Local Area Coordination in England and Wales

May 2019

Updates on Local Area Coordination, the work of the Network and the areas implementing Local Area Coordination.
In this month's edition we'll be covering:

News from the Isle of Wight
Citizen Network webinars
Blogs
and more...

Resources on Local Area Coordination and/or Asset Based work

Social infrastructure: How shared spaces make communitities work
This report by Ambition for Ageing suggests that in order to reduce social isolation for older people we need a diversity of social infrastructure supporting the development and maintenance of different types and levels of social capital. Read the briefing and full report

Local Area Coordination has returned to the Isle of Wight!

Local Area Coordination was relaunched on the Isle of Wight at an event last month which was attended by Island stakeholders. The new community-owned organisation is called the 'LAC Isle of Wight Community Interest Company' and is headed up by five Directors, including Heather Rowell who ran the previous Local Area Coordination programme on the Island. Ralph Broad of Inclusive Neighbourhoods, is the organisation's patron.

There will be more to follow on this soon but in the meantime read the full news story

“It is an absolute privilege to be able to work with, and alongside the community to rebuild Local Area Coordination on the Island" - Heather Rowell, a founding Director of LAC-IW CIC

Citizen Network webinars

The Citizen Network are over half way through their webinar series on the 'Keys to Citizenship'. Watch the webinars here.

Individual webinar themes include:

Part 1 - An overview
Part 2 - Meaning
Part 3 - Freedom
Part 4 - Money
Part 5 - Help

There will be more to come over the coming months!

Disability rights handbook 2019-20

The disability rights handbook 2019-20 is now available to order. It is a guide to benefits and services for all disabled people, their families, carers and advisers.

The handbook has been fully updated for 2019/20 to incorporate Universal Credit. It includes information about:

Benefits for people living with health conditions, injury or disability and for carers, children and young people
How the system works, how to claim and how to challenge a decision
Support for people in education or work, not in work, looking for work or in retirement
Getting and paying for care and support services

Purchase your copy here

'Strengths-based approach' webinar by SCIE

There's still time to catch the Social Care Institute of Excellence's (SCIE) webinar from earlier this month about strengths-based approaches and the Department of Health and Social Care's guidance document which followed on from the 2017 report on strengths-based social work practice with adults.

The webinar covered:

A strengths-based practice framework
A supporting handbook showing what strengths-based practice is and how it fits with the law

Speakers included Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults and Ewan Kind, SCIE's Chief Operating Officer. Catch up on the webinar here

Useful blogs including Network members or allies

The real reason we still don't co-produce by Alex Fox
https://alexfoxblog.wordpress.com/2019/04/23/the-real-reasons-we-still-dont-co-produce/

Loneliness by Nigel Campbell (a podcast)
https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/future-curious/loneliness/

Social rejection doesn't only hurt, it kills by Elitsa Dermendzhiyska
https://aeon.co/essays/health-warning-social-rejection-doesnt-only-hurt-it-kills

The failure of competitive tendering by Simon Duffy
https://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/library/by-az/the-failure-of-competitive-tendering.html

How to get in touch

Email or phone Cat for general enquiries or to supply content for future editions of the Update:
cat@lacnetwork.org
07535381638

Email or phone Nick about work with members and about new work to embed Local Area Coordination in your area:
nick@lacnetwork.org
07407789130

Website: http://lacnetwork.org/
Facebook: @LACNetwork
Twitter: @LACNetworkUK

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The Local Area Coordination Network is hosted by Community Catalysts CIC who make sure that people, wherever they live, have real choice of great local social care, health services and other community resources.