Bath 'girl gang' changing lives by tackling loneliness

'Girl gang' tackling loneliness and changing lives A woman has started a friendship club to tackle loneliness in young women in Bath.

Isobel Pinder, 24, from Bath, only started Let's Go Girls in May and already it has 175 members.

The group does different activities such as dog walks, embroidery, camping weekends and cocktail making to tackle feelings of isolation.

Molly Brown, 23, from Midsomer Norton, said the group had "changed her life".

Isobel said she struggled to find a female group of friends after spending her teenage years "consumed in music".

"I became very isolated at school and locked myself away in a practice room and ended up being on the outside of groups of girls.

"I decided that I was really missing something in my life. I had never had that female friendship.

"When I moved back to Bath after university I noticed there is a whole community of women that want to do meet ups," she said.

She set up Let's Go Girls to fill a "void" in her life.

Isobel, who is a country rock musician who performs under the name of Isobel Holly, said the group is for anyone who identifies as female.

"We've had such a lovely group of women come together, all from different backgrounds and ages, but all want the same things - which is that genuine connection.

"Female friendship stems around the idea of sisterhood and being able to share experiences.

"There is nothing like having a girl gang," she said.

Molly said the group has had a huge impact on her.

"I have been in some low places previously and it's really suddenly something to look forward to.

"I work for the ambulance service, and I don't have much time or the same time as other people.

"Let's Go Girls has given me something away from work. I very much found that I was in a position where I would go to work, I would come home and then I'd go to work again.

"But it has given me a group of people that I can go and just be a young female with and we can just go and enjoy something new.

"It gives my head a a break from work and that sort of escape."

She added the group had "definitely" helped her feelings of loneliness.

"I went straight into healthcare once I left school and became quite work focused.

"It was sort of like a realisation, that there are other people out there that feel the same way I do and we can actually communicate that quite comfortably, even though we struggle or have struggled previously to discuss that with the people already around us."

Molly joined the group on a camping weekend and said having women of all different ages come together and bond was "really touching".

Olivia Bevan, 26 from Staffordshire, said the group helped her come out of a "miserable time" when she first moved to Bath a year ago.

She said: "I'm quite a confident person, I don't usually struggle to make friends but I moved to Bath this time last year and in the first five months I really, really struggled to make friends.

"It was a combination of how I worked, a couple of days in an office and then a couple from home and I was living on my own.

"I was quite miserable for the first little bit of living in Bath, really lonely, and it was winter as well."

She went along to a Let's Go Girls meet up and immediately found friends, saying the range of events put on means it is accessible to everyone.

"It really works, I made lasting friendships from literally the first event that I attended.

"It has enriched my life in a really positive way. I'm not sure I would have made those friendships without this club."

'Lasting friendships' Isobel said many in the group have expressed feelings of isolation and wanting more in life.

She said: "We've been able to have some really honest and open conversations with each other about loneliness and isolation during these meet ups.

"I found trying to be an artist full time really really difficult, and it was messing with my mental health and I was lonely.

"Let's Go Girls has given me a new outlook on life. I think I've got such a beautiful support network of people now.

"It has changed my life, I now feel like I have a home in Bath, it's given me a purpose."

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