Supporting disadvantaged and marginalised women and girls to have a fair chance at a better life

Our Vision

All women and girls are safe and healthy. 

​

Our Purpose

Supporting disadvantaged and marginalised women and girls to have a fair chance at a better life. 

​

Our Mission

Women's Health Matters exists to support women and girls to live safe and healthy lives. We achieve this by providing a holistic, trauma-informed service for women and girls who are socially, economically, or politically marginalised. This includes, but is not limited to, those affected by domestic abuse, those whose children live elsewhere, those accessing maternity services, women seeking asylum, women with disabilities, and women and their children experiencing trauma.

​

We take a woman-centred holistic approach, creating a safe, nurturing environment to help women and girls recover their confidence, explore their own needs, regain control of their lives, and build secure and healthy family relationships.

​

Our Values

By women, with women - A women-led organisation, working with, and responsive to, the needs of women, their families, and girls.

Warm - We are respectful, compassionate, and kind. We provide welcoming and safe spaces and remove barriers to engagement.

Brave - We are bold, resilient, and courageous in our approach, and encourage bravery and strength in those we support.

Empowering - Women are the experts in their own lives. We work holistically to empower, inspire, and support them.

​

Who are WHM? 

Women’s Health Matters was founded in 1987 by a group of women who recognised the struggles other women in their communities were having with mental health, domestic violence, poverty, and loneliness. They came together to provide support for those women, and, through dedication and hard work, Women’s Health Matters became a registered charity in 1993.

​

In the years since, though the staff and projects may have changed, our ethos at Women’s Health Matters has stayed the same; working together with women, their families, and girls to make their lives safer. The issues first identified in 1987 still impact women and girls in Leeds today and we continue to support and meet the needs of women and girls to make a place of safety, so that they have a better chance of a better life.

​

We work intensively with around 1500 women, their families, and girls each year in and around Leeds. These women and girls are most at risk, including those experiencing domestic violence, sexual and emotional abuse, those with children in care or at risk of being removed, women seeking asylum, women with learning disabilities, and women with complex needs or mental health and wellbeing needs. We also support with parenting and pregnancy choices. We take a woman-centred holistic approach, creating a safe, nurturing environment to help women and girls recover their confidence, explore their own needs and regain control over their lives.

​

We specialise in group work, peer support, and providing one-to-one support. Our broad health remit enables women and girls experiencing violence and abuse to raise these issues in safety and to receive support without stigma or partner suspicion. Our outreach work allows us to broaden our reach to a wide range of women who have often found it difficult to work with statutory services. We create a safe environment where women can build trusting relationships and begin to recover their health and regain control of their lives.