Hartlepool Women's Health Hub launches to provide safe space for the town
The founders of a new women's health hub in Hartlepool tell us they hope to become a safe space for people in the town.
A brand new centre in Hartlepool is launching a series of community groups - in the hopes of highlighting support for new mums, neurodivergent women, the queer community and more...
The Women's Health Hub - located in the Arches shopping village - has only been running for a month, but already has run sessions including a menopause café, a Queer social and an empowered girls club - and more.
Zoe Gardiner is one of the co-founders, and tells us why these services are so important to the community in Hartlepool;
"Hartlepool has a high amount of social deprivation, we have a low life expectancy and have high suicide rates,
"Setting up a women's health hub in Hartlepool seemed very important to us.
"Services which are specifically tackling women's health are essential,
"I think health and social care was set up by men and for men,
"Although women live longer - we also live longer with severe illnesses and disabilities because all the research has been aimed at men."
You can find a full list of the services and groups which run there via the group's Facebook page.
Today is the Queer Social - and Zoe explains more about the events;
"So far we've had a neurodivergence peer support group, we've had a menopause café
"We have a Queer social - which is for anyone who identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, or who is questioning whether they belong in that group."
The organisers are hoping that the centre will be able to expand, and reach more people in communities around Teesside, and are currently looking for fundraising support.