March 2022

54
Wanstead Village Directory
ANOTHER STEP FORWARD
Last year, April Mehmet founded Walk It Out, a project dedicated to
empowering women in Redbridge. With organised walks in Wanstead
now part of the initiative, more female mentors are needed
“I Getting out greatly improves our
look forward to my walks and feel
more confident talking in a group…
mental health and well-being… It is great
to meet others locally.” These are just some
of the comments from those taking part in
our Wanstead walks.
I founded Walk It Out back in April 2021,
aiming to empower young females and
women in Redbridge to improve their health
and well-being, to raise awareness through
female empowerment and, most importantly,
to tackle crime in the borough. What a journey
it’s been – a successful one. I wanted to share
this update with you since my last article in
the Wanstead Village Directory, and to reach
out to more females.
We are running several activities across
Redbridge and our park walks include a
Saturday morning event in Wanstead where
females come together to walk for an hour,
getting their 6,000 steps in, socialising and
sharing experiences. Joining is free and easy;
contact us for an enrolment form.
The Walk It Out mission is to strengthen the
voices of females, reduce anxiety, teach new
skills and build confidence in females to stand
up for themselves at home and in public.
Since launching the group, we have already
helped so many women in so many ways,
from getting back into education and work,
becoming healthier and better role models to
reminding them of their rights as women.
I have been thanked by the Mayor of
Redbridge for all the work I have been doing
in the community, which was a proud day for
me, and I have also been nominated in the
Mayor’s Community Awards 2022. Helping
females and seeing the positive effects has
really inspired me to continue helping the
group grow, so we can continue improving
the lives of women.
We have recently been working with local
police, teaching females to be assertive,
encouraging them to feel confident in
reporting crime and discussing safety issues.
We are in the process of applying for funding
so we are able to run activities, such as
self-defence classes, and we welcome any
donations to our JustGiving page. The
Redbridge Local Lottery has chosen us as one
of the organisations they support and we
have also been acknowledged by Redbridge
Council, now appearing in their Families
Information Direct (FiND) service.
We are now looking for more volunteer
mentors and admins to join our team, which
can be applied for through Redbridge CVS.
If you want to feel inspired, motivated and
empowered, contact us. The best project you’ll
ever work on is you!
For more information on how you
can join a walk or support the Walk It
Out initiative, call 07437 517 177, email
contactwalkitout@gmail.com or visit
wnstd.com/wio
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com