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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
- Chief Executive Comment: The Budget
- Government - Local Sustainability Fund (LSF)
- Welcome to Our New Marketing and Communications Officer
- Skills and Enterprise: European Funding News Update – 1st June 2015
- Children and Young People: Staffordshire County Council Consultative Events - 'The Children's System'
- Health & Wellbeing:-
Health and Wellbeing Board Update
Healthwatch Drop-ins - Lichfield, Tamworth and South Staffs
RAWM Survey - Is the NHS Standard Contract a barrier to
commissioning VCS organisation?
Healthy Ageing in Staffordshire - A Call to Action
Healthwatch Annual Report
Investing in Healthy Communities – A Support Staffordshire and
VAST Initiative
- Safer Communities: Safer Neighbourhood Panels – Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stafford
- Volunteering: Investing in Volunteers
- Locality Updates:
Tamworth & District
Lichfield & District
East Staffordshire
Staffordshire Moorlands
Cannock & District
Stafford & District
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 THE BUDGET
...thoughts from the Chief Executive
Well I suppose the budget feels a little like a cake with both the icing and cherry on top, but when you bite into it, some of the cake is missing.
Here is the good stuff for the VCSE sector:
- If you employ staff in your charity, community group or social enterprise, from next April you can hold back on your first £3k of National Insurance contributions as an employer (that’s up from £2k at the moment).
- If you run a local Cadet unit or a Women’s refuge you might get a share of the new dedicated funding for your charities – this is in addition to the giveaway announced in march for Blood bikes and Search and Rescue teams. Although one can’t help feeling the Chancellor has his pet charities, which (with the exception of Women’s refuges) are closely aligned to government policies and departments. And after the broad based Sustainability Fund was halved last month, you can’t help feeling a little aggrieved that he can then dip into his pocket and find £50M for the Cadets specifically…
- There is a lot in here for the localism enthusiasts amongst us… it’s just that for some reason the Midlands seems not to have got its act together sufficiently to benefit from any of it as yet… did I mention the Chancellor happens to live in Manchester… ahem.
- Apprenticeships – lots of us work with young people and this seems a good idea, to charge big businesses and invest in the next generation – we await the details to see whether small employers including the VCSE sector will see any of the benefit.
And the not so good:
- The much anticipated hit on welfare was mostly explained with a freeze on working age benefits such as JSA.
- A hit on Employment Support Allowance where recipients are deemed capable of work; they now get no more support than an ordinary JSA recipient – despite the presumption that they were on ESA for a good reason in the first place?! This means about £30 a less per week than now.
- On top of that, young adults get the double whammy of no automatic entitlement to housing benefits until age 22 and no more grants for higher education – its loans all the way from now on.
Of course these things don’t hit VCSE organisations finances directly, but if not carefully implemented they probably mean a continuation of the ever rising demand we have all seen from beneficiary groups in our communities.
Many will say that we have to get rid of our ever accumulating national debts and they are right. Many will say we have to address some of the unfairness in society where those in work seem to get less than some on benefits and they would in part be right too. But for me this ‘crack down’ or the proverbial ‘stick’ of benefits cuts (which is what they are) can only be morally justified if it goes hand in hand with the proverbial ‘carrot’ that encourages work amongst those without the cultural, intergenerational or family history of work, most of us take for granted. And in addition the right support for those whose lives, through no fault of their own, are complicated such that getting a job is neither easy nor necessarily the most important thing. And this for me is the missing cake.
The Chancellor was vitriolic in his announcement of the ‘National Living Wage’ yesterday. But the reality is of a mere 40p increase in the minimum wage that falls far, far short of the actual proper Living Wage of £7.80. He only needed to add a pound to make that a reality. Neither is the calculation to be used reflective of the true cost of living. It is perhaps clearer than ever that it is local government, local communities and local business that must grasp the nettle and implement a proper Living Wage locally as we cannot rely on national government to accomplish this task… they can’t even bare someone else owning the brand any more.
If you would be interested in supporting a local Living Wage campaign, whatever your political or sectoral background, get in touch.
Garry Jones, Chief Executive
garry.jones@supportstaffordshire.org.uk
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Government - Local Sustainability Fund (LSF)
Charitable organisations given £20M boost by Government - Local Sustainability Fund (LSF) launched - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/charitable-organisations-given-20-million-boost-by-government
On 25 June, The Cabinet Office launched an initiative that will provide grants to increase the sustainability of around 250 organisations working in the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
The fund, which will be delivered by the Big Lottery Fund will provide grants that will enable recipients to implement organisational changes and access professional advice that might currently be out of their reach. It will give VCSEs access to a wider range of skills and support, with all grant recipients establishing a strong volunteering relationship with a local business. These cross sector relationships will help grant recipients to strengthen their resilience and long term sustainability.
The Local Sustainability Fund (LSF) will be £20 million of government funding delivered over 2 years, and will be available to medium-sized VCSE organisations that deliver vital support to vulnerable and disadvantaged people. Alongside working with local businesses, recipients will also work with skilled advisors so that the fund generates maximum impact.
It is expected to help around 250 high-impact charities and social enterprises in England to secure sustainable futures for themselves, including supporting them to bid for public service contracts and to diversify their incomes.
Full details of how to apply are on the Big Lottery Fund’s website
Eligible voluntary organisations can apply now. There are two elements to the first stage of the programme, an organisational diagnostic tool and an LSF eligibility checker to be found here: http://vcsediagnostic.org.uk/
For support in applying contact your local Support Staffordshire office or call us on 0300 777 1207.
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Welcome to Our New Marketing and Communications Officer
Our new Marketing and Communications Officer is now in post. Tina Bailey previously worked for South Warwickshire Tourism, the University of Warwick and IBM. She will be helping Support Staffordshire to communicate more effectively with the community about our work, including details of latest developments.
Exciting news!
Watch this space for new Twitter and Facebook accounts for Support Staffordshire offices throughout the county. Keeping you up-to-date with what matters!
Next month also sees the launch of our new website. This will keep evolving with the aim of providing an invaluable online resource for the community.
For marketing enquiries please contact Tina on 01543 303029.
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SKILLS AND ENTERPRISE
EUROPEAN FUNDING NEWS UPDATE - 1st JUNE 2015
The next meeting of the Stoke and Staffordshire LEP ESIF (European Structural and Investment Funds) Committee is 28th July 2015 so if you have any issues you want raising, or any questions about its activity, please contact your VCSE sector rep, Jill Norman at our Leek office on 01538 381356 or email her on jillnorman@smcvs.co.uk
ESF Building Better Opportunities programme
This is aimed at the social inclusion aspects of supporting people towards employment through voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector intervention. This week two workshops have been held – one in Stoke and one in Stafford – to bring together all VCSE organisations interested in delivering as part of this programme, to hear presentations from the two current potential consortium leads – Team Staffordshire and VAST.
Support Staffordshire is part of Team Staffordshire of which the other core partners are Staffordshire Community Foundation; Landau; Staffordshire Council for Voluntary Youth Services (SCVYS); and Sport across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (SASSOT) linked to a range of other key supporting partners including Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and some local authorities. The aim of Team Staffordshire is to facilitate the engagement of a wide range of relevant small and medium sized VCSEs with this ESF programme in a collaborative way. Before the end of July, Team Staffordshire will be contacting all those VCSE organisations which have expressed an interest so far, to ask them what their beneficiaries need and what they could deliver under this programme. If your organisation has not been involved so far but would like to be, contact Garry Jones on garry.jones@supportstaffordshire.org.uk
Whilst Building Better Opportunities is the EU fund most targeted at the VCSE (with its match funding from the Big Lottery), VCSE organisations can respond direct to EU funding calls if they deliver relevant services. More information can be found on www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds and also on the LEP’s website www.stokestaffslep.org.uk .
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STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL CONSULTATIVE EVENTS - The 'Children's System'
by Sandra Payne
Staffordshire County Council have initiated a series of consultative events about the ‘Children’s System’ in its widest sense. They are seeking to engage everyone who engages with children and their families and see it as following on from previous events about elements of the system, such as the Building Resilient Families and Communities (BRFC) event held in November 2014.
The purpose of the ongoing consultation is to explore how all agencies work together now and in future to deliver outcomes for children and families including through:
- Sharing the findings of some recent County Council research
- Understanding the case for change, building on learning from key initiatives (such as BRFC)
- Looking at what we all do well, what common challenges we have and what this means for future delivery
- Discussing how we may work differently together in future so that we maximise resources to deliver the best possible outcomes for children and families
- Considering how this agenda can be taken forward and owned locally
Support Staffordshire will be attending as many of the July events as possible, but have been critical of the extremely short notice offered to the sector for engaging in these events. With less than a week’s notice in some cases, we feel this is far from the ideal start to an ambitious programme of coproduction.
That said, the broader ethos is right and we hope to make the case for an ongoing dialogue in which more VCSE organisations can get involved – we will keep you posted. For a further conversation you can contact our Children and Young People’s lead, Sandra Payne 01543 303030 or sandrapayne@ldcvs.org.uk.
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HEALTH & WELLBEING BOARD UPDATE
by Garry Jones
Last time round I promised to raise the issue of representation at the county Health and Wellbeing Board with the county council. Having raised the matter at the VAST coordinated Staffordshire Voice Chief Officers Group, a small sector task group, including myself is now working up a proposal to the county council and the Health and Wellbeing Board outlining what the sector can offer and why we should have a voice at the table. We feel this is a more poisiitve and proactive way forward that seeks outline the genuine benefit of involving us.
On a related theme, I am exploring opportunities or lack thereof for sector involvement in the services primarily provided by Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Partnership NHS trust (known locally as SSOTP). As the county council has made a further 3 year agreement with SSOTP for delivery of their social care functions, it seems an apt time to understand where the sector is involved and where it could be better engaged. If you have a story, positive or critical about SSOTP’s work with the sector, I’d like to hear from you. This piece of work is at its very earliest stages.
For further information contact Garry Jones on 01543 303030 or at garry.jones@supportstaffordshire.org.uk
HEALTHWATCH DROP-INS - Lichfield, Tamworth and South Staffs
Healthwatch Staffordshire are holding a series of Healthwatch Drop-ins taking place at:-
Tamworth Library Lichfield Library. Please see flyers attached to the places above.
Further information about Healthwatch Staffordshire can be found at www.engagingcommunitiesstaffordshire.co.uk and www.healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk
RAWM SURVEY– Is the NHS Standard Contract a barrier to commissioning VCS organisation? (Deadline 27 July2015)
Regional Voices and the NHS have identified that VCSE organisations find the NHS Standard Contract a barrier to having their services commissioned by the NHS. Consequently NHS chief, Simon Stevens, committed to exploring a shorter version of the NHS Standard Contract for low-value contracts, in the NHS Five Year Forward View.
Regional Voices, working with NHS England, is carrying out this survey to help understand specific issues which organisations have experienced in using the NHS Standard Contract. The survey should take no more than 15 minutes. The survey will close at 10am on 27 July.
Take the survey about the NHS Standard Contract for VCSE organisations
More information about VCSE commissioning issues in health and wellbeing and the background to this work on the Standard Contract
HEALTHY AGEING IN STAFFORDSHIRE - A CALL TO ACTION
Following the publication of the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for Staffordshire, AGEUK and Staffordshire County Council, have issued an open invitation to their 'Healthy Ageing in Staffordshire - A Call to Action' event.
The event will take place on 30th September 2015 at Yarnfield Park, Yarnfield, Stone, Staffs, ST15 ONL.
Please see the attached flyer for details and save the date in your diaries.
The full programme, workshops and booking forms will follow shortly.
HEALTHWATCH ANNUAL REPORT
The Annual Report is available to download at http://healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk/annual-report-now-available/
INVESTING IN HEALTHY COMMUNITIES - A SUPPORT STAFFORDSHIRE AND VAST INITIATIVE
Following a successful consultation event last month, Support Staffordshire and VAST will shortly be jointly consulting on a draft Voluntary Sector Strategy entitled: Investing in Healthy Communities - A Strategy for Effective, Sustainable and Successful Commissioning by the Local NHS of the VCSE Sector in North Staffordshire.
The strategy gives an overview of the current relevant policy drivers within the NHS with a particular emphasis on new models of care, prevention and early intervention. It then explores how commissioners can get the best from investing in the sector before exploring potential models for investment.
In developing the strategy we have been keen avoid a prescriptive approach to investments as we know from experience that different challenges need different solutions and there is no one-size fits all solution, especially across communities as varied as they are in North Staffordshire.
Unfortunately, its not quite ready to share… but look out for it in the next couple of weeks. If you want to ensure you get sent a copy direct just email garry.jones@supportstaffordshire.org.uk with NS NHS Strategy in the subject line.
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SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD PANELS - LICHFIELD, NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME AND STAFFORD
The Police Crime Commissioner (PCC) is aiming for Staffordshire to be the most open and transparent police force in the country. Local ownership and accountability is central to this vision, whereby the public have a greater sense of confidence in policing. To enable this to happen, the PCC has implemented an initiative called ‘Safer Neighbourhood Panels’. The panels are designed to ensure that people are better informed and involved, that intelligence and information is shared appropriately and to build links and share areas of concern in local communities.
‘Safer Neighbourhood Panels’ have been piloted in three Districts. These initial pilots have been successful identifying lessons learnt that can now be incorporated into the wider rollout of the panels. Stafford Borough is next in line for the roll out. The aim and remit of the panels are:
- To act as a challenge and scrutiny for local policing
- To influence local policing and community safety
- Scrutinise the work of the police in the area
- Provide feedback to the community
- Examine the impact of community resolutions and restorative justice
The Briefing Paper is attached for your information.
Further details can be found on the PCC's website: http://www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk/safer-neighbourhood-panels./ (Additional information is also available under 'News and Blogs' on this website.)
Applications will be accepted between 29 June and 19 July.
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VOLUNTEERING
INVESTING IN VOLUNTEERS
The following organisations have successfully renewed or achieved the Investing in Volunteers standard this month. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who has supported these organisations and helped them to achieve accreditation!
- South Staffordshire Network for Mental Health (SSNMH)
- Accuro (Renewal)
- Brendoncare (Renewal)
- Prostate Cancer UK
Support Staffordshire are proud to have supported SSNMH through the accreditation process.
If you are interested in the Investing in Volunteers accreditation please phone Esther on 01785 413160 or email EstherBromley@smcvs.co.uk
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NEAR YOU: TAMWORTH & DISTRICT
Volunteering Fair
Support Staffordshire Tamworth held a successful Volunteering Fair on Friday 5th June.
It was a fantastic turn out on a glorious sunny day, with many organisations showcasing their good work.
Marri and her team would like to say a special thanks to Cllr Maureen Gant and her consort Ken Gant for opening the Volunteering Fair. They also spent time meeting with the organisations and finding out about the great work that they do.
Refreshments were provided by The Community Café and TCR FM provided great music and radio coverage throughout the day.
More great photos are available on the Support Staffordshire Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-Staffordshire-Tamworth/127524677444877
A huge thanks to all involved for making this event such a fantastic success!
 Volunteering For All – Tamworth
Support Staffordshire is also pleased to announce that Louise Cotton has joined us as the new 'Volunteering For All' Officer based in Tamworth.
Funded through Locality Commissioning, the project aims to promote and support a gentle and relaxed approach to encourage people with additional support needs to access and become involved in volunteering.
Volunteering For All believes that everyone has something to offer and they embrace diversity. Our aim is to help reduce social isolation, raise aspiration, build confidence and self-esteem, and enable supported volunteers to become actively involved within the community.
As our volunteers readily tell us “ we want to make new friends”.
We work one to one with participants to support their individual needs, helping them from the initial contact, for as long as they and their volunteering organisation require for them to feel comfortable, overcome any barriers, attend independently, and be able to positively contribute to their placement.
In addition we work closely with a wide range of agencies who refer new clients to the service and an excellent variety of fantastically supportive placements who benefit from having our volunteers placed with them.
If you are an organization, agency or individual who would like further information please contact me on 01827 709657 or email me on L.Cotton@tamworth-cvs.org.uk
To contact Support Staffordshire (Tamworth office) please call 01827 709657.
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NEAR YOU: LICHFIELD & DISTRICT
A Celebration of Volunteering in Lichfield
Support Staffordshire (Lichfield & District) Volunteer Centre
A Celebration of Volunteering event was held at the Guildhall where representatives from 21 organisations attended who set up displays to give visitors information about the work they carry out in the community and to encourage more people to get involved. Members of the public went along to the event on Thursday 18th June to find out more about volunteering in the Lichfield District and how to get involved – with a number of them signing up as volunteers there and then.
Organisations taking part included: St Giles Hospice; National Memorial Arboretum; South East Staffs Citizens Advice Bureau; Pathway Project; Wat Mahathat Temple; North Lichfield Initiative; Age UK South Staffs; Lichfield Mysteries; Newlife; Shugborough Hall; Curborough Community Association; Friends2Friends; Cruse Bereavement Support; Canal and River Trust; Fusion Credit Union; HomeStart; Erasmus Darwin House.
Read the full article here
If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved in volunteering contact Volunteer Centre Lichfield on 01543 303030 or email: joybiddell@ldcvs.org.uk www.supportstaffordshire.org.uk
Lichfield District Right Advice First Time (RAFT) – Showcase Event
On 2 July 2015 RAFT extended an open invite to their showcase event, to celebrate the achievements of the Lichfield District Right Advice First Time (RAFT) advice partnership project and similar projects across Staffordshire. The event was held at the Garrick Theatre, Lichfield.
During the event they shared their project successes, and examined the processes developed and the effect on various client groups. They were delighted that representatives from similar projects in Staffordshire were in attendance to share their experiences.
Further information about the SES and the event can be obtained from:-
Website: www.ses-cab.org
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sescab
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sescab
Funding Prospectus – Improving Wellbeing Lichfield District 2015-2018
Round 2 of funding is now available to apply for!
Four local public sector organisations, the District Council, the County Council, the Clinical Commissioning Group and Staffordshire Police (via the Police and Crime Commissioner) have brought together their funding and are using a single process to fund services and projects. As well as being able to bring together funding, this means that those wishing to apply for funding won’t have to complete multiple applications.
In round 1 of the Locality Grant Funding Process 13 projects were awarded funding totalling £331,600.
Round 2 has £126,400 of funding available for the following lots:
- Supporting our communities to promote health and wellbeing
- Bereavement Support
- Reducing Social Isolation
- Early intervention for young people
- Support for Victims of ASB
- Community support
Supporting our communities to promote health and wellbeing Download the prospectus and application here
WE WANT TO HELP!
Things to bear in mind:
- They are interested in what orgs can do to meet the outcomes.
- They would welcome joined up bids from a number of organisations.
- They will be happy to discuss further with potential bidder.
Get in touch if you want any advice regarding the application process or if you need a hand with the actual application even if you just need a fresh pair of eyes to read through the application! Email me at mitchellpayne@ldcvs.org.uk.
Burntwood Work Club
The Burntwood Work Club has now finished.
Support Staffordshire are however supporting some employability training which leads to an OCR Award. This training started on Tuesday 7th July however will continue for three more sessions (21 July, and 4 and 18 August).
Please see the attached flier for your information.
North Lichfield Work Club
The volunteers at Jigsaw will continue to operate the Work Club for the North Lichfield Initiative/Jigsaw organisation. Any enquiries should be directed to Colin Ball (colinball381@btinternet.com).
The work club will operate alternate Monday mornings from 9:30 – 12:00pm, with the next one being on Monday 20th July.
To contact Support Staffordshire (Lichfield office) please call 01543 303030.
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NEAR YOU: EAST STAFFORDSHIRE
Borough Councillors Induction
Support Staffordshire (East Staffs) attended an Induction session for newly elected Borough Councillors to explain the role of Support Staffordshire within the community, and detailed how we will be working in the future.
East Staffs Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Patient Board
Support Staffordshire (East Staffs) were also invited to join the East Staffs Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Patient Board. Jackie’s first meeting was on July 8th . Regular meetings will be held over the coming months, and our involvement will enable us to support our communities to have a voice and help shape health services in East Staffs. We will be providing updates on developments with the CCG.
This exciting initiative will be implemented on behalf of the voluntary sector, and will help to shape health services across East Staffordshire.
Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Improving Lives
Jackie also attended the CCG’s Improving Lives event on 7 July at Uttoxeter Leisure Centre. Health professionals and voluntary organisations discussed the CCG’s commissioning of Virgin Care to deliver health services for frail, elderly and long term conditions across East Staffordshire.
They are very keen to work with the voluntary sector, and Support Staffordshire will be playing a key role in ensuring contracts are accessible by the voluntary sector. Our work will involve helping to shape contracts, and supporting voluntary groups to tender for business.
As part of this we will be running ‘Prepare to Tender’ workshops in the autumn. More details will be released soon.
For further information please see the attached Improving Lives: Key Messages Update (13 July 2015) document.
Coming up!
July will see the re-introduction of two Voluntary sector forums (in Burton and Uttoxeter) which included the whole of the voluntary sector. These events will provide great opportunities to meet with both members and non-members of Support Staffordshire, and to discuss key topics in relation to volunteering and the community.
To contact Support Staffordshire (East Staffordshire office) please call 01283 543414.
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NEAR YOU: STAFFORDSHIRE MOORLANDS
Volunteers' Week 
Staffordshire Moorlands set up a stall in the famous Leek indoor trestle market during Volunteers' Week on 3rd June. Their aim was to raise the profile of volunteering in Leek, and also to get to know each other better as a team following several new appointments.
The Volunteer Centre team is (from left to right) – Judith Best (volunteer duty officer Newcastle), Ken Down (Locality Officer - North Staffs) and Tony Benn (volunteer duty officer Leek).
During the event they spoke to local people about the wide variety of volunteering opportunities available. Ken commented that he had been heartened to see so many members of the community enquiring about volunteering’.
NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE PATIENTS CONGRESS
NHS – Let’s Talk About Health
The South East Staffordshire and Seisdon Peninsula Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are hosting a series of public health events over the summer.
The events started on 7 July at the Holiday Inn in Tamworth, and will conclude on 10 September at Burntwood Rugby Club.
They will include a presentation on their current programmes and feedback is welcome.
Attendees are also invited to voice their opinions on local healthcare provision, and health issues including mental health and wellbeing. Your input will help the CCG make decisions about local healthcare needs and services.
To book a place book via their Eventbrite profile call Sherry Samaan on 01827 306170.
Please see the attached flyer for more information.
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/south-east-staffordshire-and-seisdon-peninsula-ccg-8206986559
To contact Support Staffordshire (Staffordshire Moorlands office) please call 01538 381356.
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NEAR YOU: CANNOCK & DISTRICT
Health and Wellbeing Initiative - 'Get Together'
April 2015 saw the start of the Health and Wellbeing initiative. Its aim is to set up 'Get Together' groups throughout Cannock Chase, who will provide support and friendship for vulnerable members of the community. It is hoped that individuals such as the elderly and those with physical or learning difficulties, will benefit greatly from this service.
There are currently 7 groups meeting on different days of the week, with some venues offering a lunch.
Activities are mainly craft based and are adapted to meet the needs of its members.
The overall aim of 'Get Together' is to guide and support its members and volunteers to take on the running of the group. By empowering and providing skills to its members, the group will be able to run itself, with additional support from Support Staffordshire and MHA (Burntwood Live at Home Scheme) where needed.
These groups have been very well attended, and in some cases are full to capacity. Support Staffordshire are however starting a new group at Longford Court in Cannock, in order to provide additional spaces for new members.
The new group will meet on Thursdays each week and anyone wanting more information about this should contact Donna Crowley or Zareena Khan on 01543 500404, (Monday to Friday).
Burntwood Work Club
The Burntwood Work Club has now finished.
Support Staffordshire are however supporting some employability training which leads to an OCR Award. This training started on Tuesday 7th July however will continue for three more sessions (21 July, and 4 and 18 August).
Please see the attached flier for your information.
To contact Support Staffordshire (Cannock office) please call 01543 500404.
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NEAR YOU: STAFFORD & DISTRICT
Branching Out Befriending Project
Stafford and Rural Homes and Support Staffordshire are delivering a new community based befriending service in Stafford Borough. The project will set up a network of volunteer befrienders to work with local people in providing activities aimed at improving employment opportunities and reducing loneliness in local communities.
Do you know someone who is passionate about:
- Supporting young people who are not in education, training or employment?
- Supporting unemployed adults who want to improve their health and wellbeing?
- Helping people in local communities access services to help improve their employment opportunities?
If so….. then get in touch for more information on 0800 111 4554 or email cp@sarh.co.uk
'Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Carers Hub’ contract
Staffordshire County Council have awarded the ‘Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Carers Hub’ contract to PeoplePlus (formally known as A4e).
PeoplePlus will be the lead provider, who will work in partnership with local organisations, including Crossroads Staffordshire, the Alzheimer’s Society, and the Stroke Association to improve outcomes for Carers across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
This is an extremely exciting change to the way that they deliver universal support to Carers locally, which has been jointly commissioned by Staffordshire County Council, Stoke City Council and all CCGs across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
There will be a 3 month mobilisation period and the Carers Hub will go live on the 1st October 2015.
Please see the attached briefing paper for further information.
To contact Support Staffordshire (Stafford office) please call 01785 413160.
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TRAINING
New Courses for Autumn 2015
Mid-August will see the launch of Support Staffordshire's exciting new range of courses. More details to follow...
For any training queries please contact Support Staffordshire at sbadmin@sdvs.org.uk
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JOBS
Training Support Officer
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Training Support Officer with Support Staffordshire.
Salary: £18,000
Hours: 37 hours a week
Location: Stafford (with travel around Staffordshire)
Are you passionate about training and learning?
If you have experience of supporting and administering a training or similar programme of activity this could be the role for you.
As part of a small training team, you will ensure the effective delivery of an important programme of volunteer and community based learning offered across the county from September.
For further details please see the attached Job Advert.
For an application pack, email rebeccadownes@ldvcs.org.uk or call Rebecca on 01543 303030.
Closing date: Monday 27 July 2015 at 5pm
Interview date: Friday 7 August 2015 in Stafford
The person appointed will require an enhanced DBS check |
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for voluntary and community organisations in Staffordshire.
