[REPORT TO LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP] ‘13
April ’12 – March ‘13 Prepared for: Prepared by: Date:
Local Strategic Partnership Paddy Bates, Marc Cantan and Hannah Terry 8 March 2013
Gravesend Community Organisers “restored pride to rat island”
Empowering people by building trust, respect and relationships in the Riverside Ward of Gravesend
Overview: As of 5 April 2012 Marc, Paddy and Hannah commenced work following an invitation from The Riverside Community Resource Trust to explore new approaches to engaging local communities and involving them to improve public services and local quality of life. Our focus was to engage residents of the Northcourt Estate at a grass-roots, doorstep level and to empower them to have a voice, raise their pride in themselves and the area in which they live. As Community Organisers, using RE:generate’s Listening Matters process1, we met and engaged people from across the Riverside Ward. By listening to the residents of the Northcourt Estate and systematically identifying the positive aspects of the areas’ culture and community, as well as their concerns, frustrations and aspirations the listening interview has led to people promising to take positive action locally. This action has taken numerous forms; people have become customers or clients of a local project that will tackle major concerns or maybe even set one up, ‘Listen’ in the local community, be a supporter of the wider network, and take up training or employment opportunities. To date, we have managed to listen to 750 people and built a network of active leaders who are driving positive action, project leaders and listeners. These people are starting to manage the network of people by using the information to inform their own projects as well as identifying customers, clients and supports for the wider work. People have been listened to in a variety of locations; in their homes, on the street, in bars and cafes, in schools, in the community centre, in parks, football fields and the promenade.
“ The community organisers are the glue that’s helped bring this community together and achieved great things in the last 10 months” – Mary Cresswell, Centre Manager, Riverside Community Resource Trust
Key facts and figures: Total number of houses: 460 Listening Matters:
95% of households contacted. 750 people listened to 99% of people feel they don’t have a say in their area 95% of people want a say in their area in some way Over 70 have been active 15 are project leaders
Volunteering
30 active volunteers 50 total volunteers Over 1212 volunteer hours
Projects
35 explored 4 in development stage 12 in an advanced stage or have delivered a pilot
In areas where people are less satisfied with where they live a greater desire has been shown to lead on new projects. People want to start to work together to tackle their concerns and build on what others love about the area.
Listening Matters is a process that focuses on building trust, respect and relationships with local residents and identifies people who are prepared to look for solutions and to take action to tackle problems and issues that they face. 1
Early success A community organiser carried out a listening with a resident who was concerned about the community's reputation and also the increasing amount of rubbish on the road she lived. She was very motivated and really wanted to bring a difference to the estate. This person brought together friends and neighbours who shared her concerns and wanted to take action.
The amount of people that came out to help the street clean was outstanding, children and young people were first to get involved, shortly followed by the parents. They even began to cut the grass, as they had complained that the council had been avoiding it. Everyone was so proud of the work that they had done, their attitudes were rubbing off on to others and some of the apathetic residents where starting to have a different attitude to making a difference. The follow on to this event was that the children of the road would design a poster to promote keeping the street clean.
The winning poster was put in our newsletter and the community's own newsletter. The young girl was very proud to have won that she even took it to school to show her friends. Some people at first were apathetic to making a change to the area, but through this action, residents have seen that they themselves can bring about positive outcomes. This street clean is now conducted every Sunday with new people and streets joining every month. “Since becoming a Volunteer Community Organiser, I now have the confidence and pride to speak up in meetings, and I know I have the respect from others that I can speak freely and openly.” Sami – Resident, Thistle Road
Peoples’ Stories Through using RSLM, our work links people’s personal growth to local action that impacts on the way communities operate. This transformative approach is exemplified by the following case studies.
Case Study 1: From work placement, to volunteering to Community Organising Personal Growth
Local Action
Impact on wider society
When Hannah became a Volunteer Community Organiser she was on Job Seekers Allowance looking desperately for a job. She was feeling down and had very low self - esteem. After a few months of being on a work placement at the Riverside Centre, she was listened to by a CO, and through the listening, found that she had the power to make a difference where she lived and knew she did have a voice but just needed to use it.
After 1 month of being a VCO she was actively involved in listening and talking to new people. Knowing that every door had a different story behind it, different opinions, different genders, different ages, different ethnicities and different experiences gave her such enthusiasm to want to listen to more people, but there was one thing that she saw that really did bring them together, the fact that they had never been listened to and that they all wanted a voice and just like her they were waiting to feel empowered enough to make a change. She felt so much happier and so much more motivated knowing that she could support someone to make a difference in their lives as much as the CO did to hers.
She became interested in going further afield and helping out in other ways, she started to help facilitate workshops on R.S.L.M in schools and carried out listenings with people from other estates. When an opportunity opened up on the Community Organising team she leapt at the chance and is regularly used as an inspirational model for organisers and volunteers across the country of how RSLM can truly change lives.
“Since I have been a Volunteer Community Organiser, I have gained strength and confidence to achieve personal and community based goals.” - Cheryl, resident of Thistle Road
Case Study 2: Volunteer and Project Leader – Local Resident (Thistle Road)
Very shortly after the original street clean, one of the community organisers knocked on Cheryl’s door. She had a lot to say and not much of it was positive. When asked if she was aware of the street clean her comments included, “Who do these people think they are, getting on their high horse,” and, “It’ll never work here.” When Cheryl’s daughter came home as the winner of the “design a street clean poster” competition her attitude began to change. She would say hi to the organisers when they passed in the street and ask what projects they were working on. She started to see the difference that can be made when people work together. It was not long before Cheryl became a fully - fledged volunteer. Half a year later she had helped create a community choir and led it every Friday night. She runs the community coffee morning every Monday and was the events co-ordinator behind a Halloween craft night, family fun day and the Christmas Grotto. She is also out listening to residents of the estate every week, giving them the opportunity to have their voice heard and make a difference.
Case Study 3: Project Leader and 20-year-old resident James, or Jim as we know him, was engaged early on in the listening process. His thoughts about the area he lives in sparked his own ideas about what was missing on the North Court estate, which highlighted to him a need of activities in the area for the teenagers and young adults. Jim came to his own conclusion that an estate football team should be set up. That’s when the Community Organiser softly challenged Jim saying nothing was stopping a team getting up and running apart from individuals being organised to initiate it. Jim went about the job to get young community members involved in an estate team. They have currently been running two training sessions a week have the support of two volunteer managers and one volunteer coach from the estate, the support of the Community 1st Panel and eighteen team members from the ages of sixteen to twenty-two.
One big highlight for the team was when Nick Hurd, Cabinet Minister for the Office of Civil Society visited the estate to see the work that had done and met everyone involved in the team.
“Since the Community Organisers engaged me, I felt the support and encouragement I needed to be motivated was there. Building trust and respect reinforced this and with the football team up and running I am now seeing lines of communication between various age groups which wasn’t there before. What a positive impact!” Jim– Resident, Shamrock Road
Case Study 4: A Family Engaged The Root Solution Listening Matters process is about motivating people to make a positive change in their local area. However it does not only motivate people to make a change in their community but also effects individual's personal growth and confidence. This has been shown with one family who felt very isolated and did not feel comfortable in their own home. Through a listening, Mary mother of 3 said that one of her main concerns was safety and intimidation as this has previously affected her son through bullying on the estate. A CO met Mary a few more times after that and started to build trust, respect and a relationship with her. After a few months, she started participating in community projects and events and soon became a volunteer. Through participating in the events, her confidence grew and she became less isolated and made new friends. After a while, her daughter also became a volunteer and has since been out listening herself. Mary’s husband and son caught the bug and became involved in the estate football team. On 30th January, Mary and her son were involved in a meeting with Nick Hurd, Minister for the Office of Civil Society who came to visit the estate and see for himself the success the Community Organisers have had. During this visit, Mary helped out in a street clean and her son was with the football team. A fully active community member, Mary is now regularly going to local businesses to help get equipment and other resources for the football team and the community projects.
‘“ I retired in August, I sat around for a month getting bored, thought there was more to life than sitting around doing nothing, decided to go up to the community centre to see if I could help in anyway, met Hannah, Paddy and Marc and they gave me an insight into RSLM and Community Organising. I met their volunteers and I liked what they stood for, this made me decide to get involved. I found that the voluntary work we are doing has given me a lot of satisfaction and made a lot of new friends on the estate, by talking to fellow residents about the work we are trying to do. The more people that join us the stronger we will become.” Des – Resident of Shamrock Road
Projects A number of project ideas have been explored over the course of our first year. These are reasons why crime is reducing, the streets are cleaner and people are getting involved as people feel like they can have a say over the services and activities in their area. Some of these projects are in the developmental stage, some are in the early delivery stages and some have been running for several months.
Project
Stage
Brief Description
Street Clean
Active 8 months
Family Sports Day
Seasonal
Teddy Bear’s Picnic
Seasonal
Raffle
Active 7 months
Estate Choir
Active 7 months
A weekly street clean that encourages people to have more pride in their road and keep the area clean. A competition for the best poster to promote cleaner streets was also produced. Equipment such as high visibility vests have been given through the Big Tidy Up programme and litter pickers have been provided by KCC Community Support Workers This was the first event organised by members of the community aimed at children. There were activities for all children such as face painting, obstacle races and running races. There were also free refreshments such as cakes and juice drinks. At the end of the event all the children got certificates for their participation. The next sports day is scheduled for July. A group of residents organised a free teddy bear’s picnic in the summer school holiday for children under 16. Nineteen families attended. The event included colouring in, hook-aduck, giant noughts and crosses and twister. All families brought lunch and children brought a bear. The next picnic is scheduled for August. An estate wide raffle was produced to generate an income to help support community projects. Along with two cash prizes, local businesses and residents donated prizes from chocolate boxes to ironing boards. A choir was produced based on the results of our volunteers listening to the community and seeing that such evening family activities were a priority for the young children on the
Coffee Morning
Active 6 months
IT/Employability Club
Active 6 months
Halloween Craft Night
Seasonal
Christmas Craft Day/Grotto
Seasonal
Denton Athletic Football Team
Active 2 months
Family Fun Day
Seasonal
Welfare Reform Awareness Evening
One off
Boxing Club
Development
Helicopter Club
Development
estate and their parents. The choir has grown from its first event and now has seven families attending weekly. Coffee morning is owned and run by residents on the estate. This project was organised through listening to elderly members of the estate and supporting them to get involved in the community. It is growing every month and is a genuine highlight of many residents’ week. The coffee mornings are free and there are free refreshments. Bingo costs ten pence. The IT/Employability club was organised to help people on the estate that wanted to improve their computer skills and also help people on job seekers allowance or people wanting a job to look for work or help them create a CV. Very soon it will expand to include help with driving theory. The Halloween event was organised by volunteers for all the children under 16 on the estate. It was an evening event held in the half term week as, through listenings, residents said a major concern was there being nothing for the children to do through school holidays. The event included face painting, apple bobbing, pumpkin carving, colouring sheets, biscuit decorating and guess the sweets in a jar. The Christmas Craft Day was organised for families on the estate to decorate Christmas baubles, Christmas cards and give an opportunity for the Choir to sing to the estate. The Grotto was organised for families to take their children to see Santa free of charge, but only charging 50p for a family photo. Every child under sixteen also received a free sweet cone from Santa. This event attracted over 350 community members and was entirely organised and run by volunteers. A few of the local young men on the estate wanted to have their own football team so, empowered and inspired by the Organisers, they went round and asked other young men on the estate if this would be something they would be interested in getting involved with. With the support of a CO, the football team is now up and running with 18 players and 3 volunteer coaches, all from the estate. This was organised by a team of residents to keep the children occupied through the half term week. They included card making for mothers’ day and a pool and table tennis table that the Organisers had sourced through donations. Through listening to their neighbours, the volunteers discovered a great deal of confusion and fear regarding the upcoming welfare reforms. They worked with local council and service providers to create an event where residents attended a presentation at the centre hall and had the opportunity to ask questions of local government officials. Some young men from the estate have shown interest in starting a Boxing Club. Through several meetings with the Organisers and the local collage, North West Kent, they have a facility and a trainer in place to launch this activity in the near future. Through listenings, several volunteers have found that there is an interest in model helicopters and how to fly them. They have had a lot of interest from young and older members of the estate and wish to start a club up for people to fly the
Literacy Project
Development
Mini Bus Service
Development
helicopters and learn the mechanics of them. This is due to launch in the next month. The organisers’ listenings have revealed a real desire for residents to improve their literacy skills. Through a partnership with a major schools software provider we are looking to run a pilot literacy program that will offer free access to a successful adult literacy system. This project has been organised on the feedback from the elder residents on the estate. Local residents have seen that it is hard for the elderly residents to get around and they asked if they could do anything to make it easier on them. They brought up the idea of a mini bus to take them shopping and bring them home once a week. Local residents have had meetings with local transport companies and are arranging this to start in May with qualified volunteer drivers with younger residents acting as support.
Impact Through using RSLM, our work is cross-cutting and holistic and is reducing crime, reducing social isolation and increasing the number of people who are taking positive action in their local communities. By engaging with people with where they are at and helping them to acknowledge their culture, experience, identify their strengths and understand their own power to effect change in their own lives impacts on the way their local community and ultimately the wider society operates.
Local Area Agreement Theme Safer and Stronger Communities
Impact
Healthier Communities and Older People
Children and Young People
Economic Development and Enterprise
Environmental, Sustainability and Climate Change
Anti-social behaviour has been reduced by 25% Work is taking place with 8 known offenders in the direct delivery of the football team project Over 120 people have been active in coming together to plan or deliver projects. An evidenced reduction in social isolation New lines of communication between all age groups and cultures Most of the elderly residents of the area are now taking part in the coffee morning’s fun and games, promoting active minds and cross age communication Young people are now planning sporting activities in their local community to engage in healthier lifestyles An 11-a-side estate football team has been set up by the young people to engage them in positive activities. A younger team soon to follow. A boxing club has been set up as a direct result of seeing the football team up and running 6 young people aged between 16 and 22 are actively seeking training, employment with the community groups help A club has been set up to help with driving theory, I.T and employability Working in partnership with a number of schools to encourage the building of positive relationships between learners, their local community and the school A number of family fun days and events, organised by the community for cohesive engagement with a multitude of cultures Using the RSLM individuals are realising their potential of the difference they themselves can make with a little effort Supporting and developing several community members to become social entrepreneurs The street clean has had a dramatic affect on peoples attitudes to litter and general rubbish.
In Addition To Projects : The Community First Panel The Community 1st Panel was set up as a sister programme to the community organisers. A fund was set up by the Office Of Civil Society with the idea of channeling that money into individual areas. The Community First Panel recommends community groups and local social action projects to the community first fund. The Community First Panel in Gravesend (Riverside Ward) is seen as a “shining example” (Cabinet Minister Nick Hurd) of the O.C.S’s vision of how this sister project should run in parrallel with the C.O programme. The Gravesend Community 1st Panel consists of a C.O (Chair), a local resident (Vice Chair) and four individuals from three different charity organisations. The one thing we are proud of here is that over 50% of the funding that has been allocated to this ward has in fact gone to newly established community group projects and this has only been achieved by having Root Solution Listening Matters practioners’ working in the ward.
So …….. What’s next? August 2013: In 5 months we will have…
developed neighbourhood networks to support longer term development; These networks will work together and will be encouraged into taking action by the leadership of people in the community. improved the ability of local people, support agencies and public service providers to engage with each other. established a Community Holding Team to lead development action and attract investment, this will form into an autonomous local anchor organisation. This team of people will lead on and support the existing activity in the area as well as provide a trusted platform for members of the community to engage with. This team will also be looking forward to developing a positive dialogue with agencies and authorities that work in the area. be in a position to identify further action, interventions, partners and budgets to strengthen and build on the achievements gained and the lessons learnt. Used the resources of the community and RE:Generate to begin to create the model of thorough, sustainable and life-changing community engagement that will be an a shining example locally and nationally.
Beyond… What is clear is that: 1. engaging at the grass roots and working with people to build their capacity they can start to take action locally that can have a major impact on how communities operate. Building a network of people who are all committed to taking some form of action strengthens the resolve of the community and impacts on the environmental, cultural, economic and social elements of the area. 2. building people’s capacity and supporting them to engage with agencies increases their employment opportunities and employability, ability to develop projects and engage with their local area. 3. by encouraging people to start to shape the delivery of services the way that they want to see and through encouraging enterprise you start to engender a can do attitude that takes people away from a dependency culture. People rely less on intervention and start to tackle issues for themselves. This work is having a transformative impact on the way communities operate. A snapshot of Gravesend shows that over 11 months that Community Organisers have been working in 2012/2013 crime and anti-social behaviour in the North Court area has gone down, people’s involvement is increasing and people are saying that the area is a better place to live and people are more confident about sharing and developing their ideas. Agencies and elected representatives are looking at this model of work and assessing how it could work across the town and country. Going forward establishing Community Holding teams across the most deprived areas of the city will start to enable communities to tackle some of the issues that they face for themselves or work and communicate
effectively with agencies to develop a partnership approach to improving the lives of people where they live. This is the type of community engagement strategy that RE:generate promotes and can help members of this panel with if invited.
COMMENTS FROM NICK HURD, MINISTER FOR THE OFFICE OF CIVIL SOCIETY, FOLLOWING HIS VISIT TO OUR TEAM