The Powerhouse


	What are the Powerhouse projects ?
	Eves Out
	Powerhouse and Leisure Link set up this project so that women with learning difficulties could go out more. In our group we talked more about leisure, about what it is and about our rights as women with learning difficulties.

	We have a supporter who gives us information about going out to different places. She understands our needs and difficulties. Some of us don’t go to a pub because of our culture, family tradition or our religion.
		Women's Groups
		Women Talking Group
		My name is Debbie Porter. I am a supporter for the women’s group. The group is going really well and we now have 13 members. Women want to join all the time so our plan is to get funding to hopefully start a second group.
	Black and Asian Women's Group
	My name is Alison and I support this Black & Asian Women’s Group, helping the women to get their ideas out. The City Parochial gave us money to run the group and Newham Community Education gave us money so we could do our ‘History in Pictures Project.’ Some of the work we did was displayed at our Open Day. We invited lots of people and it was a very good day.
	Action Idea' s Meetings
	Women in the groups meet with Christina and talk about things that are important to all of us. Christina writes up our ideas and then tries to get funding for the work we want to do.
	Conferences and Training
	Some of the things we have done include: Induction training for volunteers working at Newham Leisure Link. We did accessing information and recruitment training for the South Bank University. Sarah has been Powerhouse’s representative on the 1st Steps training course for the voluntary sector which has been very useful for our organisation. The Tizard Centre Summer School at the university of Kent invited us to talk about Powerhouse and how we set up the Beverley Lewis House refuge. We ran a workshop at a conference organised by Scope called ‘Disability and Adult Protection’.
	Working with other organisations
	We worked at the Winchester Centre with a group of people with learning difficulties about ideas for making a Leisure book. This was a continuation of the Changing Days group we talked about in our last Annual Report. We have a very good working relationship with Leisure Link and work together on the Leisure & Advocacy project. Christina is meeting regularly with the new manager of Beverley Lewis Safe House so that we can plan future work together. We joined lots of organisations in Newham during International Women’s week. We displayed an exhibition of our history and the work that we do.