The Flowhesion Foundation was established in 2017 and operates as a CIO. The organisation is based in Burnley and their overall aim is to promote community cohesion.

Flowhesion Foundation has been supported by The Christal Foundation to deliver their ‘Hugs Not Drugs’ project – an anti-drug programme aimed at Pashtoon young people (11-17) over a 12-week period. Sessions delivered related to information about drugs, grooming, gang life, and sexual exploitation. Delivery of this project was bilingual, and participants were offered counselling alongside the workshops delivered

“I was happy to be able to ask lots of questions I had about drugs, the teacher was really engaging with us, the drugs box and beer goggles really made me think about harms of drugs as well as the survivor’s story”. – Participant’s Thoughts

90% of participants found the project sessions informative and effective, with 75% citing that they now know where to go to access further supported if needed. The organisation has reported high levels of attendance and consistent levels of engagement amongst participants. Overall, this project is to be considered a success, and somewhat of an ‘eyeopener’ within the locality.

There were no major challenges relating to the project’s delivery and content. Flowhesion Foundation has reported that parents and carers did have some questions and queries before the programme began, so parents were shown presentations and project materials that would be presented to the young people, and they were happy with the content.

The Flowhesion Foundation are well known and have a robust track record of supporting local people through a variety of projects and initiatives. The organisation has been successful in delivering nine grants since 2019 with funding secured from funders via CFLM to date. Other funders to support Flowhesion Foundation include The Hill Dickinson Foundation, The PHP Social Prescribing Fund and The Marsden Building Society Charitable Foundation.