COMMUNITY HUBS NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2022

Welcome to the latest newsletter of the Community Hubs Development Project

COMMUNITY HUBS STEERING GROUP

The Steering Group has met only once since the last newsletter. For that meeting, we focused on looking at the project from a ‘whole systems’ perspective - i.e how is each member of the SG trying to change the way different parts of the system understand, engage with and support community-led action.

We heard about:

a training organised for the Prevention, Wellbeing and Communities Hub at Gloucestershire County Council on ‘How do we work with communities’ run by the Gloucester Community Building Collective
a task and finish group set up to raise the profile and voice of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) in the new Integrated Care System and the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that sets out key principles on how best to ensure the sector is represented across health and social care
different approaches to funding and working with communities within the NHS which includes criteria around voluntary sector support and whether it will have an impact on health inequalities
a training resource that’s been developed by a community hub for organisations who want to facilitate peer support groups for people with long Covid
a 6 week training programme for an emerging community hub in Stroud on themes such as active listening, the dynamics of power, how to build community and how to plan and put on a community event.

Steering group members have also been involved in:

providing feedback on the new Family Hubs commissioning process and ensuring the voices of community groups and organisations are heard
advocating the need for capacity building and greater involvement of the VCSE sector in the Levelling Up agenda.

RESOURCES

I have created a new page on the Creative Sustainability website here which aims to signpost community groups and hubs to free resources that hopefully will be useful now or in the future. The site will be updated once new materials and resources become available.

The page is divided into 7 sections to make it easy to navigate. These are intended to reflect the different stages of Hub development from 'Building Connections' through to 'Reflection'. This does not mean that community groups/hubs are expected to follow each stage through to the end. The idea is you pick and choose what is relevant to you/your group/hub.

I would really appreciate your feedback on both user friendliness AND content of the page. Is there anything that is missing? (e.g. I haven't added any tools or resources on data collection or evaluation so will be looking at this next.)

Is there anything you have developed yourself in your group/hub that can be uploaded as examples?

Please send your feedback to me at miranda@cscic.org

NEWS FROM THE NETWORK

A selection of photos on the making of four new murals at Nouncells Cross, Stroud, commissioned by Middle of the Hill Community Group.

New Mural at Nouncells Cross
Four lovely new murals are now in place in two passageways on the Nouncells Cross estate in Stroud, thanks to Middle of the Hill Community Group, who secured the funding from the Arts Council and commissioned the work from a local artist. The Group hope it will encourage more people to use the pathway through the estate and therefore support Active Travel (walking and cycling) and discourage anti-social behaviour. All four murals reflect the industrial and social history of the immediate and wider area. You can read more about this great collaborative project in this article in Stroud Times.

Cambridge University students visited All Pulling Together Community Hub in Stonehouse in early July, to spread their enthusiasm for science, engineering, chemistry, IT and maths. The CHaOS summer roadshow was attended by 28 children and 16 adults and it was a huge success.

Jubilee celebrations involving arts and crafts, a band, a raffle and a BBQ organised by Paganhill Community Group (with a surprise visit by HRH).

FREE TRAINING

Loan Shark Advice

As many as 1.08 million people in England could be in debt to an illegal money lender, commonly known as a loan shark. For this reason, free training has been organised by Trading Standards Southwest on how to spot a loan shark and what you can do to help those who may have borrowed from illegal lenders. To book a place, please follow the links below to Eventbrite. Once you have booked your place, you will be sent a link for the training before your session.

10-11am: Friday 12 Aug 2022 – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Thursday 18 Aug – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Tuesday 23 Aug – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Thursday 25 Aug – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Tuesday 6 Sept – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Thursday 8 Sept – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Tuesday 13 Sept – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Thursday 15 Sept – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Thursday 22 Sept – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Monday 26 Sept – click here to book your place.
10-11am: Wednesday 28 Sept – click here to book your place.

banner

Mental health awareness/Suicide awareness/prevention

The public health team in Gloucestershire County Council organises additional and bespoke training courses in mental health awareness, suicide awareness/ prevention, postvention and other areas.

These free courses are available to those working/volunteering in public and VCS sector and community groups, who come across members of the public.

For current training opportunities, click here.

Please email proudtolearn@gloucestershire.gov.uk to request a registration guide or call 01452 324306.

Dementia

24th August: 0930-1630: Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Road, Stroud. GL6 7QW

This training course is suitable for anyone working in health, social care and wider public services, including those in the voluntary and independent sector, and people who are caring for a person with dementia. You will learn how to describe dementia and the changing brain, understand the factors that can influence communication and interaction, support individuals with communication and interaction difficulties and understand the principles of person-centred care.

NB: You need to have done the online self-assessment dementia awareness training available on the Proud to Learn portal.

Accessibility

Barnwood's Activating Accessible Opportunities is a workshop for anyone wanting to make their activity more accessible. There are two more workshops planned for 2022 on Tuesday 13th September and Thursday 1st December. Click here for more details and to register your interest.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Gloucestershire Funders - This is a group of major funders who came together during the pandemic to simplify the application process for charities, people and groups. Barnwood Trust are currently acting as the central point of contact and applicants can submit their proposals thorughout the year. Gloucestershire Funders meet regularly and commit to responding to all applicants within one month of submission.

Community Ownership Fund (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) - The government is providing £150 million over 4 years to support community groups in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of being lost. Voluntary and community groups can bid for match funding to acquire important assets and run them for the benefit of the local community. Round 2 is now open with an updated application process, including the need to answer 26 questions in an Expression of Interest form at least three weeks before the deadline on 19 August 2022. Successful bidders from Round 1 can be seen here. There will be two more bidding rounds before the end of April 2023.

COMING UP.....

Community Hub meet up: The first of our informal community hub meet-ups is taking place on 17 August from 1400-1530 at The Keepers - Wotton Area Community Hub, Symn Lane, Wotton-under-Edge, Glos GL12 7BD. If you would like to join (all are welcome), please email me at miranda@cscic.org or just turn up. All are welcome!

Got ideas for what to do as part of the Great Big Green week running from 24 September to 2 October? If so, please share with me at miranda@cscic.org

And Finally

We are particularly keen to find out what's happening across the whole district and, where we can, support areas with no coverage.

If you would like your group or hub to join the network, or you have a story to share, please write to me here. A map of the existing network can be found here. We are particularly keen to find out what's happening across the whole district and where we can, support areas with no coverage.

Miranda
miranda@cscic.org

This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
Creative Sustainability · Fromehall Mill · Lodgemore Lane · Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 3EH · United Kingdom