At the heart of Hammersmith for 400 years.
Giving older people homes for life in beautiful, affordable almshouses. Investing in the future through grant-giving. And raising the voice of our community to make it stronger.
At the heart of Hammersmith for 400 years.
Giving older people homes for life in beautiful, affordable almshouses. Investing in the future through grant-giving. And raising the voice of our community to make it stronger.
We're inviting older people on a low income who need an affordable home to tour our almshouses.
Read More ...Hikayetna means ‘our story’ in Arabic, and the name is certainly apt. The not-for-profit exists to empower and unite refugees and migrants, bringing communities together through culture and creativity.
My Health, My Life is Hikayetna’s latest project. The community organisation is creating several short films in Arabic to help refugees and migrants recognise mental health issues and understand how to get support when they need it.
Here, Sulaiman Othman, Director of Hikayetna, tells us about the project and why it’s needed.
“I’ve met many refugees and other members of the Arabic-speaking community who are struggling with trauma and mental health issues. Many have come from a war zone and have lived in refugee camps. Once they arrive here, they’re kept very busy with documentation, assessments, setting up schooling, talking to the council, getting housing and so on. They don’t deal with the pain that they’ve brought with them. Some feel ashamed to talk about mental health, as in Arabic cultures, people often don’t talk about their feelings.
“Even if they do try to get help, there’s a lack of resources in Arabic. Support may be provided by the local community, the NHS or charities, but people can’t access it.
“We wanted to take this knowledge, these resources, and make it easy for people to access them. The videos are about breaking the ice, raising awareness, encouraging people to talk about mental health, and giving them the chance to make a fresh start.
“We’re going to produce three or four videos initially. Each will be two minutes long. We’re using Arabic in the videos, along with English subtitles and infographics.
“We’ll cover mental health, what it is, how the NHS can help, and how we can reduce the stigma around it. We’ll also interview an Arabic-speaking mental health specialist familiar with the culture.
“We’re hoping to launch the first video on social media in December. We’ll have a launch event to encourage the community to come together and talk about mental health issues.
“This is a small project, with a small grant, and a small team, but it’s part of a longer term goal. We’re meeting with universities and local organisations that provide mental health services to discuss how we can work together to support the Arabic community’s mental health and make it easier for people to connect, integrate and engage.”
Hikayetna has received a grant from Hammersmith United Charities towards the cost of creating the videos. You can find out more about our community grants here.
The Equality Act has been strengthened with the Worker Protection bill. Find out how to make sure your organisation is taking the necessary steps to protect workers.
Employers now have a duty to protect their workers against sexual harassment from managers, colleagues, customers, visitors and other people who they might come into contact with through their work.
If one of your employees is sexually harassed, they may be entitled to compensation from your organisation. If the tribunal finds that you didn’t take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent that harassment, the compensation could be increased by up to 25%.
Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. When it comes to workplaces, the person carrying out the harassment often (but not always) targets someone who’s at an equal or lower pay grade.
The person carrying out the harassment may intend to humiliate, intimidate or degrade the person they’re harassing. However, in some instances, they may not realise that the behaviour is causing the other person distress, particularly if the person they’re harassing feels too uncomfortable to complain. For instance, if an employee is being sexually harassed by their manager, they may try to ignore or make light of it because they’re worried about their job. What some people might consider as joking, ‘banter’ or part of a workplace culture can still be sexual harassment.
Behaviour doesn’t have to be physical to be classed as sexual harassment. For example, if a member of the team makes lewd jokes or suggestions, or makes sexual comments about someone’s body or clothing, that may be classed as sexual harassment. The comments don’t need to be aimed at a specific person to be deemed harassment.
The Worker Protection bill is designed to protect all those who are in ‘employment’ and covers:
While volunteers aren’t always covered under employment legislation, they deserve to volunteer in a respectful environment where they feel safe and protected. Therefore, we recommend that policies, communications and training also include volunteers.
If your organisation employs people, it must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. These might include (but aren’t limited to) the following:
We recommend reading the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guide on harassment at work, which has been updated to reflect the new rules.
Outside of the workplace, Hammersmith & Fulham Council have brought in a new public spaces protection order (PSPO) prohibiting street harassment. The order covers activities such as catcalling, sexist, homophobic or transphobic slurs and non-consensual physical touching. The police will be able to issue fixed penalty fines for such behaviour.
Find out how our newest grant-holders are supporting communities in Hammersmith.
Cuts in public funding, coupled with falling donations and an increase in demand, has hit local charities hard. According to NCVO, 85% of charities believe that this winter will be as tough, or even tougher, than the last, and one in five believe they won’t be able to meet the increase in demand.
HUC’s Flexible 3 Year Grants are designed to help organisations address demand and plan for the future. Our newest grant holders are The Sulgrave Youth Club, The Upper Room and the Hammersmith branch of Crosslight Advice. They’ve all been awarded £45,000, which will be split over three years.
The three charities all work to support vulnerable people within Hammersmith and the surrounding areas.
The cost-of-living crisis has affected people across society, but for those who were already struggling, the impact has been devastating. Crosslight Advice provides personalised advice on debt, benefits and housing. It also helps people to build financial resilience through its free Money Course.
Many of the Hammersmith branch’s clients have been pushed into debt to meet basic needs, which has then caused further issues. Case Manager Sara Thomas shares, “Debt is the third most important cause of poverty in the UK. 34% of our clients have cut down or gone without heating; 65% have a problem in at least one other area of their life, such as health, employment or housing; and 45% have cut down or gone without food.”
The branch is using its grant to help with staffing costs.
Crosslight Advice is always keen to hear from people who are interested in volunteering. You can find out more here.
When families find it difficult to meet basic needs, there is little money spare to spend on children’s activities. Nick Sazeides, Club Manager at The Sulgrave Youth Club, shares, “Without access to affordable activities outside of school, children and young people can become bored, frustrated and isolated at home, or at risk of negative peer pressure and potential anti-social behaviour if out on the streets.”
The Sulgrave Youth Club runs free after school and evening clubs for children and young people in Shepherds Bush, along with a range of low-cost activities, such as drama, taekwondo, maths & English, and roller skating. More than 650 children and young people attend every year and new members are always welcome.
Nick says, “HUC’s grant will give us a measure of financial certainty while we explore how we can maintain and extend our range of services, reach and connect further into the community, fulfil our vision to ‘remove the limits to young people’s lives’, and ensure we have a viable future as a stronger and more resilient organisation as we reach our 100th year in 2026.”
The Upper Room supports socially disadvantaged people, including those who are homeless, have been in prison or are affected by poverty. It offers a range of services, from providing hot meals, clean clothes and toiletries, to giving advice on benefits and finding a job. The charity’s UR4Driving project provides free driving lessons to ex-offenders to help them avoid being drawn back into crime. Participants also benefit from voluntary work, group workshops and informal mentoring from people with lived experience of the prison system.
HUC’s grant will help to support the charity’s core work, and also support the role out of new services. The Upper Room’s CEO Iain Cooper explains, “This grant will enable us to embed the good work we have done so far in establishing health-focused programmes addressing health inequalities, such as offering cancer screening for homeless people and working with high-risk groups to prevent suicide. We have been running a pilot suicide-prevention programme specifically targeted at middle-aged Polish men, which has proven a great success, and which we intend to run again and build in scope.”
Our Flexible 3 Year Grants will return next year. While this programme focuses on organisations that we already work with, we also offer Community Grants, which are open to other charities working in Hammersmith.
Derek sits on our Finance and Investment Committee. He brings with him 30 years of experience in property, investment finance and business development.
I’ve been a Hammersmith resident for a number of years. I grew up in a very diverse borough in North London, similar to Hammersmith. I started working as a chartered surveyor in my early 20s, then moved into strategy and analysis for 10 years for FTSE 100 companies. I wanted to gain a bit more global experience, so I applied for a role at an American company called Russell Investments. Long story short, I set up their European platform and team and, two promotions later, ended up in California, heading up their global real estate team. Having moved back to London, I now focus on helping to grow businesses. My current role is Managing Director of Investor Relations for The Valesco Group.
Hammersmith is home; it’s where my kids are being brought up. Living in America for a few years really made me appreciate London. It’s such a dynamic, exciting city, and I want to, albeit in a very small way, add value to it. I feel that my skills and experience in residential property, finance and investments can be of use to Hammersmith United Charities. I can also add value by picking up the phone and making introductions to help the charity build new relationships.
I’ve got three kids and two rescue dogs. My wife Suzanne and I enjoy walking the dogs together. Our kids are aged 10 to 15, so they’re becoming more independent, but my son and I spent a couple of days playing golf together recently. It’s rare that happens, but it’s always nice to dust the golf clubs off. My second eldest child is at ballet school in Hammersmith full-time as she wants to be a professional dancer.
We’re a very active family. I used to play squash a lot, but my joints aren’t what they used to be! I do enjoy riding my Brompton folding bike though, which I mainly use for commuting from work in the West End back home to Hammersmith. It’s a really interesting borough; I enjoy living here.
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