Southern Brooks Community Partnerships Annual Report Southern Brooks Community Partnerships Coniston Community Centre, The Parade, Coniston Road, Patchway, South Gloucestershire BS34 5LP Shaping Your Future 2014-2015 Registered Charity No. 1157061 www.southernbrooks.org.uk Director’s report The past 12 months have been Patchway Town Council continue to an interesting time. The Cabinet be a key partner for our youth and Office funding for the Youth Social community work in the town and we Action Journey Fund project added appreciate their financial support. a new dimension to our work, Working closely we are able to bring bringing together young people and in additional resources for the benefit community development. of Patchway residents. As Charlton Trustees Hayes and the development on the We worked with many new partners airfield grow, we look forward to and employed some really dynamic working with the Council to bring staff who brought a range of new Andy Thomas - Chair communities together and develop skills to the team. As staff were on the town centre vision. Elaine Martin fixed term contracts we were sad at Lucy Hamid the end of the year that several of Filton Town Council have also funded David Bell the team moved on but know how community development work. Tom Aditya (until Sept 2014) much they developed through the Sarah Buckle (until Nov 2014) project. The difference in young Family support work continues Martin Corbett (until Sept 2014) people and their appreciation to be commissioned by South Melissa Jones of their communities was very Gloucestershire Council and Merlin Housing Society. As we enter our Sue Jaques - (Treasurer from rewarding and we noticed a change final year of lottery funding we will October 2014) in the way that some of the adults they worked with felt about young be reflecting on our learning and people. While the main funding feedback from our families to write stream has finished, we’ve secured another proposal. some funding to continue the work Our community café has benefited in different ways. from the support of a big team of We’ve worked with partners to volunteers, as well as dedicated and secure a three year contract in five enthusiastic staff and I would like to of the six priority neighbourhoods take this opportunity to thank them. and this will be a new way for the Over the year the café has begun voluntary sector to work together. to cover its costs with the team We are working with Community opening some evenings as “themed Ignite and Kingsmeadow Flat in restaurant” nights. Hugely popular Kingswood, Juice in Cadbury Heath with local people and great fun! and Abbotswood Action group and Partnership work has continued to the CVS in Yate. It will be interesting underpin the way we work, with to learn from each other and share existing partnerships with Merlin experiences. We are grateful to Housing Society and Sovereign our funders, South Gloucestershire continuing to fund work in their Council, for this investment. communities. This has been the last SHAPING YOUR FUTURE 1 year of funding through the Local Training remains a priority area for Treasurer’s Report Strategic Partnership via CVS South us and this year we have registered Gloucestershire to provide support directly with the Skills Funding Sue Jaques to voluntary and community groups. Agency. We look forward to We will continue to work together to opportunities to work with partners This year has been a challenging make best use of resources through to bid to the European Social Fund/ and exciting year in equal measure. websites etc. and have a new pricing Lottery Building Better Opportunities We have become a Charitable structure so that groups who need Fund in the coming year. Incorporated Organisation to support are able to buy our services take us through the next stage. in. The new database commissioned last During the year we have agreed year is now really paying dividends, a repayment plan with the Avon We’ve worked with other voluntary improving our outcome reporting. Pension Fund and we have opened sector organisations through South We look forward to launching our new a new pension fund to fulfil our pension commitments to staff with Gloucestershire Leaders Board, led website in July. We’ve restructured AEGON. by the CVS, and look forward to the organisation from the start of the developing this over the coming year. next financial year to better reflect our We face a constant challenge Our work with older people and to Theory of Change and now have a in balancing delivering quality reduce social isolation has increased Learning and Development Manager, initiatives and being able to cover this year. We’re thankful for the Sustainable Communities Manager the infrastructure costs of the new investment through the Clinical and Health and Wellbeing Manager. organisation while insuring we Commissioning group and South keep our costs as low as possible. Gloucestershire council to roll out We know the next few years are Continuing government austerity and spending cuts makes the Dementia friendly communities going to be interesting and provide challenges as well as opportunities. challenge of establishing new across South Gloucestershire. Yate sources of funding to develop our Town Council have also funded a We are excited about our new services a priority. community development post to Funding group, local people develop dementia work in Yate and embracing raising funds. We are We have continued to work to this has been an interesting new generating business ideas and diversify our income and have allocated funds to help us achieve partnership. looking at how to become more this goal. New projects this year included sustainable through selling services, the Get Digital project, to train IT while staying true to our values and Thank you project managers for Champions working closely with principles. We’re also looking at new managing budgets and to Bishop South Gloucestershire Library Service opportunities to coproduce services, Flemming our auditors and a big and our voluntary sector partners with partners and local residents. thank you to our funders for their and Health Champions, training 30 Finally a big thank you to the staff, support. volunteers to deliver health messages volunteers and trustees. Annual in the Priority neighbourhoods. Accounts available on request. We’ve successfully delivered a HYPE project (helping young people into employment) with Creative Youth Julie Close Network, our first payment by results venture. Priority Neighbourhood Work Case Study - Filton FACT - Filton Activities Community Trail Southern Brooks is the community lead group for Priority event was very successful with an additional Neighbourhood work in Filton and Patchway. This means we 200 people visiting Filton library that day co-ordinate local action plans and meetings working with a than usual. 80 people participated in the range of partners. trail following the map to at least 6 different venues to receive their goody bags. There was There are 6 priority neighbourhoods across South something for everyone from arts and crafts, Gloucestershire, identified through the Indices of fun and games to a complimentary photo with Deprivation as areas in which some people don’t achieve as an alligator! much as in other areas of the authority. ‘There was a real buzz in the library and the The main themes are: trail brought new people through the door • Improving health which from our point of view was absolutely • Helping children and young people succeed fantastic and made it very worthwhile’. Filton • Improving employment and personal finance Library • Building a safer and stronger community • Celebrating the towns as good places to live ‘I learnt a lot about the history of where I live’ – Filton Resident “Filton Working Together” Katie Donovan-Adekanmbi Southern Brooks is the community lead organisation for Key achievements in Filton: Filton Priority Neighbourhood work, and is commissioned to deliver community engagement and development • Domestic Violence Drop-in Sessions for Women - within the priority neighbourhood area of Filton. We have The Domestic Violence Drop-in Sessions for Women been working in the town for 7 years and have good are free and confidential and do not require an networks with a range of agencies and an established appointment. They are aimed at women experiencing relationship with the town council. emotional distress as a result of domestic violence. This initiative launched at the beginning of February Filton Working Together steering group are happy to and is already highly subscribed. The Filton Working report that Priority Neighbourhood work in Filton will Together group have secured funding from Merlin continue for another three years. Housing Society to continue running these sessions Successes 2014. until January 2016. SHAPING YOUR FUTURE 3 Up and coming…. • Anti-Hate Crime Ambassador Programme - A second group of student volunteers have begun training Credit Union - Residents of Filton will soon be able as Anti-Hate Crime Ambassadors at Abbeywood to take advantage of a wide range of services offered Community School. They will have a better by Bristol Credit Union (BCU) from Filton Community understanding of issues of Equality and Diversity Association. Helping local people make the most and will be equipped to support any student of their money, by giving them access to affordable experiencing bullying as a result of a protected loans, competitive savings accounts and quality characteristic as outlined in the Equalities Act 2010 banking services. The service point will be run by a i.e. Ethnicity, Age or Sexuality. team of volunteers from the local area. Men in sheds - Two very passionate volunteers are • Multi-Cultural Cooking Workshops @ Filton Festival – currently working in partnership with the already Filton Working Together pledged to embed cultural diversity in the delivery of any community events established Patchway “Men in Sheds” to establish that they take part in.