Based in Tower Hamlets, Canaan Project supports 11-19-year-old young women. The Project focuses on young women because the available support in the borough is extremely limited and often inaccessible to girls. Its work provides safe spaces for groups to interact, develop, form friendships and learn new skills together.
Only 30% of young people accessing statutory youth services in Tower Hamlets are female, meaning young women are missing out on key support. Young women can face many challenges, including bullying, domestic violence, neglect, sexual exploitation, family breakdown, mental illness manifesting in anxiety and depression, social isolation, self-harm, eating disorders and material poverty. Canaan Project has seen that, by creating female only spaces within the community, the team can address the inequalities that young women face within the youth sector and target support to those who are unable to receive it elsewhere.
Canaan Project has been working in Tower Hamlets for 20 years and has been entirely focused on young women’s work since 2013. Its work in schools is where the team initially meet young women, and through these relationships they are able to support young women to access community-based programmes. The current offer includes:
Weekly Lunch Clubs: Lunch clubs in two secondary schools for young women in year’s 7-9. These drop-in clubs provide a safe space for young women to enjoy their lunch, meet new people, try new things and build new relationships.
Weekly After School Clubs: A range of activities are offered, including crafts, discussions, cooking, and games. Approximately 15-20 girls attend each session.
Mentoring: This is available to young women that may benefit from extra support. It can be in the form of group mentoring, delivered weekly in Canaan’s partner schools, or 1:1 mentoring as required.
Projects & Trips: A variety of time bound projects and trips run throughout the year, and (where funding allows) an annual residential for the after-school club.
Forum: The girls club forum is a team of young women, elected by their peers, that meet on a monthly basis to help plan and shape activities, encouraging leadership and ownership of these clubs.
The team work closely with the schools’ safeguarding teams, SEN departments and pastoral teams in order to provide a holistic approach. Young women can stay with Canaan Project as long as they want to; the support is open-ended. Canaan’s staff team have built strong relationships in the community and are well known to schools, other community groups and statutory services.
In order to build financial sustainability for the organisation as it develops, the Foundation awarded a grant towards hiring a fundraiser staff post. Initially for one day per week, this role will support the organisation to obtain sufficient funding to cover core costs, whilst also diversifying funds and partnerships. Dedicated support in this area aims to secure the necessary stability for Canaan Project’s current operations – ultimately ensuring the depth of support and presence offered to young women in Tower Hamlets remains.
