-bowl) |
No booking required (we do not have a maximum number) families just need to drop in within the session hours |
|
Pamodzi |
Pamdozi Caring Hands |
Minority ethnic communities 18 and over |
Providing health initiatives through walking, chair exercises, wellbeing workshops, cooking, tea/coffee sessions and outreach at events and provide advocacy, advice, referral, and translation support. |
Every Wednesday from 1pm. Activities are flexible we normally go by what the participants suggest from the identified list; “Type of activity”. Sometimes the weather dictates |
Edward Woods Community Centre |
Self-referral or through a professional via email or phone |
|
|
Volunteer Centre (VCKC) |
Community Connections |
Amalia Loizidou amalia.loizidou@vckc.org.uk |
NK residents aged 18+, including people with mental health and physical and learning disability support needs |
Offering English Conversation, Creative Writing, meditation, shredding, Gardening, art and other creative workshops, volunteering opportunities and placements, support with accessing training and work placements, workshops, health and wellbeing, and 1-2-1 support |
Wednesday, 10am: Gardening group. Wednesday 11 15am: Play reading Group. Once a month Thursday afternoon Wellbeing session. Once a month art and other creative workshops, Tuesday/Thursday English Conversation/Creative Writing Sessions, Tuesday morning meditation sessions |
Location: Mainly North Kensington. Volunteer Centre K&C and Lancaster West Gardens, w11. One off trips, e.g. to Kew Gardens Placements with a variety of organisations in K&C |
Self-referral or through a professional via email or phone |
What North Kensington people say
Hear from local people the benefits they've felt from taking up some of the services and activities in the area.
“It was nice to talk to someone outside my family, whom I could be honest about how I was really feeling. North Kensington resident."
"I was surprised to see there was so many activities in my local area”
"I had been self-isolating and was anxious about having to shield because of my health issues, however, the weekly cooking phone group has given me something to look forward to and the chance to cook again”. He continued “Prior to lockdown I took it for granted that if I want something I just had to go to the local shop and often I would be buying something to eat off the shelf. Now I make home cook meals at least every 2 -3 days and feel so much happier for it”.
