Tag: community engagement

WhatsApp groups set up as communities pull together

“Street level” messenger groups are springing up across the UK as communities forge new relationships to help each other through the Coronavirus self-isolation crisis.

Messenger apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are being conscripted to connect whole streets worried about how to survive self-isolation and loneliness.

Young and old are uniting to help those without and those needing help and support at their time of need.

“A neighbour set up a group and we now have 10 of 12 houses on the street subscribed”, explains Jonathan Ratcliffe, who lives on Windermere Avenue in  Menston, Yorkshire.

Ratcliffe, who is currently running national office agency Offices.co.uk from home, has been in self-isolation since Monday juggling work and family life.

“We haven’t been to the shops this week, life is testing let’s say! John down the road asked on WhatsApp if anyone needed anything, and 30 minutes later we had bread, bananas and paracetamol – it really helps morale”, explained Jonathan.

Being able to draw on neighbours for help and social interaction is going to become a hallmark of the efforts needed to get the country through the next 12 weeks.

“No one knows where this is going and who might need help. We have a 10-week-old baby with a heart condition, and so we are being extra careful”, added Jonathan. “My neighbours help now will be paid back twice over when we are out of isolation– it’s lovely knowing that there is support on our doorstep should we need it”.

Other groups have sprung up locally in Menston supporting streets and even whole estates.

One such group has been set up covering Menston’s Moorfield Avenue by resident David Williams.

“We are in the process of setting up a WhatsApp group to cover our street,” David explained. “We started by dropping a note through everyone’s door, so they knew who to text to join the group. 

“We are then identifying those who need to self-isolate and pairing them up with people who can help out so people can self-organise as much as possible but also stay in touch as things develop.”

Zoe Edwards, who lives in the centre of the village, added: “We have done similar on our road although tricky when some people don’t use or have WhatsApp. We are trying to keep in touch with those people separately”.

The Windermere Avenue group: 10 houses have joined out of 12

  • 18 people have joined the group
  • Age ranges from 38 to 75
  • One house currently in self-isolation

Resident Alison Wilson in Menston is using the platform to forward-plan a big party to celebrate the community spirit locally in Menston: “Once this is over, we need a massive big street/village party to cheer ourselves up and thank everyone for their kindness and community spirit”.

“Creating support groups now is really important. Being able to ask for help should you need it is going to be a lifeline for many people, young and old – the love and support I’ve seen on our street for neighbours has been humbling”, concluded Jonathan.

Essential items packs available at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre

Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre’s essential items packs are ready to roll out. Please let us know if you know anyone who is elderly, isolated or vulnerable and would appreciate a pack being delivered to their door.

Alternatively, pass on our number to someone you think may need a pack and ask them to give us a call to arrange delivery. Not everyone has access to social media, so please help us spread the word and get a bag of essentials to someone who can’t get to the shops.

Our number is 315 4989 and someone will be here Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am – 4pm.

Essential packs consist of toilet roll, tissues, hand soap, long life milk, soup, porridge and several other food items. We can also pop in some wet wipes and toothpaste if needed.

New community takeaway service from Royston Wardieburn

The community centre has been organising a community lunch in the centre on a Thursday for the last month as part of a new initiative to promote our classes and groups. 

Unfortunately, we have had to cancel all our adult education groups and classes in the centre including our Thursday activities and sit down lunch.  We will, however, be providing a take away service on Wednesday and Thursdays between 12 and 2 for the next few weeks.

The freshly cooked food will be served in take-away containers and can be heated up at home or frozen for future use.  We have already paid for this food, so there will be no charge.

To protect yourself and others, please wash your hands carefully on entering the building and minimise your contact with others.

For people who are unable to pick up the food (ie over 70’s, people with health conditions,  families with sick children and people who are self-isolating) we will be offering a limited delivery service.

If there’s anyone you know who would benefit from this service, please ask them to get in touch  (email lynn.mccabe@ea.edin.sch.uk or phone the centre on 552 5700) and we will do what we can  to help.

A  meeting of local organisations to co-ordinate support across North Edinburgh will be taking place at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre at 2.30pm this afternoon and we hope to pull together an information sheet containing information on what services are available locally. 

Keep an eye on local facebook pages for future updates.

Community Health Matters

New course at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre

Community Health Matters: a new course starting at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre on Thursday 27 February.

Free Creche available – please book in advance.

For more info, call us on 0131 551 1671, or email:

lynn.mccabe@ea.edin.sch.uk
seanfitzharris2807@gmail.com

The Seven Kingdoms of Wester Hailes!

A TEAM of community researchers will join forces with academics to help improve their neighbourhood.

UK Research and Innovation yesterday announced its backing for the Seven Kingdoms of Wester Hailes, one of 53 new UK-wide projects worth £1.4million which will enable members of the public to actively contribute to research and innovation projects that affect their lives.

Part of the agency’s Enhancing place-based partnerships in public engagement programme, the project involves community partners working with Edinburgh Napier University to contribute to the local place plan being developed with support from the Scottish Government’s Chief Architect.

Wester Hailes is made up of seven distinct neighbourhoods: Calders, Clovenstone, Dumbryden, Hailesland, Harvester, Murrayburn, and Westburn.

Local residents there will get the opportunity to become community researchers, and get involved in a variety of placed-based activities with support from researchers from across the university. The work, backed by cutting-edge technology, will include virtual reality, oral and art-based storytelling projects and the creation of a book.

Previous research carried out by the university has shown that the seven neighbourhoods in Wester Hailes have a distinct identity, and the project will help local residents and organisations to better understand the challenges this presents and how creating a local place plan may help.

The collaborative approach in Seven Kingdoms of Wester Hailes – one of 25 place-based partnership projects to share a £500,000 funding pot – will bring new skills to the community and bolster its relationship with the university.

Project lead Dr Louise Todd, from the university’s Business School, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be leading on this fantastic public engagement and research initiative.

“This is an exciting interdisciplinary project that will involve researchers from across the whole university and at every stage in their academic career.

“Working with our network of community partners in Wester Hailes to co-create and co-design place-making activities, the project will be of tangible benefit to both the local community and to the university’s public engagement and research communities.” 

Dawn Smith, Edinburgh Napier’s Public Engagement Officer, said: “UKRI funding provides the opportunity to work collaboratively to support the community in developing its Place Plan, creating a legacy and a stronger relationship between local residents and the university.”

Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent the public spaces as the heart of every community, strengthening the connection between people and the places they share.

Tom Saunders, Head of Public Engagement with UK Research and Innovation, said: “This is one of 53 pilot projects that we have funded, all using exciting ways that researchers and innovators can involve the public in their work.

“In 2020 and beyond, we will build on the lessons we can learn through funding these pilot projects to help us achieve our ambition of making research and innovation responsive to the knowledge, priorities and values of society and open to participation by people from all backgrounds.”

The projects announced yesterday actively encourage people who would not usually get involved in research to take part in ground-breaking discovery and innovation.  They cover a diverse range of topics from plastic pollution to period poverty, and net zero carbon emissions to air quality.

Another project will see farmers working with researchers in Devon to make informed decisions on future land management to deliver carbon emission targets.

And homeless people in the north west of England will help the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Liverpool to explore women’s experiences and perspectives of managing menstruation while living in deprivation.

Community consultation tomorrow

The Local Conversation Community Forums in Bingham and Magdalene are inviting residents of Bingham and Magdalene to have their say on what the top priorities are in their area and what action should be taken on these in 2020 and beyond. 

Local Conversations is a People’s Health Trust’s initiative which involves supporting residents to develop a shared vision for their community and take local action on issues that matter to them. 

The project, supported by Community Renewal, has been ongoing since 2016/2017 and has already made significant contributions to the two neighbourhoods.

Funding will continue into 2020/2021 and Community Renewal and People’s Health Trust are inviting the residents to share their views on what has been achieved and set the priorities for the year ahead.

Community Renewal’s Project Lead Cris Thacker reflects: “The community has achieved so much since the Local Conversations began in 2016. Together we have refreshed the area, supporting the development of two community gardens, reviving a local newsletter, creating a mural in the bridge that connects Bingham with Niddrie and establishing a community cafe. 

“We have also established a community chest which has funded activities and events that have brought the community together. We are now ready to build on those successes and can’t wait to hear what the community want to do next.”

Alex Kearney, who supports the Local Conversations at People’s Health Trust’s added: “The Local Conversation in Bingham and the Local Conversation in Magdalene are at an exciting point; ready to build on the achievements residents in both communities have made so far.

“This event will be a great opportunity to check in with local people about what their top priorities are for their neighbourhood, and discuss how they can work together in 2020 to make Bingham and Magdalene an even better place to live.”

The event will take place on Saturday 1 February 10am – 1:30pm at the Jewel Miners Welfare Club. 

All are welcome and refreshments and a creche will be provided. Attendance is free but per-booking is required.

£eith chooses on Saturday

Saturday (1st February) will see Leithers flock to the Leith Community Centre in the Kirkgate to cast their votes for their favourite community projects at City of Edinburgh Council’s annual participatory budget event.

Those who live, work or volunteer in Leith will be able to vote for a variety of projects that address specific needs in the community;  the themes in 2020 being food and fighting loneliness.

The £eithChooses Steering group has been working for 10 months preparing for the event which will see £44,624 distributed – 20 local projects will be on hand to display and discuss their work with voters who need to be eight years old.

However, following last year’s popular ‘children’s’ vote, where those under 8 can vote for their choice of ‘best stall’, this will be repeated allowing youngsters to experience voting for the first time.  And, as another innovation, the Citadel Youth Social Media Team will be on hand to record the day.

Sally Millar, Leith Links Community Councillor and member of the Steering Group said: “This is a great fun community day out for finding out about all the brilliant community groups and projects operating in Leith, and for members of the Leith community to have their voices heard about local priorities.”

Cllr Susan Rae, Chair of £eith Chooses, is looking forward to voting day.  She said: “This is the culmination of 10 months’ work by a hugely dedicated, small team of community councillors, community education staff and volunteers, whose knowledge and understanding of the participatory budgeting process is unmatched.

It’s also an immensely enjoyable day when the community really come together, to talk, to network, to learn about each other’s lives and work. Everyone who is anyone in Leith will be in the Kirkgate Community Centre that day, and I am hugely grateful to the £eithChooses team for their commitment.’

Leith’s participatory budgeting event takes place from 11am – 3.30pm.

Skills development training for community activists

This course is for community activists and others who wish to develop and practice their skills in facilitating deliberative (e.g. citizens’ assembly type) events – for example to support the development of local climate emergency response plans. Continue reading Skills development training for community activists