CCS Thatch Bulletin Summer Issue 2023

Thatch Thatch Bulletin Bulletin

AT THE HEART OF SOMERSET'S COMMUNITIES

Welcome to the Summer Thatch Bulletin

We're thrilled to bring you the latest updates, events, and stories from our vibrant communities. As the heart of Somerset beats with events in our community, multicultural festivals to outdoor adventures, this season is brimming with opportunities to embrace the joy of summer.

In this issue...

Hear from our CEO

Please tell us what you think!

Community Buildings Online Workshops

Somerset Diverse Communities Yeovil

Together & Small Grant Fund!

Upcoming Events

Cost of Living continues to rise

Summer Holiday support for families and much more from all the CCS teams!

Happy reading!

Hear from our CEO

At CCS we have begun the process of developing our new 5 year strategy in the last few months. With over 100 employees and so many organisations and individuals connected to us, this will be no mean feat to create over the next 6 months.

The first question we asked employees was ‘Sum up CCS in one word’. It will come as no surprise that ‘community’ was the number one response, with other words such as ‘connected’ and ‘together’ following fast behind. Community is at the heart of our work, whether it is supporting community buildings, and we are delighted to be able to continue to support with energy audits thanks to Somerset Community Foundation; or in the convening of large events such as Yeovil Together where local organisations

We want to hear from YOU our readers!

We are looking at working and communicating more efficiently across all of our programmes. One of the steps we are taking is to condense our newsletters and bulletins to reduce our duplicated content and increase the numbers of communities and people we reach.

Your opinion matters greatly to us, and we believe that your valuable feedback will play a pivotal role in shaping our decisions moving forward. By participating in this brief survey, you can help us understand how we can deliver content more efficiently.

We appreciate the time you take to complete this survey and contribute to our sustainability efforts.

Cost of Living Continues To Rise And Citizens Advice (CA) Are Here To Help

Household bills and the cost of essentials continue to rise, and CA knows how difficult this is. If you are struggling with the cost of living, you are not alone.

Citizens Advice can help with free advice from their specialist Cost of Living Response Team, countywide!

Providing a quality assured service, making sure that they understand all of your issues and doing everything they can to help. The advice they provide can be life changing; it can keep a family in their home, help with emergencies and support people to manage their household costs in difficult times.

Looking into options for increasing your income to see whether your household qualifies for additional help by checking your entitlements, CA can help you to manage your bills, rent arrears or other financial pressures you may have.

You can arrange a face-to-face meeting at any of the offices across Somerset if you are unable to use email or phone service for any reason.

Where necessary, they will offer follow-on advice arranged by your adviser. This can include emailing or posting the advice they have discussed.

Refugee Support

We are here to help!

Our Village Agents are conducting the compulsory welfare checks on behalf of the Local Authority.

Come along for advice, information and support for your move to Somerset and meet our friendly team and other agencies at our Somerset Welcome Hubs.

Find a Somerset Welcome Hub visit: www.ccslovesomerset.org/ukraine-refugees/

Please check our up to date map for all our Welcome Hubs across the county:https://tinyurl.com/mrya569e

In the last 6 months our Agents have distributed over 21k

directly to those who need it.

Thank you for everything you did to help me. After my email to you on Thursday I got my visa on Friday and was on my way to see my wife.

Ukrainian Client

Community Buildings Events

This workshop will look at reasons for incorporation, the different types of CIO and other incorporated options, what the change means and how the process works.

Yeovil Together - A celebration of cultural diversity

Yeovil Together started in 2021 and has now become an annual flagship cultural event in Yeovil. It succeeds in bringing the whole community together to encourage intercultural dialogue through music, dance, storytelling, family workshops and the sharing of food. This helps to break down barriers around ethnicity, race and culture and showcases the positive contributions of Yeovil’s ethnically diverse communities. In the first year the event attracted around 500 people, in its second year over 1700 and this year we had the pleasure of welcoming around 2000 people. The event is growing from strength to strength every year.

Authentic international cuisine was prepared in kitchens around Yeovil to share with the wider community. The food ranged from Indian street foods, Nigerian delicacies wrapped in banana leaves, traditional Syrian pastries, Guyanese cuisine and Ukrainian savouries. Something for everyone’s palate!

The performances at Yeovil Together 2023 predominantly consisted of talented, local groups and individuals from ethnically diverse communities. The contrast in performances ranged from Team Kerala, a dance group made up of Indian nurses performing classical Indian dance, to Kristian Polanski, a young person from Yeovil who is the current Polish Beatboxing Champion. There was something there for everyone of all ages to enjoy.

Yeovil Together continued...

Local schools also had an opportunity to shine at Yeovil Together 2023 by entering a performance at the event which asked them to explore multiculturalism on the main stage. This year we also introduced a competition for schools around multicultural artwork which was displayed as an art exhibition at the event. In total six of Yeovil’s primary and secondary schools participated and other local schools have already asked to be involved next year.

The first ever Yeovil Cricket Festival was also held at Yeovil Together 2023. This was jointly run by Yeovil Cricket Club and Somerset Cricket Foundation and enabled community groups to submit teams for a competitive mini tournament. With much excitement the Bengal Tigers won the Yeovil Together trophy.

Yeovil Together 2023 also welcomed Jennifer Achiro Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Somerset and also of Ugandan heritage and Yeovil Mayor, Andy Kendall who both commented on the vibrant atmosphere of the event.

The success of Yeovil Together is based on the collaboration between different ethnically diverse communities coming together and forming the Yeovil Together committee.

SOMERSET COUNCIL SURVEY NEEDS YOUR INPUT

Following local government reorganisation and the establishment of the new unitary authority, Somerset Council is looking at how to bring together the support for Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector which was funded by Somerset's district and county councils.

Part of this is understanding the types of support which groups have found most helpful, where the support came from, and whether there are gaps in the support currently available.

The Council will be in conversation with a range of groups over the coming weeks, and has produced a short survey to gather information from as many groups as possible.

Click here: Please complete the survey!

Somerset Community Foundation

Grants & Funds for Somerset

MainGrants- areforlocalgroupssotheycanprovidetheextrasupportthatsome peopleneedinourcommunity.Youcanaskforagrantofbetween£1,000and£5,000 fromhereifyourgroupisapplyingforfundingtosupportitsworkwithSomersetresidents ClickheretoapplybyFriday6October

SmallSparks–upto£500forindividuals(opennow)

InclusionGrants–upto£10,000forgroups(opennow) BigChanges–upto£100,000forgroups(openingsoon)

DiscoveryCommunityFund- createdtomakeSomersetthebestpossibleplacefor adultswithlearningdisabilitiesandautism.Itprovidesgrantstoindividualpeopleand organisationstomakethishappen.Thereare3differenttypesofgrants: Clickhereformoreinformation.

PreventingVictimsFund

ClickheretoexpressaninterestinthePreventingVictimsFundbyFriday25August

HinkleyPointCCommunityFundSmallGrant.Formoredetailsandtoapply ClickheretheapplicationdeadlineisWednesdaythe30thofAugust2023.

HighSheriffofSomersetCharitableTrust-Formoredetailsandtoapply ClickheretheapplicationdeadlineisFridaythe11thofAugust2023.

HighSheriffofSomersetCharitableTrust–Neighbourhood&PCSOPolicingFund FormoredetailsandclickheretheapplicationdeadlineisFridaythe11thofAugust2023.

Toseeallthegrantprogrammesthatareavailable,visitSomersetCommunity Foundation’s‘GrantstoGroups’webpage:

www.somersetcf.org.uk/grantfunding/grants-groups

Summer Activities

Somerset Holiday Activities and Food Programme Update

Across Somerset thousands of children who are eligible for Free School Meals benefitted from free fun activities during the Easter Holidays thanks to the Happy Healthy Holidays Somerset (HHHS) project. Somerset Council teamed up with Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) to deliver the programme across the county.

This summer will be the biggest yet with more than 100 venues (the most HHHS has ever had) offering even more variety of fun activities for children aged 5 to 16. Activities this year include water-based activities, performing arts, health and wellbeing, sports and much more!

This year, SASP is intending to fund 20,000 places across Somerset in the Summer 2023 programme. Activities start on Monday 24th July to Thursday 31st August where children can access 12 days of activities throughout the 6-week programme.

Bookings went live on Thursday 28th June where parents and carers can book using their unique booking code provided by their child’s school.

For further information please visit: www.sasp.co.uk/happy-healthyholidays

Other Somerset Holiday Activities Programmes:

Problem-solving, solutionfinding super heroes!

Updates from our Village & Community Agents

Mendip Team

NEWDROP-INS

Twonewpopupdrop-invenuesarenowavailableforMendipresidents.Thesearelocated inFromelibraryandSheptonMalletlibrary.

OurMendipVillageAgentteamscanassistwitharangeofdifferentenquires.Iftheycan't help,thenthey'llprobabyknowsomeonewhocan!

TinaHazelhurstwillbe atSheptonLibraryon the2ndFridayofeach month1pm-3pm.

NicEdwardswillbeat FromeLibraryonthe 1stWednesdayofeach month10am-12pm.

On the 14th of April Tina, our Village and Community Agent, attended an older driver event which was held Walton Village Hall in Street. Older drivers were able to come and see how well they are driving and test their reactions to the roads. For more information contact Tina.

Problem-solving, solutionfinding super heroes!

Updates from our Village & Community Agents

South Somerset Team

South Somerset Village and Community Agents have been attending a series of Dementia Wellbeing Roadshows across our locality along with CCS Carers Coordinator Emma McGarva and Carers Group Lead Cath Holloway. They have been available for information, signposting and advice along with other stall holders from many local teams/organisations here.

For information on upcoming events please call 01823 331222

Meeting members of our local community

Village Agent Pete Coller and Community Agent Wendy Rudd attended the ‘Chard Together’ event on 11th March at The Guildhall in Chard.

"Such a wonderful event to bring everyone together and an amazing array of foods and entertainment."

Problem-solving, solutionfinding super heroes!

Updates from our Village & Community Agents

Sedgemoor Team

In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to feel isolated and alone, especially if you're dealing with challenging situations. Whether you're struggling with a health issue, caring for a loved one, or just feeling overwhelmed, it's essential to have someone to talk to who understands what you're going through. That's where our Talking Cafés come in.

The Bridgwater Talking Café has moved! Now located in the Hembry Room at Westfield Church, Thursdays 10am -12pm it has been well received at its new venue, and attendees have praised its relaxed and non-judgmental atmosphere. Whether you need practical advice, emotional support, or just someone to talk to, the Talking Café is the perfect place to turn.

Village Agents Dan Bell and Debbie Harris, are both knowledgeable and compassionate, a great resource, connecting you with the right services and support. As part of the Agents service, the Talking Café is designed to provide a safe and supportive environment for people in the community who need a listening ear.

The Bridgwater Talking Café is just one of many Talking Cafés in the area. The Somerset Village and Community Agents service runs Talking Cafés throughout the region, providing a vital service to those who might otherwise feel isolated and alone. You can find details of all the Talking Cafés at

https://somersetagents.org/talkingcafes/.

The Somerset Village Agents service provides a range of services to support individuals and communities, including help with accessing healthcare, advice on benefits and housing, and support for carers.

Problem-solving, solutionfinding super heroes!

Updates from our Village & Community Agents

Taunton Team

The Taunton Village and Community Agents have been busy setting up new Talking Cafes, they now run from Wellington through locations across Taunton to North Curry, Fivehead and Burrowbridge on the East and Bishops Lydeard to the West. Please see the Talking Cafes calendar for full details, we very much look forward to welcoming you.

We are very pleased to be at the wonderful café at The Minster in Taunton. Here is Jacqui Young one of our Village Agents ready with a smile and lots of information.

ARMED FORCES DAY

Thanks to all who went along to the Somerset Armed Forces Day in Vivary Park this July. It was a great day and a good opportunity to let people know what we’re all about and the support that’s available for them.

Somerset Carers Groups

If you regularly look after someone, such as a friend or a family member, in an unpaid capacity, Somerset Carers can support you with advice and guidance. In association with Spark, we also run Carers Groups, online and face-to-face across the county.

Some groups also offer gentle and fun activities for the person who is cared for, such as cognitive and physical exercises, meaning attendees can come along without the stress and cost of finding alternative care. Groups in Yeovil, Shepton Mallet, Crewkerne and Keinton Mandeville can provide support for carers and the people they care for. For example, in the Yeovil group, those who are cared for can enjoy boccia (seated bowling) and coffee with the skilled team from Freedom Leisure, whilst carers can meet new people, chat and connect with others who care for their friends or family members.

You can find out about carers groups in your area by looking at the Carers Hub page on our website: somersetcarers.org/carers-hub/ or you can call us on: 0800 3168600.

Have you seen our newsletter for carers?

Wordsearches and quizzes

Apps to help you

Book recommendations

Courses and training

Focus on topics such as Dementia and well-being

Packed with advice, tips and more for carers in Somerset such as: Visit

What is a health walk?

It's a walk done on a regular basis for well-being, ranging from gentle, moderate to advanced. It can help you to feel good, to have more energy, to sleep better and to manage your weight. There are so many benefits from health walking - we're sure you'll see a difference in yourself even after your first walk!

Would you like to find out more about walking or where you can take part in Somerset?

For further information on health walks please contact Georgina Hainsby, Health Walks Coordinator, who will be happy to provide further information.

Georgina Hainsby on 07599 654679 or ghainsby@sasp.co.uk

Further information can be found on the Somerset Health Walks Facebook page

www.facebook.com/Somerset HealthWalks

To register for FREE Health Walks across Somerset please complete our registration form here

For more inspiration for activities in Somerset, please visit www.getoutsideinsomerset.co.uk/

The Somerset Diverse Communities Small Grant Fund is NOW OPEN for applications!

The application deadline has been extended to the 18th of August 2023.

TheSmallGrantFundisavailableforall communitygroups,charities,organisations, andagenciessupportingordirectlyworking withethnicallydiverseSomerset communities.

Prioritywillbegiventoapplicationsthat supportethnicallydiversecommunitiesto learnEnglish,reduceisolation,challenge raceorfaith-basedhatecrime,engage young/elderlypeopleandthe improvewellbeing.

Fullgrantinformationcanbefoundhere: https://ccslovesomerset.org/app/uploads/2 023/07/SDC-Funding-Information-2023July.pdf

Oryoucandownloadtheapplication formhere: https://tinyurl.com/3v86xcp6

Welookforwardto receivingyourapplications

The Somerset Project That’s Getting Farmers Talking

Farmers are being encouraged to share the load with people who ‘get it’.

Pop-up farmhouse kitchens have been appearing at agricultural markets and events across Somerset. Offering a friendly corner where the kettle is always on, the biscuits are aplenty, and farmers can drop in to offload with others who understand farming life.

As pressures on farming families continue to rise, who is looking out for them?

Farmerados hopes to be the answer to that question. Based on the principles of Camerados, a global social movement, Farmerados is aimed specifically at farmers and run by volunteers who understand agricultural life and know how tough it can be at times. Many farmers are struggling in silence with devastating consequences, but Farmerados believe that a conversation can have a big impact on somebody’s day by helping farmers to realise they are not alone and that sharing their worrisome load can really take some weight off.

To find out more about the project visit: www.farmerados.org

Or find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Farmerad0e

The team at Camerados have been highly supportive of the project, Founder Maff Potts had this to say:

"We love how Rupert and Farmerados have built on the Camerados idea and taken it to places we wouldn't have dreamt of. Brilliantly adapting our "public living rooms" into their "Farmhouse kitchens", they are using their great relationship with the farming community to put the kettle on and make a heck of difference ... We're incredibly proud to be shoulder to shoulder with them in this movement"

They don’t claim to be fixers, and the premise is simply about bringing farmers together in a welcoming and non-judgmental environment where they can talk openly.

The Crisis Fund

Crisis Fund

OurCCSAgentsworkwithpeoplewho findthemselvesinsituationsno-one shouldbein–withoutfood,heating,basic essentialsoratalife-changingmomentin theirlives,butpovertyoroverwhelmis preventingthemfrommovingforward.

People in crisis.

OurCrisisFundallowsAgentstoaccess fundstopayforthingstogetpeopleOUTof crisisandhelpmaketheirlivesinstantly better.

Weareindesperateneedoffundsforthe CrisisFundastheunprecedenteddemand hasdepletedourreserves.

Crisis Fund is not a cash grant, but allows for goods or services to be paid for.

It is NOT means tested, and is given at the discretion of the Village or Community Agent finding the need.

Community Volunteering & Services

Somerset Sight

Somerset Sight is a local charity that has been supporting sight impaired people across Somerset for over a hundred years and in 2019 they proudly won the Queens Award for Voluntary Service.

They offer many services of which one is the Volunteer Visiting Service, whereby volunteers are matched locally with a sight impaired person for regular visits to help with a variety of tasks and for comfort and support.

Full training is provided and they cover all reasonable expenses and hold monthly Social Groups for visually impaired people in various towns across Somerset. The service users come along to have a chat and a coffee, and they share ideas and information about living with sight loss.

They also have a Mobile Advisory Service which travels across the whole of Somerset offering information, advice and visual aids for people with sight loss. There are lots of helpful gadgets and interesting resources on board. The dates are on the website

Outings and events are arranged throughout the year for service users and volunteers. They deliver regular ‘Seeing Life Differently Days’ for people who are coming to terms with sight loss. Providing Low Vision Clinics and offer Emotional Support sessions via telephone.

There has been an increase in the use of IT by their service users, so they now offer IT support.

If you are interested in volunteering please call 01823 333818 to find out more or email; admin@somersetsight.org.uk

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