South London Listens: Be Well Case Study – St William of York (SWOY) Told through the experience of Janet Emmanuel, Be Well Leader

About St William of York’s Be Well Journey

 As a member of Citizens UK for over 15 years, our social justice group determined that the Be Well programme could be a meaningful way to nurture leaders equipped to serve and support our community.

We began with a Listening Campaign, grounded in relationship-building, to hear the hopes and concerns of our parishioners and to understand how these priorities were being lived and experienced.

Mental health and wellbeing emerged as the primary priority, closely connected to wider social challenges such as housing, migrant and racial justice, the living wage, and environmental issues.

With the support of the Be Well programme and the microgrant of £800, we trained 12 Be Well Champions who met regularly to identify, plan, and implement practical actions to support our community’s wellbeing. A core outcome of this work was empowering community members to determine the areas of focus most relevant to their needs, ensuring that initiatives were shaped by lived experience and local priorities.