the nest southwest community interest company
London
The Nest Southwest is a not-for-profit, social enterprise, community interest
company. It was set up in Devon by local women to support other women and girls
through the major life transitions of menstruation, pregnancy, birth and
menopause by providing social, emotional and informational support. From left to
right: Nancy, Jodie & Hazel are The Nest’s 3 co-directors. Scroll down the page
to read more about them and The Nest team. Our Vision & Mission Our vision is to
live in a world where women and girls feel empowered and fulfilled at each stage
of their life. We want to be part of creating a cohesive society where these
rites of passage are honoured as gateways of personal development as well as
biological milestones. Our mission is to provide social, emotional and
educational support, to improve well-being and self-esteem. We support women,
girls and people who menstruate through menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and
menopause. We believe in intersectional feminism by promoting gender justice and
racial justice. We are anti-racist and pro-trans rights. We believe in equality
for all genders. We offer compassionate peer support, and provide a safe,
nurturing environment to explore emotional and physical literacy as we pass
through these rites of passage. There is no right or wrong way to go through
these gateways, they are as individual as we are. But we don’t have to do it
alone. What a different place our world will be if we felt belonging, supported,
and respected as we welcomed ourselves to the next stage of life! Our History
The seeds of this dream had been swirling for some years before finding a place
to land. The Nest was officially registered as Community Interest Company in
October 2019 by Hazel Acland, Jodie Wilkerson and Nancy Osborne. Together they
launched their first project in March 2020 just as the covid-19 pandemic was
sweeping the world. Plans quickly adapted to this new reality and became a
weekly online wellbeing group to bring together pregnant and birthing people in
the Exeter and East Devon area. The group has evolved to create a perinatal peer
support network, training mums to support other mums through matrescence from
pregnancy to parenting. The Nest has grown in other areas as well – starting to
deliver services around menstruation and menopause support, with much more in
the pipeline! Equality We aim to create a safe and welcoming atmosphere. We want
to challenge all forms of oppression including those based on race, ethnicity,
nationality, faith, gender, sexuality, learning ability, physical impairment,
mental illness, age, occupation, income, or wealth. We aim to design our
activities, services and decision making processes specifically to encourage and
support participation from people who face disadvantage in society, including
women, girls, BME people, disabled people, LGBTQI+ people, and people on low
incomes. Safeguarding The Nest Southwest CIC is fully committed to safeguarding
children, young people and adults. We believe that safeguarding is of paramount
importance and that everyone has the right to be safe. We work hard to ensure
that The Nest protects and promotes the safety and well-being of all children,
young people and adults we work with. All our team members are trained in
safeguarding and child protection and have valid DBS checks. The Nest has a
designated safeguarding lead who oversees and regularly reviews our training
requirements and safeguarding policies. The Nest’s Safeguarding Lead is Jodie
Wilkerson (jodie.thenestsw@gmail.com).
