Manor Gardens Welfare Trust has launched its updated Strategy 2025–2030 and Theory of Change. These documents highlight our vision for strong communities where everyone can enjoy good health, resilience, and opportunity. Manor Gardens is committing to addressing systemic and intersectional barriers, collaborating with communities, and driving innovative approaches to deliver meaningful change for communities facing inequalities in Islington and beyond.

• To establish a dedicated facility for mental health and wellbeing services, with a focus on young men and minoritised women who face heightened risks in our community.
• To offer a suite of services including conversation cafes, art therapy, and support groups, facilitated by professional therapists.
• To address the specific needs of women from Muslim backgrounds, who encounter both a spike in hate crimes and cultural barriers to accessing mental health support.
• To provide support by a trained therapist for families who have experienced bereavement due to gang violence in the borough.
• To provide peer mentoring, group therapy and wellbeing activities for young men aged 16 – 24 in the borough.

Services and Programmes:

• Youth Engagement: Expanding our existing youth provision to include mental health support, tailored to the realities of the Andover Estate.
• Counselling and Therapy: Professional services for conditions such as anxiety and depression, offered in a culturally sensitive manner.
• Educational Outreach: Workshops to demystify mental health issues, targeting young men, Muslim women and the wider community.

Reach:

• 20 – 30 young men at risk of adverse mental health outcomes / year
• 8 – 12 families impacted by gang violence / year
• 20 – 30 Muslim women experiencing poor mental health
• 300 – 500 community members/year experiencing isolation, increased stress and anxiety due to the cost-of-living crisis and barriers to accessing mainstream services.

Impact:

• Improved mental wellbeing for 40 – 60 vulnerable young men and Muslim women who face exclusion from mainstream services
• Increased resilience for 8 – 12 families impacted by gang violence through the development of peer support networks
• Reduced isolation and improved wellbeing for 300 – 500 community members including elderly residents and members of minoritized communities.