Strengthening Communities: Supporting groups to develop community grown volunteers & initiatives. Matching of volunteers as a pathway to work or personal wellbeing. Grassroots support to create opportunities for sustainability for communities. Work with residents to understand and respond to community need and to celebrate local assets. Understanding of the needs of the community and working with the community to address them.
Cost of Living Crisis: Access to warm and welcoming spaces. Support with household budgeting and making your money go further. Cooking on a budget. Access to affordable & healthy food. Access to debt management & financial support. Using the District Council’s webpage and leaflet to signpost those struggling financially. Promoting the ‘Better points’ incentive travel scheme.
Mental Health: Promotion of Wellbeing for all through mentoring, Befriending, Social Prescribing. Providing advice & information and signposting/ referrals to appropriate agencies. Raising awareness of the 5 ways to wellbeing as part of self-help & resilience. Focus on resilience and prevention in the community, for example health lifestyles, mental health first aid training at neighbourhood level. Promoting of smoking cessation campaigns.
Physical Health: Support the Wellbeing Walks. Delivering affordable exercise, for example, chair exercises. Support programmes aimed at supporting, improving the mental and wellbeing of vulnerable individuals, support individuals to develop their food knowledge, cooking skills and confidence.
Isolation and Loneliness: Isolation – rural & urban. Access to services. Access to affordable transport. Positive activities. Befriending schemes. Supporting carers, particularly in rural areas. Delivering outreach by door-to-door knocking to identify those that re isolated. Target support to BAME Communities who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19. Targeting support those who remain isolated/isolating or in poor health.
Access to Support Services: Promoting the range of services on offer in community hubs. Responsive to community need in relation to accessing appropriate services. Identifying gaps and responding to the need in relation to accessing services, for example, recognising that not all people can access online support.
Fuel Poverty: Supporting delivery of WDC Fuel Poverty Strategy. Promoting the services being delivered by AoE to support those with Fuel Insecurity. Support the referrals of individuals to the AoE complex caseworker. Help to promote Green Homes Grants. Promoting the Heat for health initiative.
Digital Access and Outreach: Develop new models of communication – improve connectivity within communities. Improve online community information and advice to ensure that is clear and accessible. Ensure that information is regularly up-to-date. Develop innovative ways to communicate information, for example, use of images. Improving digital access by offering training to use computers and Smart phones.