Our history
Sähëlï Hub started life in 1998 as ‘Sähëlï Women’s Group’ and was part of the Balsall Heath Forum initiative to set up resident’s groups in Balsall Heath.
The group met fortnightly and discussed the needs of local women. The founding members identified a need for a women-only facility, where women could meet and take part in health and fitness sessions and healthy lifestyle activities.
In October 1999, Sähëlï Women’s Group commissioned a feasibility study, funded by The Digbeth Trust,examining the establishment of a women’s centre in Balsall Heath.The study, by Lynne Howells,involvedover 200 local women through questionnaires and meetings. This demonstrated that local women overwhelming wanted a local facility that took into account the culturally sensitive needs of local Muslim women.
The study identified the primary activities in a women’s centre should be:
- Women-only swimming
- Health and fitness sessions
- Health and lifestyle information.
A crucial requirement would be that the centre should be run by women, for women. It would be locally based, fully accessible and with sessions at convenient times.
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In 2004, Sähëlï Women’s Group piloted an exercise and fitness program, through the Healthy Living Centre initiative, to see if ‘women only’ exercise classes and activities would work. The activities started one day a week, in the newly launched Learning Library at South Birmingham College’s Cannon Hill Training and Education Centre. By September, the sessions were so popular that Sähëlï was operating there Monday to Friday.
In 2005, Sähëlï secured grants from Sport England’s Active England fund: £218,000 for capital costs to extend the Learning Library into a fully functioning gym,plus £159,000 for staff and running costs forthree years. ‘The Adventure Hub’ was launched on 26 June 2006 – a health and fitness facility, with over 20 pieces of exercise equipment, changing rooms, a wooden sprung floor for exercise classes, showers and toilets.
Through the Adventure Hub, Sähëlï demonstrated that women do want to take part in exercise, fitness and sport and that Asian women would participate as long as the provision is culturally sensitive.
In 2007, wewere commissioned by Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust to work with 170 local women, supporting them to manage their long-term health conditions. By 2012,this support had extended to Birmingham East & North Primary Care Trust and we were working with 1,000 women each year.
In 2016, Sähëlï moved its services and activities to Calthorpe Play Centre. With support from Birmingham’s Wellbeing Service, site was renovated so that it could house our ‘BeActivePlus’ program of health and wellbeing activities.
Also in 2016, the assets, funds and projects of Sähëlï Women’s Group were transferred to the newly formed charitable company, Sähëlï Hub. Sähëlï Hub has grown into a strategic partner working with a range of partners to ensure all women have more opportunities to take part in exercise, fitness and sport in our great city of Birmingham.
In 2018, Sähëlï Hub started pioneering social prescribing,working with Primary Care Networks, GPs and other NHS partners to tackle health inequalities in inner city Birmingham.Most recently, this saw us launch our successful Culturally Appropriate Prevention of Diabetes (or CAPD) programme in East Birmingham, This service is based at Alum Rock Community Centre (known as ARCC), which we took over management of in 2023 with support from Clarion Futures.
These days, we’re offering programmes – the Sähëlï Way – in Alum Rock, Balsall Heath, Birchfield,Bordesley Green, Fox Hollies, Handsworth,Lozells,Sheldon, South Yardley, Small Heath, Sparkhill,Sparkbrook, Stetchford, Ward End, Washwood Heath and Weoley Castle – seven days a week, across the city.