A collage of pictures of some of our visitors, volunteers and staff - our Bearwood Hub community, at our Wednesday Warm Welcome, hosted at Bearwood Baptist Church.
Bearwood Community Hub CIC is a not-for-profit, community-led social enterprise running services and activities to improve people’s wellbeing, livelihoods and the local urban environment. We provide social activities, material support, information, advice and guidance, personal and professional development opportunities which address the poverty, insecurity and isolation that much of Smethwick faces. Bearwood Community Hub aims to consistently enable every person in Bearwood and surrounding areas to connect, collaborate and create in ways that are right and beneficial for them, and in ways that inspire and foster a greater sense of belonging, confidence, local ownership and autonomy.
Where can you find us?
Stay & Play at Bear Bookshop
Stay & Play is back at Bear Bookshop every Monday (term-time) 10:00 - 11:30am run by our wonderful volunteer Deeanne and Bear Bookshop owner Jenny!
Bring your little ones along for some fun, crafts, story-time and more!
Coworking at Bearwood Yoga
Bearwood Co-working, opposite the Post Office on Abbey Road, is a beautiful, cosy space, a little swish with a neighbourhood feel. Adjoined to Bearwood Yoga you can start your morning with a stretch before getting stuck into work or wind down your workday with an evening class (please note Yoga Classes are an additional cost).
If you’re new or want to try out the space then please get in touch with us before hand so we can make sure someone is in to greet you! After that you can drop in when it suits you and payments for sessions can be made using this webpage. We look forward to welcoming you.
The site of our new warm up and free shop - join us on Wednesdays! The image shows a bright hall pace, with rug and comfy chairs, bookshelves and a table with chairs surrounding.
Free Shop, Community Lunch and Warm Hub at Bearwood Baptist Church
We’re back for 2024! The Bearwood Hub team will be at Bearwood Baptist Church each Wednesday from 10th January, 11.30am-5pm. Come and grab a cuppa, join us for lunch, get the board games out or enjoy a book from our shared bookshelf. If you’d like to help organise the lunch or chat away with others, please come and join in.
Wellbeing Support Services at Bearwood Community Hub are available to all.
Listening Ear
This is a confidential space to offload and recharge in a non-judgemental environment.
Maddison, is our trained counsellor and life coach, and a woman of action with lots of life experience that she’s keen to share.
Here, we believe that talking about your emotions and mental health can help release pent-up stresses and feelings, leaving you with a more positive sense of wellbeing. If we can help in practical ways too, perhaps through coaching, or signposting to other agencies, free services or opportunities, we will.
No problem is too small, whether you are feeling sad, confused, worried, stuck in a rut or even if there are no problems at all and would just would like to talk. Our trained counsellor, Maddison, is available to listen every week during term time, Tuesday to Friday. Maddison works from a lovely therapy room in our coworking space at 28a Abbey Road.
Email, text or call Maddison at maddison.lifecoach@gmail.com or 07719732352
We look forward to listening and we’re grateful to SCVO and The National Lottery Community Fund for enabling us to continue this work.
Image by RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist on Unsplash. Image description: a colour-stained set of paintbrushes, with red, blues, black and turquoise paints.
Bring Your Own Art Club
is back in its usual slot of 11am - 1pm on a Wednesday at Warm Wednesdays and welcome to everyone from beginners to accomplished artists. Bring your own art and materials to work with. Share as much or as little as you like. Have a natter and a cuppa.
A crusty white loaf placed on crinkled brown paper, on a small garden table.
Bearwood Community Bakery
Unfortunately, our bakery is staying closed over September. The bakery team are meeting this month to review what’s next for the bakery project, how and whether it will continue or if it will evolve into something new. Watch this space for more news at the end of September.
The Bearwood Community Bakery is a social enterprise run by Refugee and Migrant Women who bake and sell delicious white, brown, mixed, soda, multigrain and multi-seed bread to order every Wednesday. They learnt from our wonderful tutor Albert Smith and are now going on to be paid tutors to a new cohort of trainee bakers.
The Bearwood Interesting Women podcast
Sarah-Ann Cromwell interviewed four local women social entrepreneurs who are redefining Bearwood post pandemic and asks them ‘have you always been can-do?’
For feel-good pandemic stories and inspiration click here to listen!
Know an interesting women? Click here to learn how to Digitise her Dialogue.
Our Mission
To consistently enable every child, young person and adult in Bearwood and surrounding areas to connect, collaborate and create in ways that are right and beneficial for them, and in ways that foster belonging, ownership and autonomy.