Slough Innovation Fund 2025

The Slough Hub delivers community programmes that improve health, wellbeing, and opportunities for residents. Its initiatives include helping people overcome barriers to employment (DRIVE), promoting physical and mental wellbeing through activities like yoga and Zumba (BOOST), engaging communities in arts and culture (ArtScape), and fostering local pride and economic growth (IGNITE). Together, these programmes create a vibrant, supportive Slough where people can thrive

The Hub has become a lifeline for Slough residents, offering weekly, community-led sessions that bring people together to improve health and wellbeing. These free hubs provide gentle exercise, healthy cooking demonstrations, digital literacy support, and social connection—helping people manage long-term conditions, reduce isolation, and build confidence.

Pilots in Wexham and Britwell have been hugely successful, with over 60 attendees each week and strong demand for more sessions, including evenings and new locations. Feedback shows participants feel healthier, more connected, and more able to manage their wellbeing.

The Slough Community Support Café (SCSC) runs every Thursday, providing a warm, welcoming space for anyone in need—whether facing financial hardship, loneliness, or simply looking for advice. Guests enjoy unlimited refreshments, a freshly cooked two-course meal, and the chance to relax, read, play games, and socialise in a non-judgemental environment.

Volunteers are always on hand to listen and offer guidance, signposting guests to local services where needed. The café is also registered with Slough Foodbank, enabling it to issue food vouchers to those in crisis.

Beyond the café, SCSC provides free practical support with essential paperwork and applications, including benefits, housing, blue badges, grants, and more—removing barriers for those who need help the most. Evening and weekend appointments, as well as home visits, ensure the service is accessible to all.

Through compassionate support and community connection, SCSC is helping people feel valued, informed, and less isolated, while improving access to vital resources across Slough.

In Manor Park, Slough, two complementary programmes—the Elderly Lunch Club and the Ladies-Only Coffee Morning—have successfully enhanced the health, wellbeing, and social connections of South Asian (Pakistani) older adults and women.

Elderly Lunch Club

Running weekly 2-hour sessions for 30–40 participants, the Elderly Lunch Club provides nutritious, culturally appropriate three-course meals, including low-salt and diabetic-friendly options that respect halal dietary needs. Sessions combine gentle physical activity, monthly health education in Urdu and Punjabi, and social engagement through storytelling, nasheeds, and group discussions. Led by a trained coordinator and supported by volunteers, the club improves physical and mental wellbeing, fosters community connections, and enhances health literacy, particularly for participants with limited English skills.

Ladies-only Coffee Morning

The weekly women-only gatherings offer a safe, culturally sensitive space for South Asian Pakistani women to socialize, enjoy light refreshments, and participate in health talks, creative activities, and optional gentle exercise. Health sessions, delivered in Urdu and Punjabi, cover topics such as women’s health, stress management, and nutrition. Co-designed with local women, the programme promotes empowerment, mental wellbeing, and strong community bonds.

Together, these initiatives reduce social isolation, address health inequalities, and strengthen community cohesion, aligning with the One Slough Fund’s goals to build healthier, more connected communities in Slough’s diverse South Asian population.

Number 22 provides vital mental health counselling for people in Slough facing anxiety, depression, loneliness, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. With long waiting lists and high thresholds in statutory services, it bridges a critical gap and offers timely, face-to-face support in a safe, non-judgmental space.

This year funding has supported the Church Street service to run 5 days per week, doubling capacity to 103 sessions weekly to support over 900 people across the borough. Dedicated appointment makers and translated resources help to reduce barriers for hard-to-reach communities.  It’s also seen the introduction of targeted projects to tackle specific needs:

• Refugee Support – counselling within schools and Slough hotels
• Young People at Risk of Crime – early intervention to reduce vulnerability
• School Absenteeism – supporting emotional wellbeing for pupils with special educational needs
• Asian Women’s Support Line – a new pilot scheme offering culturally appropriate telephone support

By increasing capacity, strengthening partnerships, and focusing on inclusion, they are improving mental wellbeing, reducing isolation, and tackling health inequalities across Slough.

This programme successfully connected young people with broader conversations about climate change, community responsibility, and wellbeing, fostering understanding across generations and cultures. By encouraging dialogue and creative collaboration, it strengthened the sense of community and empowered participants to explore their role in environmental stewardship.

Over six one-hour sessions in each of four local schools, small groups of students engaged in thought-provoking discussions and produced iPad-based artworks and photographs reflecting themes of climate responsibility, planetary stewardship, and personal wellbeing. Their work became the centrepiece of a vibrant community focus event, bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds to share perspectives, celebrate creativity, and learn from one another.

Sessions were expertly guided by award-winning photographer and digital artist David Sparrow and qualified psychologist Emel Soylu, with additional support from school staff and volunteers.

Through the programme, students gained meaningful insights into inter-generational approaches to climate change, explored environmental stewardship from diverse faith perspectives, and discovered the links between green spaces and mental wellbeing. The initiative strengthened community cohesion, fostered respectful dialogue across cultural and generational lines, and inspired participants to act responsibly toward the environment while supporting wellbeing in their communities.