NEW WORTLEY 2 AMBITION: We want a happy safe place to bring up our children, where their lives are not blighted by drugs and crime. To secure a better quality of life and opportunities for people of New Wortley and raise peoples aspirations Kimberly Frangos, Vice Chair Residents Association Hear This… New Wortley Our Place is not a single issue project; it is not a council led project. New Wortley Our Place is about the community being able to articulate the issues and problems that have blighted this part of Leeds for decades. Articulating and evidencing the issues in a way that services and agencies can understand. For too long the problems have persisted and for whatever reason the community has not been heard properly. The Our Place process has finally given the New Wortley community the space and help to articulate the issues and the vision it wants and the Our Place process has given the services and agencies the time and space to hear them and understand. With this simple process we can now work together in a community led fashion to truly deliver a New Wortley everyone can be proud of. 3 VISION FOR THE FUTURE “New Wortley is a place of hope and aspiration as a result of the community coming together to develop and now deliver the Our Place plan. The way this neighbourhood has come together is nothing short of inspirational” Community led & Community driven “Our Place, a great vehicle to drive4 improvements locally ensuring joined up services deliver what the community wants“ OUR VISION: New Wortley is a confident, active, engaged and healthy community, with a safe and attractive environment where people have access to local opportunities and services to achieve their potential in education, employment and family life. Our work under each theme is explained in greater detail in the following pages, however the headlines for each section can be summarised as: A safe and responsible community (see page 13) Key priorities Crime will be reported and effectively tackled Anti-social behaviour and drug dealing is radically reduced or eliminated The environment feels safe for all, especially at night A confident active and engaged community (see page 15) Key priorities Young people can grow up within a supportive culture of responsible citizenship, to achieve their potential in education, employment and family life. More people are active and engaged in volunteering, learning and employment There are a wide range of activities, opportunities & services for all A healthy and happy community (see page 17) Key priorities Life expectancy is increased Better mental health Reduction in health inequalities Our vision is underpinned by having the community at the heart of decision making 5 “It’s such a shame that people don’t respect anything” “the problem is, this is a main area for people with Drugs” “some people say this is a depressing area… it’s because there’s no work in the area for them to go to” “If I got sent to prison for drug dealing I would say don't even wait for me to come out I’m not even worth waiting for” 6 CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND: New Wortley is a part of Leeds that on a wide range of indicators make it the most deprived part of the city of Leeds. Geographically it has been moved from City & Holbeck ward to Armley ward in the last 20 years and even in the re drawing of constituency political boundaries it has moved from Leeds Central to Leeds West. Perhaps this geography has lent itself to the statistics for the area have been merged into better performing wards. We have spent a great deal of time and effort uncovering the evidence and the statistics for the New Wortley area, detailing the poor health, life expectancy and legion of chronic diseases in the area, We have low educational attainment and very high rates of adult employment. We have highlighted the crime statistics and the surveys which show that residents feel unsafe and have a right to feel unsafe in their own part of Leeds. (See ‘A Profile of New Wortley- 2014’) In addition spend mapping is uncovering that New Wortley residents have less spent on them per head (GP Practices) than other neighbouring wards. We await other spend mapping results for other areas. This chart shows that on every measure New Wortley is well below the Leeds average, which is the median line at 0. Figure 1 Leeds City Council Neighbourhood index for New Wortley 7 High Suicide rate Low Life expectancy Indifference, Cynicism & Apathy Mistrust of Authorities Lack of Employment Opportunities 8 NEW WORTLEY OUR PLACE APPROACH: Bringing Services together Our Place has been a mechanism to bring together local services, led by local residents supported by the New Wortley Community & Residents Associations and key workers in the area including the Primary School head teacher, a local GP, our MP, Police Inspector, Area Housing Manager and local councillors. Community Voice Active community engagement is at the heart of New Wortley Our Place we have used participatory appraisal, in depth interviews, sought out the views whose views are not usually heard. We have spoken to residents and people who work in the area. The issues and priorities of local people are at the heart of this plan and the partnership. Key Strategic Themes o Reduce crime and increase community safety o Raise community aspirations in education and employment o Improve health & wellbeing services. Detailed issues and actions are contained in the implementation plan. Partnership and Plan The new Community led partnership is already making a huge difference in terms of communication, looking at integrated working and setting up specific New Wortley projects and initiatives to address some of the priorities. This is encouraging a new sense of community pride through activities and public promotion to change the reputation of the area. 9 PARTNERSHIPS “Our Place has been a great process, it has really brought the right people together who can and want to make a difference in New Wortley” 10 The challenge ahead The extent of the problems and long standing issues in the area means the New Wortley Partnership faces a really challenging task. We have defined three strategic themes above as our primary focus, and identified 3 priorities in each theme. (see our vision on page 5, and the more detailed sections on following pages). We are critically aware that addressing these priorities will not be easy given the baseline data, the entrenched nature of the problems and the high level of our ambition. 12 month review Our plan is to get with delivery, collect constant feedback as we go along and take stock with a review after 12 months. At this stage we will identify what is working well, what can be adapted to work better, and what may need a different approach. New community centre An exciting moment will be when our new community centre opens, planned for April 2016. At this stage we will be able to start a range of new activities and see more clearly how the building can make a step change towards improving the range of opportunities and activities for the community. 11 CRIME & SAFETY “There's a dealer on every street… I don't see the point in ringing the Police” More visible Policing and a Safer New Wortley Campaign 12 CRIME & SAFETY Desired Impacts A radical reduction in crime and increase in community safety in New Wortley. A community that has confidence in itself and the police. (from Logic Model) More Visible Policing Community policing using the new Police Specials (volunteers but with full police powers) Funding For a ‘neighbourhood support worker with a Young Persons focus’ A ‘Safer New Wortley’ Campaign Supported by Our Place partners and residents. Running over a 3 - 4 year period. Publicity needs to be good quality. Posters/ Banners Stickers / Bin Stickers involve all Our Place Partners. New Wortley Young Peoples Project Transformation of Youth work and provision in the local area is being led by a team including a local PCSO Leeds Housing, BARCA, Castleton Primary School and local community groups. A new and ambitious project for young people in the local area will be starting in September 2015. Policing A more integrated Community Led approach 13 EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT “It's not fair that somebody's life chances are affected by the fact that they were born in New Wortley” Holistic supportive programme for Long term unemployed Adults Improve School attendance for local14 Children (year 7 and above) EDUCATION TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT Desired Impacts: An increase in economic activity in the local area Better outcomes for young people. New Community Centre for the area confirmed by Big Lottery 17th February, Ready March 2016 Attendance Strategy for Secondary School Attendance ‘sweep’ specific to New Wortley Identify non attenders by NW postcodes Review systems for improving transition from primary to secondary schools Explore possibility of using ‘alternative provision’ for work with Young People Employment and Training Project for Long Term Unemployment Adults we will build on recent work done to engage long term unemployed adults. We are awaiting a funding decision on a 1 year pilot to continue this project. Youth Project inclusive Youth project that will aim to train young people as peer mentors and take an active part in running youth work in the area. 15 HEALTH & WELLBEING “People are damaged goods, they have been damaged they need healing...to be able to go in the right direction” A focus on Mental Wellbeing 16 A New Wortley Health & Wellbeing Centre HEALTH AND WELLBEING Desired impacts: Reduction in health inequalities, Increase in life expectancy a healthier more active local population A focus on Mental Wellbeing To improve people’s confidence skills and aspirations in life Develop a New Wortley neighbourhood approach To Social prescribing and look at other options such as Life Coaching.