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Action,Transformation and Power
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‘Before RE:generate I wasn’t doing much - there was nothing to do. I got in serious trouble, was with the wrong people. In fact, if it wasn’t for RE:generate I’d be in prison. Now I’ve moved away from them, set up my own project, volunteered, worked with the council on organising our network in the community and I am going back to college’ Andrew is one of the top offenders in Bath and North East Somerset. He has a long significant criminal record and has been targeted by the police for a number of years because of the enormous and negative impact he has had locally. RE:generate’s Community Animator met with Andrew 12 months ago. He expressed his concern at the lack of opportunities that he had that led him into a life of crime. He was desperate to get out of the situation that he was in but his peer group were pressuring him to stay involved. They felt safer with him in the gang and not outside it. The Animator built trust, respect and relationships with these young people and slowly introduced new opportunities on their terms. They were able to identify their needs, skills gaps and qualifications they wanted to work toward. Since building these relationships Andrew has effectively engaged with RE:generate by volunteering on local projects, trying to develop his own arts enterprise with the others looking on and slowly wanting to get involved. This has contributed to diverting them all away from crime. Andrew wanted to develop this to the point he would take part in a public art exhibition to showcase his talents. With support from a local philanthropist he was given a donation to purchase a lion sculpture that was to be painted as part of a local exhibition. These were auctioned to raise money for local charities as well as providing a return to Andrew who has used some of the income to develop his work. Andrew’s commitment to transform his personal situation has had a positive impact on his community. Crime has reduced by 80% and reducing the cost to the public purse by over £1million. This cashable saving gives the Local Authority leeway to spend more effectively on Animating and Organising. He has recently met with the Cabinet Member for Community Safety in B&NES and has agreed to transform his activities and continue building on his work individually and collaboratively in the community. He has provided a valuable contribution to the thinking of the Cabinet Member and has explained the reasons why people are led towards a life of crime which the Councillor will reflect on.
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Changes is a team that emerged as a direct result of RE:generate’s work. Using the Root Solution Listening Matters approach they have listened to over 600 people, built trust respect and relationships and provided a platform for people to have a direct say over the way their lives are organised and supported. They have enabled people to take action by providing opportunities for local people to: develop projects addressing local need volunteer for local initiatives create social enterprises that tackle concerns work with power structures to transform them meet with others to share the things that matter to them strengthen their voice to impact on service delivery They have developed a positive, creative and reflective dialogue with the Local Authority and other agencies. Using the results of Listening Matters they are developing a community charter that will transform the relationship between the Local Authority and Community and redesign the way services are delivered. They have built relationships with their local politicians that challenges them to take action, promotes accountability and enhances democracy. Local Councillor Paul Crossley said that, ‘Since starting this work two years ago I have seen a remarkable change in the community. People are now no longer accepting the blame culture. They are sharing their points of view and given practical and realistic solutions that the community and others can deliver on. It has created a powerful dynamic between the elected members and the community”. They have led the way in showing how deep and meaningful engagement with the local community can transform the way public services are delivered. Actions locally have been recognized and are transforming the way the Local Authority look at delivering community, youth and environmental services. Together, the team have analysed the opinions of over 600 people from their community. They have identified need and are developing initiatives in response. They are working on an action plan that includes exploring the possibility of an asset transfer of a local field from the Housing Association. The field will be used to develop a vibrant social enterprise that will provide a community café, opportunities to hire the field as an event space and a variety of settings for local adventure play. In addition they have developed a Community Raffle that will create an income stream for the group. Local people will be winners of the prize fund, 50% of the fortnightly pot will fund the efforts of the team. The Changes team have directly engaged people into taking action locally. Their systematic approach has challenged residents to take actions on the things that matter most to them. They have built up a team of volunteers and are continuing to identify individuals who will help. They have also built links to private sector organisations and won some support for their project developments from them. The work of organising and animating in the community has led to the Local Authority and agencies recognising that the “Root Solution - Listening Matters” process is a good strategy that will enable the council to properly engage people in the community and provide better for less. Councillor Francine Haeberling, leader of B&NES Council said, “Community spirit has improved and local people are taking ownership of the improvements and activities they want to see. This is an example of the direction in which the council is moving. In the future, the council will increasingly support local people to shape the sort of community they want to live in."
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‘I wouldn’t be doing anything were it not for RE:generate. I used to be depressed and sat at home. Now I have so much to do I am not sure where I find the time. It has given me a sense of direction.’ Elaine Thomas Proud of Your Doorstep (PoYD), an environmental project and social enterprise founded by Elaine, is having a dramatic impact. Since starting last year PoYD has engaged over 50 volunteers, contributed to a significant decline in the amount of litter and has almost removed flytipping from the local area. It has transformed the attitudes and behaviours of individuals who live in her local area. PoYD started when an Animator knocked on Elaine’s door. Despite being reluctant and skeptical to explore issues at first, the Animator started to slowly build trust and a relationship with Elaine. She encouraged a group of people to come together to meet to discuss the issues people were facing. This was a catalyst because people were all concerned about flytipping but couldn’t afford the cost of removing rubbish by other means. Together they started to develop a plan that would remove people’s unwanted items at a rate that they could afford. PoYD has been stimulating action in the local community through regular litter picks and in ‘Deep Clean Keep Clean’ events. In the last year they have supported residents to dispose of their unwanted bulky items. In fact, they removed 17.5 tonnes of it from households all over Whiteway at the last collection! They also encouraged over 40 households to start recycling. PoYD is expanding with financial backing from a FTSE 100 business as well as from local Sponsors including the Housing Association and local Councillors. They plan to introduce a membership option for residents. For a fee each year members will receive the added benefit of a discount card that will be accepted in a variety of shops and businesses in the area. Working with the Environmental Services team from B&NES Council, they are developing a new waste strategy because of the organised approach to residents who were concerned about the state of the community.
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Action for change - Improving Housing After being invited into a resident’s home, and as the listening conversation developed, the resident expressed her concern regarding the damp in her property that was leading to the mattress rotting, and a constant dampness in the air causing respiratory problems. The Animator encouraged the resident to draw people together that she knew who were suffering from the same issues. House meetings were organised and people joined the network to tackle a range of issues. The community spirit lifted. Together the team are developing a coordinated, strategic and organised approach to working with the Housing Association to tackle the problems. They join a city wide network and are organising a meeting with the Chief Executive of the Housing Association and Local Area Panel to debate the seriousness of the problems they face and to find acceptable Win - Win solutions.
Action for change - Developing Health and Wellbeing South Keynsham is an area where people are concerned about young people, anti-social behaviour, and a lack of cohesion between the generations. Applying the “Root Solution - Listening Matters” approach the Animator has built a network of over 500 people in under 10 months and has found key leaders who are developing projects including a gardening project for flats, an outdoor gym facility, free play for children (with plans to develop into a community food hub farm) and community resource space. The Animator is also working with a local GP whose ambition is to promote the development of Keynsham as a model “Town of Well Being” that will have interconnectivity and social development at the heart of it. This work will lead to a major initiative with GP practices across the area to explore how to tackle the broader determinants of ill health by using “Root Solution - Listening Matters”. It is the intention of the project to pilot the concept of having a Community Animator / Organiser attached to a General Practice which will be central to a preventative medicine strategy.
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Action for change - Creating Enterprise ‘When you walk past a garden you can say to your mates, I’ve done that. It makes you proud.’ Aidan is a 16 year old resident from Whiteway. He had poor school attendance and a difficult home life. He was not involved in the area but wanted to do something productive. He just didn’t have the opportunity or the know how! He volunteered as part of POYD and saw that a number of garden tools were being thrown away which he grabbed and recycled. He was now an equipped gardening entrepreneur. The results of listening highlighted the concerns people had about the untidy state of gardens. His client base is now growing through the Listening Matters network. He has used his experience of developing enterprise to find employment locally and is continuing to develop his gardening project to provide employment and potentially opportunities for others.
Action for change - Improving Wellbeing “One of the main reasons a lot of hairdressers and beauticians don’t get jobs after qualifying is because they do not have any salon experience. This project will help give people the experience they need.” Kayleigh, Co-founder RK Hair & Beauty emerged after the Animator listened to two women who were out of work and wanted to use their skills in hair and beauty to benefit their local community. Kayleigh and Roxy explored how there is a clear link between how people feel about their appearance and their well being and the impact that has on their outlook on life. Many people say that they feel more positive about their lives after a treatment. They have organised and run a number of pamper days which have been a success. They have added Keela to the team , another women with skills in photography. They are also developing their business plan, learning basic financial literacy skills, developing a marketing strategy around social media, and registering their enterprise at companies house. To develop this project they are using the Listening Matters network and process to grow a client base for their own hair, beauty and photography business. As well as providing affordable hair and beauty treatments to lowincome residents this project will support young people in the area who are not in education, training or employment to develop their associate talents further. RK Hair and Beauty want to offer training and apprenticeships.
Action for change - The Café. Katy Mallia, mother of 4, had a vision for an affordable café - a place where mothers could get together and children could play, where residents could get to know one without having to spend a lot of money. “There is nowhere to socialise in Snow Hill, no affordable place where parents can meet and children can play. Snow Hill is full of mothers who need something like this in the area.” Marita, Saffron Court Katy and a group of other women, found through listening work, set up a Community Café in the local church hall. Forging strong ties with St Swithin’s church, the “Snow Drop Café”, as it became known, brought residents together every week which solved the problem. This café did not only strengthen the community and create a space for kids to play together and mums to chat it also opened new relationship. A professional financial advisor who visited agreed to provide her services as a drop in money clinic free of charge for all residents who wanted it. The café also became an incubation space for other community projects to grow and develop. The team, now called the Snowdrops, is in the process of establishing a structure and researching funding for their own premises.
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Listening In Communities
Building TRUST
SUPPORTiNG ACTION
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