Darnall Well Being, a local, not-for-profit organisation has been providing health and wellbeing services in Darnall for the past 20 years. 

The Darnall neighbourhood is the third most deprived neighbourhood in Sheffield, with rates of ill-health, poverty, and low health literacy exceeding the city’s average levels.

The organisation was started by Dr Jack Czauderna, a GP, in a small shop and over the years has established itself as one of the leading community health projects in Sheffield. They provide a combination of services – support groups around issues like diabetes, dementia, physical activities like health walks, yoga, ‘chairobics’ as well as volunteering opportunities, local health campaigns, events and talks. Most services are run free or at a very low cost.

Communications Manager Frances Arnold says: “We don’t ask people — what’s the matter with you — we look at it as what matters to you.

“We work collectively and individually with people and help them manage their own health and wellbeing, because everyone’s different and different things work for different people.”

The demographic makeup of Darnall allows for a diverse staff, who are native to the area, multilingual and experienced, ready to deal with people from different cultures and ethnicities. It is their long standing in the community that has helped them to build trust and garner a lot of success. 

Over the course of 2023, the organisation ran over 300 group sessions, and had 1643 group attendances spanning 15+ ethnicities, ranging in age from 21 to 88. They also supported 296 people with one-to-one sessions. 

Alfred Sandy, Senior Health & Wellbeing Worker, who runs the weekly men’s health group, says: “It’s all about bringing in people in a space where they feel safe and where they can socialise.

“Being one of the people involved in running the organisation, it gives me a sense of making a difference to the community.”

With an ageing population, digital exclusion is a big issue in Darnall, but the team at Darnall Well Being make sure that support reaches those most in need no matter what. During the Covid pandemic, the staff opted for one-to-one phone calls to check on their regular attendees and help them stay healthy, while also delivering their newsletters to 8000 houses in Darnall for sharing Covid related information. They are also the only health organisation in Sheffield to conduct long Covid support groups.

Due to its popularity and tremendous success, Darnall Well Being have started running their men’s health group weekly instead of fortnightly. The sessions are held every Thursday from 12pm to 2 pm at Darnall Primary Care Centre. More information about their upcoming events can be found here.