A new manager has been appointed for a unique mental health charity which supports women and their children across the district.

Sheila Asgari-Tourzan took on the running of Shipley's Isis Project at the beginning of the year and aims to secure thousands of pounds in funding to extend the service for users.

The project is the only one of its kind across the district and caters for women suffering with varying degrees of mental distress, including post-natal depression.

Various sessions, including stress-busting, confidence-building and relaxation, are open to users. A support group is also held once a week.

The centre also houses a creche run by qualified staff that caters for children up to the age of five.

The centre has developed over the past 15 years after stemming from the nearby Cellar Project, which helps people with mental health problems.

Mrs Asgari-Tourzan now wants to expand the service to open from Monday to Friday, with weekly drop-in sessions.

She would also like to secure funding for extra staff, including outreach and development workers. She said: "One in four women experiences mental health problems, so it is really important to have this unique service managed by women for women in order that women can support each other.

"We have a proportion of women with prominent mental health problems. Post-natal depression is a huge issue, we will be looking at developing our service for new members.

"Women are referred from agencies, such as their GPs and health visitors, and we cater for women with or without children. This project gives women the opportunity to develop their potential in a safe environment, knowing their children are being looked after by qualified people.

"My job is to build up and develop the service. I came from working and teaching as a social worker and I established and managed health and family teams as part of Surestart, so I have worked a lot with women and children.

"This will give me an enormous amount of personal satisfaction - I feel like I have come home."

The secretary for Bradford Women's Aid also wants to re-brand the Isis service and may ask users to come up with a new logo.

She said: "It is really important to get them involved. Women are best placed to say what they want."

For more information about the Isis project, log on to www.isis project.co.uk or telephone (01274) 532858.

Other projects which support people with mental health issues in the Bradford area are:

  • MIND in Bradford - holds a women-only drop-in session on Fridays from 10.30am to 3pm, call (01274) 730815.
  • Guidelines telephone helpline for people with mental health problems - call (01274) 594594.
  • e-mail: mel.fairhurst@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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