'Monumental milestone' - South Shields women's health support service marks 40 years of help
South Shields womens’ help service marks their 40-year anniversary.
A South Tyneside women’s health and wellbeing support service has marked its past and present with a landmark anniversary celebration – while looking decidedly to the future.
Around 150 supporters of WHiST, or Women’s Health in South Tyneside, gathered to mark 40 years since its founding in 1986 with a milestone get-together.
Present at the Hedworth Hall event in South Shields, were past and present members and several of its 15 ‘Significant Women’ – those from the borough who have made notable contributions.
Charity founded by women working as volunteers
They included animator and illustrator Sheila Graber and Angela Oxberry, who was chief executive of WHiST for over 30 years.
The charity was founded by women working voluntarily to address gaps in health services and support for females – and fed up with not being listened to by medical professionals.
Its first volunteers gave advice and support from a shop in Flagg Court, off Ocean Road, South Shields, mostly around reproductive health.
The centre was open only one day a week and supported 50 women, but today a comprehensive, holistic “wrap-around” model of provision is delivered.
But bosses insist there is plenty more to come from an organisation that today helps thousands of women every year.
Top priority is the launch of its National Lottery Heritage Fund-backed Salus Heritage Project, which aims to record and archive WHiST’s four decade-long existence.
Corrine Devine, chief executive, said: “We are thrilled to be celebrating 40 years of supporting women in South Tyneside.
‘A monumental milestone’
“WHiST has grown from a volunteer-led organisation to one that employs 18 staff and delivers a huge range of services.
“Reaching 40 years is a monumental milestone for a community-led charity.
“The anniversary celebration is important because it acts as a powerful reminder of how much the community can achieve when women support each other.
“It honours the countless volunteers, staff members, and service users who have walked through the doors of WHiST since 1986.
“Furthermore, it shines a spotlight on the continuing need for women-centered services, helping to raise awareness, attract new volunteers, and secure the vital funding needed for hopefully the next 40 years.”
‘A safe, women-only space since 1986’
Corrine added: “In many ways the need for a safe, women-only space remains the same as in 1986. However, the specific challenges women face have shifted.
“Today, women are balancing work, parenting, caregiving for elderly or disabled relatives, financial survival, and physical and mental wellbeing—and WHiST has had to adapt its services to meet all of these demands simultaneously.”
The Salus Heritage Project is named after WHiST’s base, Salus House, in Mile End Road, with Salus also being the Roman goddess of health, wellbeing and social welfare.
Backed by a £215,140 lottery grant, it will honour the strength, diversity, and resilience of women who have helped to shape South Tyneside.
It will also record how lives have changed and how women have coped, thrived, and led change, while informing future services, heritage research, and community-led wellbeing across the region.
Without the funding, WHiST says a record of these voices could be lost forever and individuals’ stories remain unheard.
The project will document these social histories through themed workshops, oral history hubs and archive research.
It is being coordinated by community historian Dr Jude Murphy and will work with members, volunteers, staff and partner organisations.
Anyone who would like to support the scheme can contact Jude via [email protected], by phoning 0191 4546 959, via social media or by calling Salus House.