Monty’s Community Hub in Sholing, Southampton, offers a place for the whole community to meet, create, cook, eat, support, share and learn. Its collaborative ethos provides a space for people to share their skills and pick up new ones and among its community-led activities are a bike hub, lunch clubs and groups for young and old, mums, walkers, crafters and creatives. It has received several grants from HIWCF over the years to support its activities tackling poverty and inequality, health and wellbeing and flourishing communities.
If you are looking for community space that is bursting at the seams with activity, the ordinary looking storefront nestled among a parade of shops on a typical city suburb estate might not be what you are expecting.
But step inside Monty’s and it is apparent that this is a place whose walls echo with life, laughter and hope. For more than 10 years it has provided endless opportunities and possibilities for a community facing a number of challenges.
Tucked away on the eastern side of Southampton, Sholing is among the ten per cent of most deprived areas in the UK, the lowest 3 per cent for health and employment and the lowest 7 per cent of educational achievement. It has issues with anti-social behaviour and criminal gangs.
“This area does face some real challenges but I don’t love to dwell on them,” says hub manager Anna Jacklin. “There’s something about what we do at Monty’s which enables us to say, ‘well that’s not the whole story of this area’.
“Actually this area is full of people who are passionate about their community, who have skills, who can come and dream together about the changes that could happen and want to be part of that change and give their time and their skills and find a community here.”
The activities it provides are constantly evolving, inspired by perceived need and delivered through the skills of almost 100 volunteers and a dozen part-time staff. “We run a huge range and almost all of them have started because someone’s said ‘I’ve got an idea, do you think that would work?’” says Anna. “We say ‘let’s have a chat with some other people and see if there’s interest’ and if there is, it happens. And that’s where funders like HIWCF come in because they are vitally important in helping us get our groups up and running.”
An example of how activities take flight at Monty’s is Greta Rudak’s Create Your Calm mindful art group. Each month she oversees a creative art session that is more about the process than the result. “I show people how to be mindful using the power of creativity,” she says. “I focus more on the creation in present moment than the final result.
“We have some meditation as well so, it’s a really calming place to come in. And if you don’t want to create, because it can be scary, you can have a hot drink and observe.”
The trained artist says she has gained huge confidence from running the group and admits the Greta of today is a far cry from the anxious young mum who was too scared to even walk through Monty’s door five years ago.
“I had really high social anxiety and overall anxiety and I didn’t want to come in but I wanted to bring my son Cezary,” she recalls. She came to England from Poland in 2007 aged 15 and was bullied at school.
“I’ve always struggled since I was a kid and I didn’t really want to come in, but I was doing it for Cezary,” she says. “We were walking past the door for six weeks because we were so scared to come in.
“Then someone outside Monty’s started chatting to me and asked us in, I was really low with anxiety but I thought ‘this is for your son, you have to get through it because you don’t want him to struggle as well’.
“He was excited about coming in and started to play with the toys and I thought ‘he can do it, maybe I can do it as well’. Everyone was so friendly and I started to chat to other mums. I was afraid but it was nice. I wanted to be a part of it but I needed to get through my fear.”
Fast forward a year and Greta became a regular, with so much more confidence she suggested starting her art group. “I thought ‘maybe I can volunteer and bring something from my passion to this place, for this community’ and that’s how my Create Your Calm group was born,” she says.
“Anna was coming to my sessions and supporting me because I was still so afraid, but at the same time, I was passionate about bringing mindfulness into the community.”
Now she not only runs the group but has made such a valuable contribution to Monty’s she is also employed as a part-time administrator. “When I came through the door the first time, I was basically hiding in my own shadow because I didn’t want to see anyone – and now I work here and enjoy helping Monty’s run smoothly,” she says.
“Being a part of this has given me huge confidence. We have a community lunch and a few years ago I wouldn’t show up but now I speak to people. Because I feel more confident, I feel more open to trying things. Now I can see that I can be free and I can do whatever I want and not be in this little box. I can help others, and help others to help themselves as well.”
Greta’s story is typical of the roundabout route Monty’s volunteers take to becoming part of the group. Gill Gregory had been forced to leave her job with social services on medical grounds after struggling with arthritis and anxiety caused by confrontational nature of her role.
The former nurse became ever more isolated at home, trapped by her reduced mobility and her insecurities. Her husband Paul had already become a volunteer at Monty’s Bike Hub, which enlists a growing band of bike enthusiasts to repair and sell donated bikes, run bike-based youth activities, teach cycling skills in schools and lead community bike rides.
When their son Ollie decided to volunteer as well with the youth group, Gill gave him a lift. “I hadn’t realised about the community side of things here but while I was dropping Ollie off, Anna and I got chatting,” she says.
“She told me about their drop-in pantry on a Wednesday and I said I’d come in and help. While I was here I started helping people with filling out their PIP forms, writing letters to utility companies if they were behind on their bills, writing CVs and helping with job applications.
“It really helped people but I also got a lot out of it, I realised I wasn’t useless and I still had my brain and lots of knowledge that is useful.”
She progressed to helping out with Monty’s Majors, the weekly group for older people and has now become a trustee, making good use of her safeguarding experience.
“Monty’s has been a lifesaver for me and my family, it has been absolutely fantastic for my family to be volunteers, it’s given us so much,” she said. “It saved me because I was at a very, very low point.
“As a nurse, I knew that I was spiralling lower and lower, but I was refusing to go to the services that would help me because my former clients would be there too. Not only has Monty’s given me the ability to help others in a positive way, but it’s helped me with my mental health and with my mobility.”
Debbie Holmes arrived on Monty’s doorstep after being cajoled into coming by her family. “I was in quite a bad place” she recalls. “I had really bad mental and physical health and then my husband left, so I locked myself away and didn’t go outside my door. My mental health became worse and worse.”
After some initial contact with Monty’s through Zoom calls during the pandemic, Debbie, who has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD, summoned the courage to attend a group. “It was my niece, Chloe, who pushed me into coming,” she said. “So I did and now I come to Sunday Lunch Church, Community Lunch and the Walk and Wonder group.
“It’s been amazing and they’re so lovely here, it doesn’t matter what age you are, they treat everybody the same and they’re so welcoming. Everybody that walks through that door. They actually care about you and they take time to talk. If they see you down there, they will come and make sure that you’re okay.”
Anna’s gentle persuasiveness has led to Debbie volunteering at Monty’s Majors and children’s activities. “I’m not quite there with my health but I have been volunteering more because I feel comfortable and I enjoy it,” she says.
“Monty’s has been my lifesaver. When I was speaking to my psychiatrist he was saying he’s seen a change because they make you feel like you’re a person here and it feels like I’ve got a purpose. All my life people have told me I wasn’t good enough and I can’t do something – but this has proved that I’m not washed up because I’m nearly 60.”
Although Debbie still has anxiety about going anywhere unaccompanied, she sees Monty’s as a haven. “I don’t go anywhere on my own normally, but I know I can come here and it’s going to be fine,” she says.
“If I go anywhere else I’m always watching over my shoulder, thinking people are talking about me or they’re criticising. But here you’re treated as an equal, which is great, and this is my safe place. I know that I’m safe here.”
Each week Monty’s impacts the lives of more than 300 people of all ages through its groups and the Bike Hub. “There is something really magical here,” says Anna. “I often think there’s a bit of a alchemy in the way things happen. More often than sitting down and planning what’s next, things tend to emerge and grow and find their way. The right person always comes in to make these ideas happen.
“We’ve always said our vision is to help this area to flourish, and we often talk about being hyper-local, so we feel very locally rooted in this area.
“Flourishing is really important to me, that what goes on here is decided and designed by local people. It’s a lot about listening to people, they have so many ideas, solutions, skills and strengths. I love being able to bring them together to talk about the opportunities we have locally and the challenges people face and then think collaboratively about the positive things we can do to meet those challenges.”
Find out more about the group at montys.org.uk.
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