A local women’s group has received support from our Helping Hands fund to run creative sessions that boost wellbeing and body confidence.

Fortuna Female Society, a group that creates safe spaces for women and girls, has been given £1,900 to hold monthly art workshops in Widnes. A local artist will lead the sessions, which will explore health and wellbeing through art.

The funding will pay for 10 workshops, open to women aged 18 and over from across Halton.

This idea started following a successful pilot project funded by Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, which showed how art can help people talk about health in a relaxed way.

Georgina Crank, Social Impact and Engagement Officer at Halton Housing, joined a pastel drawing session on Friday and said: “It was amazing to see how relaxed and open everyone was. Art gave women a space to share and support each other. This is exactly what Helping Hands is here for.”

Fortuna Female Society has been active since 2018, running free community activities like supper clubs, poetry nights, and support cafés for women affected by domestic abuse.

These new art sessions support Halton Housing’s goal of helping to create a Healthy Halton.

Find out more about Fortuna Female Society and their events at www.fortunefemale.org.