In this final episode of our pilot season, we are joined by Yasmin Khan, Welsh Government National Advisor - for Violence against Women Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence, London Fire & Rescue service Culture review-Independent Panel member and Founder / Chief Officer of Halo Project - National Charity for Forced Marriages, HBV and FGM

Yasmin helps us to explore how Violence Against Women and Girls fuels Gendered Poverty.

As a strategic leader and partnership builder she is Founder and Chief Officer- Halo Project Charity National Charity -Award winning National Charity and held a plethora of senior advisory roles and proactively highlights service gaps, identifies potential improvements and opportunities with respect to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Also serving in the recent review (2022) of London Fire & Rescue service review into culture as an Independent Panel member.

Yasmin has secured the role of a Government Advisor in Wales, she provides expertise on how most effectively to implement the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act. Her work includes working with victims, survivors, and stakeholders to shape and inform improvements in the way services are planned, commissioned and delivered. She has instigated a HMICFRS investigation within England Wales into policing to highlight key recommendations into investigations for BME communities experiencing sexual violence through the Police Super complaints procedure.

Yasmin has worked with communities and particularly women in addressing inequalities in the field of employment, education, and training. Establishing a Strategic Community Partnership to provide support for Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence Victims in the North East of England, Yasmin has established a pioneering programme of work across the Tees Valley This has resulted in developing the first Forced Marriage/HBV case scrutiny group across the UK.

Halo Project is one of Smallwood’s Community Grant Partner’s. You can learn more about Halo Project here:

Website: https://www.haloproject.org.uk/

Smallwood Trust feature: https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/news/spotlight-halo-project-charity/

Useful Resources:

Transforming policing for the BAME community

How the police respond to victims of sexual abuse when the victim is from an ethnic minority background and may be at risk of honour-based abuse.

Smallwood Community Grant Partner Programme: https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/community-grant-partnership-programme/

https://wbg.org.uk/analysis/life-changing-life-saving-funding-for-the-womens-sector-2/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Episode, we are joined by Dr Ambreen Shah, a non-executive director at Smallwood Trust and Shana Begum who is a former Smallwood Trust Board shadowee.

Our guests will be helping us to explore shifting power and governance through reflecting over the Smallwood Board Shadowing Programme.

Here is a little more about our guests:

Ambreen was born in England and has lived here all her life, she is second generation Pakistani and is a mum of 2 girls. Ambreen has worked in the not-for-profit sector for over 20 years, funding and supporting charities to achieve maximum impact for their beneficiaries. She brings knowledge of policy, communications, grant funding and social/evaluative research and extensive experience of working with senior stakeholders and strategy development. She is passionate about social and racial justice.

Ambreen is a non-executive director at Smallwood Trust and Charity Bank championing their work on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She sits on the advisory group of Migration Exchange. She is also an Associate of Getting on Board which supports greater diversity of people in the charity governance space and is currently championing a shadowing programme which aims to shift power to people with lived experience.

Shana Begum is a former Smallwood Trust board shadowee, a survivor of domestic abuse with a proven track record of making a significant impact in the field of domestic abuse prevention and support. As the Founding Director of St Helens the best me CIC and a pioneer trustee for Safelives, Shana has been instrumental in transforming board cultures to promote lived experience and create a supportive environment for survivors of domestic abuse. Shana's dedication to ending violence against women and girls is evident in her involvement in various initiatives, including supporting over 300 survivors and their families, initiating free DA training in India and Nigeria, and serving as the First domestic abuse prevention officer in St Helens council. Her contributions have extended globally through collaborations with Safe and together institute and nationally with organisations such as government departments like the MoD -defence safety authority and the domestic abuse commissioners office.

In addition to her professional achievements, Shana has demonstrated a commitment to education and community service by dedicating 4 years as a governor for two schools in St Helens and actively participating in equality and diversity groups locally and regionally. As a Trustee of the national charity Safelives and the Chair of the BAME group locally, Shana continues to be a driving force in advocating for change and promoting inclusivity in all aspects of society.

Links:

Smallwood Trust: Reflecting on our board shadowing experience: https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/news/reflecting-our-inaugural-board-shadowee-experience/

Smallwood Trust introduces to our inaugural board shadowing cohort: programme: https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/news/meet-smallwood-board-member-shadowees

Lauren Currie and her work ( As mentioned by Ambreen in the podcast) - Join the confidence revolution. (weareupfront.com)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we are joined by Poornima Kirloskar-Saini (Founder and CEO of Kundakala) and Sam Everard (Chief Executive Officer- SAMEE). Our guests will be helping us explore entrepreneurship as a route out of gendered poverty.

Kundakala's mission is to help women from under-recognised communities become more confident and financially independent through programmes that provide tailoring skills and business enterprise support. Poornima, the founder, moved to the UK from Mumbai, India about 20 years ago and has worked in the field of women empowerment ever since. She started my career with the award-winning social enterprise Women Like Us, providing career guidance and recruitment to women who had taken a career break after their children.

Sam Everard of SAMEE is a dedicated entrepreneur with a flair for reaching out to vulnerable people in the community and helping them explore self-employment. A dynamic and SFEDI Level 7 qualified business start-up advisor with over 20 years experience of providing information, mentoring and guidance for sole traders and SMEs. Sam is the Chair of the South West Regional Stakeholder Network for the Disability Unit in Cabinet Office and studying towards a PhD at Bournemouth University. Both of these roles allow her to engage with disabled people on a deep level which informs the development of best practice for the disabled community.

Kundakala and SAMEE are both part of our Community Grant Partner Programme.

Useful links from this episode:

About the SAMEE charity: SAMEE Charity - Work with disabled people on self-employment

Clair's website (mentioned in the episode) Home | lavish4me-blended essential oils-natural solutions-mind-body-spirit

About Kundakala: https://kundakala.org/

Support Kundakala’s Graduates through buying their products: https://kundakala.org/fundraising-products/

Smallwood Community Grant Partner programme: https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/community-grant-partnership-programme/

Smallwood’s wider work around disability through the Routes to Power and influence: https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Routes-to-Power-Influence-for-UK-Womens-Organisations.pdf

Happy listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.