Building her confidence and finding a community, Chantelle’s 100 Women journey
Chantelle, a mother of six, began her route to the 100 Women project through her connections with other women at a local baby group. Following the difficult birth of her youngest son, Chantelle felt isolated, haunted by past trauma and was suffering with her mental health. It was a meeting with her Health Visitor who recommended the group, that started to change this.
Chantelle
After finding the courage to join the baby group, Chantelle was delighted to see a familiar face: her old neighbour. Comforted by the friendly atmosphere and relatable women, Chantelle felt safe in the group. Her neighbour recommended that Chantelle join the Nurturing programme at her local Family Hub. The Nurture group was run by two women who inspired Chantelle, and the other mothers, by speaking honestly about their experiences of parenting. Much like the baby group, Nurture was a place where Chantelle felt she could be her true self. Chantelle noted that importance of representation, the fact that the women leading the group had local accents, similar to her, made her feel safe enough to open up.
The women running the group admitted when they made mistakes or had regrets with their parenting, and said this was okay. This was something Chantelle said she had never experienced throughout her own childhood and was wanted commit to unlearning and focussing on new knowledge. As well as learning parenting techniques, Chantelle also found a real sense of community and belonging in the group, forming strong bonds with the other women she met there. Together, they joined the Steps programme, run by Bristol Community Learning as part of the 100 Women project, which focusses on personal development and employability support for socially isolated women in South Bristol.
It was during Steps that Chantelle met Jaxx, Community Learning Tutor, and Helen, Community Learning Development Worker. Chantelle valued Jaxx and Helen’s maternal, caring natures, felt she could relate to them, and was soon open to accepting their help. In the Steps group, Chantelle felt she was learning so much from the women around her. They worked on their personal development through trips, setting goals for their futures, and running events, such as a free Mother’s Day event for women in the community.
Alongside this learning, Chantelle was starting to notice patterns in herself and the other women. She found that a lot of them had shared attributes and past experiences, including emotional comfort eating. Chantelle, who was beginning to investigate her own nutrition and healthy eating habits, brought her theories to the group for discussion. Jaxx, who has a qualification in nutrition herself, was very supportive of Chantelle’s ideas and encouraged her to explore them through further reading and research.
Chantelle, who was wondering what to do next with her career, met Ania, an Employment Navigator with the 100 Women project, around this time. Chantelle knew she wanted to find her future in nutrition – she had already been making changes to own diet and lifestyle and wanted to share what she had learnt with others.
“I know I want to help people.”
This was a guiding principle for Chantelle, and she approached Ania for help with how to build her career around this. Ania worked with Chantelle, offering her coaching support over multiple meetings. Ania worked flexibly and was able to meet Chantelle in settings that worked for her, including in play areas so that Chantelle’s children could be happy and looked after. Together, Ania and Chantelle explored different routes and built Chantelle’s CV. Ania recommended a free BrisBES “Introduction to Enterprise” business course so that Chantelle could launch her own business. Ania was an advocate for Chantelle:
“Ania believed in me and made me believe in myself.”
Chantelle also discovered the Nutritional Healing Foundation and really identified with the courses on offer, particularly the Level 6 diploma course in Nutritional Healing. However, she found that the cost was a barrier. With Ania’s continued support, they applied for a bursary. Ania was able to help Chantelle, who struggles with ADHD, focus by setting a deadline and having regular check ins. Chantelle’s application was successful and she has been enrolled on the course since April. In a year’s time, Chantelle is hoping to be a qualified Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist which involves therapeutic techniques to uncover and heal the root cause of common ailments, supported by detailed nutritional plans.
“I believe the body heals itself if we just allow it to. I want to help people who have come from what I call the ‘forgotten communities.’ I think there’s a lot of hopelessness in our area. [I’ve] started getting really passionate about how we can bring holistic healing to Knowle and Hartcliffe. How can we spread the awareness that you are what you eat? That’s not just a catchy little slogan, it’s true on a cellular level.”
As part of the work to the reach her local community, Chantelle took part in some research through the 100 Women project. Jaxx and another colleague, Bryony, invited Chantelle and other women from Community Learning groups, to come together and consider a question which they would explore. With the help of Bristol Women’s Voice, a charity that aims to make the views of women in Bristol heard, the group settled on “What support do people need to improve community wellbeing?”
The group took a survey out into the community and spoke to around 200 people, with the full findings being published in a report soon. Chantelle highlighted a lack of trust local people felt and a feeling of not knowing where to turn. Chantelle was shocked that people did not know about the support Bristol City Council can offer.
“There’s all this access to help and that is what people need because, it’s being facilitated by local people in the community. There’s a better world, there’s a better life for people.”
Equipped with her newfound business skills, increased confidence and growing passion for nutrition, Chantelle has worked towards bringing her learning to the communities she felt needed it most and created a plan for a free short course. Chantelle got in touch with Redcatch Community Garden, asking if they could display some leaflets for her. Instead, Redcatch offered to work with Chantelle and offer her course directly to their staff and volunteers. Chantelle worked with six women for eight weeks and was delighted with the experience she gained: “I feel like I’ve really helped some of the ladies and it taught me a lot as well.”
The experience of putting on this first course brought out a renewed enthusiasm for reaching disadvantaged communities:
“I want my business, or I want to find a way, to bring holistic healing to the people who actually really need it, not just the ones who can afford it.”
Alongside her studies, Chantelle has created her wellbeing coaching business, Rebel Souls Conscious Collective. This includes a 7 Day Gut Friendly Family Meal Plan which Chantelle has developed. Chantelle is keen to reach other women who may be in a similar situation to where she once was.
“I’ve seen so many mums who are just mums and feel like they are just mums. When you think about it, mums are the foundation of this world. Every single person that exists comes from a mum. That might be why I want to create this community, because other women might feel like me. I can’t be on my own, I cannot be the only homeschooling hippie in Knowle West!”
We asked Chantelle for some advice for other women who may be feeling hopeless:
“Look for your local Children Centre and look for connection. We need connection, especially as mums. We cannot do it alone. Sometimes strength comes from admitting that you’re struggling and saying, “I need some help please.” That is the strongest thing that you can do.”
If you would like to know more about the 100 Women Project, or sign up, visit our webpage: 100 Women – Employment, Skills and Learning
You can follow Chantelle at Rebel Souls Conscious Collective on Instagram.
