IMO Charity

Inspire Motivate Overcome (IMO) is a community third sector organisation, based in Blackburn with Darwen, East Lancashire. IMO is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. The charity has been in operation since 2006 and our current core mission has been to help local young people and their families to combat disadvantage, to overcome the difficult and different challenges they may face.

How we work

To support our core objectives, we have run a range of initiatives and services for within our local community. These relate to IMO’s three key strands to equip both young people and adults with the knowledge, skills and resilience to achieve the best for themselves.

IMO Charity also works collaboratively with a range of local and national organisations, spanning across public, private and voluntary sectors, all of which help to maximise the effectiveness of our services.

Why we’re needed

‘The demographics of Blackburn with Darwen indicate disproportionately high levels of deprivation, poor health and life expectancy as well as high unemployment compared with national figures. These are all part of the reason that IMO was established.

Deprivation

‘Blackburn is the 17th most deprived borough In England (out of 326)’
A third of the local population live in areas scoring in the top 10% of the entire country according to deprivation levels
50% of households within the area fall within the poorest Local Super Output Areas (LSOAs)

Young people within the area inordinately suffer the consequences of this deprivation.
Blackburn’s largely young demographic profile means the area has the highest percentage of under-18s in Western Europe and almost a third of the population under the age of 19.
Almost half of those of school age are from BAME backgrounds.

Child poverty is an ever-growing concern.
Blackburn has the 4th highest poverty rates in the North West.
As a result, most young people within the area are living in wards where poverty hovers around 45%.

Unemployment is thought to be disproportionately high compared to other areas in England and Wales.
One in five people living in Blackburn with Darwen are thought to be out of work.
According to DWP data, unemployment within BAME groups is 10% than in White social groups.

These demographics badly affect the children in the neighbourhoods IMO works with suffering from mental health, self-harm, poverty of expectation , low esteem/ambition, drugs, behaviour and chronic stress and under-achievement.

Health Inequalities

Mental health, obesity, and long-term illnesses such as; COPD, CVD, Cancers, Diabetes, blood-borne infectious diseases and dental health in children are the number one priority for Public Health.

The prevalence of recorded severe mental illness in Blackburn with Darwen is significantly high.
According to Public Health England, the area has the highest incidence of mental health issues in England and Wales, which are only exacerbated by pressure on the NHS.

Almost half the adult population and a quarter of children are overweight or obese.
33% of men and 45% of women are not active enough for good health.
Within the lowest economic groups, 47% of boys and 49% are deemed ‘inactive’.

Poor dental health is increasingly common
In 2021, 51% of five-year-olds in the borough had some form of tooth decay – the highest rate in the country at the time.

Diabetes is 8.5% higher than the national average.
Since 2022, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Blackburn with Darwen has risen from 11.840 to 12,648, which is higher than anywhere else in the North West.

People living in Blackburn have a significantly lower life expectancy than the national average.
This is even worse for those living in wards deemed to be suffering from high deprivation.

Our Supporters

Contact Us

Inspire Motivate Overcome
Unit 11, Business Development Centre,
Eanam Wharf,
Blackburn
BB1 5BL

01254 781 310
support@imocharity.org