Voluntary Action Camden e-bulletin 15th July 2016

CCG Drafting an Equality and Inclusion Plan; Camden New Town Community Festival; The Camden Mela; The Wellbeing Survey; 2016 is the Third Anniversary of Healthwatch Camden; Family Fun Days; Project Embrace Featured in Psychologies; Belsize Community Library Restart Party; Survey on the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders; A Brother’s Progress; Webinar: Mayor’s Consultation on Air Pollution; Newsletters; + funding jobs, volunteers, events, training, offers and resources.

The CCG are in the process of developing an Equality and Inclusion Action plan.
The reason we wanted to use diversity and inclusion instead of equality and diversity is to show that we are not just committed to equalities for compliance reasons and we really want to improve our commissioning and workforce management by using the diversity in our community and also in the workforce. If we can make this diversity work only then we can achieve inclusion. So the focus of the action plan is to use diversity as a strength and make it work to achieve better results/outcomes for all (inclusion).
We would appreciate if you could complete the online survey which will close on Friday 29th July. You can access the survey by clicking on the following link: https://feedback.camdenccg.nhs.uk/community-ownership/diversity-and-inclusion-survey .
An open surgery will also be held on Thursday 21st July (10:30 – Midday) where Emdad Haque, Equality and Diversity Manager and I will be in attendance to discuss the development of the action plan and what you or a colleagues thoughts on priorities should be.

Camden New Town Community Festival
Saturday 16th July Jazz, poetry, folk 4 – 8pm
Sunday 17th July Family day noon – 7pm
In Camden Square Gardens, NW1
For more information or to book a stall contac the Festival Office on 020 7267 9586 or email festival.mlcc@yahoo.co.uk

The Camden Mela
The Camden Mela will take place on Sunday 17July 2016 from 12-6.30pm at Coram’s Fields, 93 Guilford St, London WC1N 1AB.
The Camden Mela is a free Community Festival Celebrating the Diversity of Camden.
There will be lots of amazing entertainment for everyone . There will also be lots of stalls with delicious food, toys, clothing, artefacts, face painting, henna and a funfair.
Enjoy the free arts and crafts workshops and join the Mayor of Camden in the Parade at 1pm.
Please contact Nasim Ali on 07852 223403 or nasim.ali@kcbna.org.uk for further information or stall booking forms.

The Wellbeing Survey
YouGov and Business in the Community (BITC), together we are conducting the largest survey of mental wellbeing at work in the UK. We want to hear the experiences of thousands of UK employees and gain a complete snapshot of the mental wellbeing of the UK workforce.
We want to hear from employees aged 16-64+ and currently in employment in the UK to participate in the National Employee Wellbeing Survey. It should take you no longer than 15 minutes to complete and will close 29th July. All entries will remain confidential. Access the survey here.

2016 is the third anniversary of Healthwatch Camden
Healthwatch Camden published a third annual report, showing what has been achieved over the three years.
Healthwatch have been out and about at events in the local community, gathering your feedback on health and social care services in Camden. We’ve listen to what you think matters and have set our priorities accordingly. Together we can create a better health and social care system for us all. Details here.

Family Fun Days
Camden’s Tenant Participation team have three family fun days coming up over summer/early
Lismore Circus
Thursday 28 July, 2 to 6pm
Goldington Crescent Gardens
Wednesday 17 August, 2 to 6pm
Brunswick Square Gardens
Thursday 6 October, 2 to 6pm
All events include:
• Brazilian dance and food
• Pedal power smoothie making
• Public artwork from Walls on Walls
• Face painting
• Camden Active Communities: table tennis, Zumba, boccia
• Plus: talk to us about Camden services.
Contact tp@camden.gov.uk

Project Embrace Featured in Psychologies
Camden organisation Project Embrace featured in Psychologies talking about their project The Pocket Advocate which aims to support people with mental health issues by bringing people together in understanding from a place of equality, empowerment and partnership.

Belsize Community Library Restart Party
Tuesday 26th July, Antrim Grove, 6-9pm
A chance to fix your tech and learn. therestartproject.org

Survey on the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) to tackle antisocial behaviour in London and the UK
The specific purpose of the surveys is to test how individuals in the Borough are likely to react to PSPOs in different sets of circumstances. The project is run by Erasmus University, Rotterdam. You can take the survey here.

A Brother’s Progress
An exhibition of paintings, stained glass and signs by Catherine Chambers focussing on her recent time living in Ethiopia. Her narrative works A Brother’s progress echoes William Hogarth’s Rake’s Progress telling of fluctuating opportunities with varying outcomes.
To find out more about Catherine’s work please come along to the open evening on Friday 22nd July 6.30pm – 9pm. Free Space Gallery, Kentish Town Health Centre

Webinar: Mayor’s Consultation on Air Pollution
Contribute to the ongoing public consultation by joining this event.
19th July 17:00-19:00
The Mayor of London has recently launched a new public consultation on some measures to improve air quality in London. Find out more here.

Newsletters
Read the latest Transition Town Kentish Town newsletter here.
Catch up with all the activities taking place at Kentish Town Community Centre here.

Camden Festivals
A list of community festivals in Camden can be found here.

Free training, outings and events for unpaid carers in Camden
For a full list of events of carers in Camden please visit the Camden Carers website.

Healthwatch Camden
Latest Information DIgest is on the Healthwatch Camden website.
Catch up with the latest Camden news and what’s happening on Our Blog

The Camden Capacity Building Bulletin is produced monthly, targeting the community and voluntary sector in Camden. It provides up to date/recently live information and news on funding and training. To access the latest information please follow the Link www.camden.gov.uk/cbbulletin

Urban Growth Jobs in Mind, Age UK Camden, Renters Rights London, C4, Ageing Better in Camden, Kentish Town Community Centre, Abbey Community Centre and Camden PA are recruiting. See Jobs and Volunteers section below.

Camden Shares. The website for exchanges in Camden. www.camdenshares.org.uk

You can join in on Facebook. Like us if you like us.

Follow all the Camden Voluntary Sector news on OneCamden on Twitter.

You can read more about all of these stories on our news page at www.vac.org.uk/new

NAVCA (VAC’s national umbrella body) responds to Human Rights call
In April/May next year, the UK will be examined by the United Nations on our human rights record. NAVCA has responded to the call for evidence from Human Rights Check UK who are producing a joint civil society shadow report on the issue. In their response NAVCA highlight five ways that local charities have seen government policies attack human rights.
The issues identified by NAVCA are
~ Lobbying Act – This restricts the ability of people to talk with politicians.
~ Anti-advocacy clause – This prevents people having a say in the design of their own services.
~ Charities Act – this places restrictions on who can be a trustee
~ Judicial Review – it’s harder for charities to challenge unlawful, irrational, unfair decisions.
~ Austerity – The cuts disproportionately affected women, young people, minorities, disabled people

Are Trustees on Another Planet (as Lord Hodgeson Claimed)?
“The temptation is for the Charity Sector to accept the analysis of Lord Hodgson and of the Charity Commission and focus inwards on improvement. I am not convinced that there is any evidence that the sector as a whole has witnessed a deterioration in standards of practice.
Instead I think we are experiencing a ‘moral panic’ driven by an unpleasant mixture of government, some think tanks and some elements of the press
The sector is being criticised in a number of ways:
~ its independence and legitimacy to campaign
~ the strategies they use to fundraise
~ the competence of its governance
Read the full article by Mark Gamsu at Local Democracy and Health.

See the Funding pages on VAC’s website for all the latest information.

Core Strength
Open: 16th June, 2016 to 27th July, 2016
Recent research shows that small and medium sized organisations across the UK are being hit particularly hard by the current economic climate, forcing many to either scale back their work or dissolve completely. These voluntary organisations urgently need core funding to continue their crucial work.
We want to recognise the importance of local community organisations and the pivotal role they play across the UK. That’s why, for the first time ever, we’ve developed this exciting programme to solely fund organisational costs (rather than financing the delivery of a specific project).
In total, £4 million will be invested through this initiative with approximately 100 organisations receiving grants for core funding across the UK.
Please note, this programme is partly funded by HM Treasury’s ‘Tampon Tax’ to help tackle the various issues that many women and girls face. Therefore, out of the £4 million available through this pilot programme, a minimum of £1 million will be awarded to organisations working primarily to support women and girls. Full details at Comic Relief website.

Celebrate – A New Grants Programme from the Big Lottery Fund
When was the last time your local community came together? Grants of between £300 and £10,000 for groups to hold one off events or activities which celebrate their local community.
You could celebrate something from your community’s history or a local hero. Or maybe it could a chance to bring people together to get to know their neighbours better. Full details on the Big Lottery Website.

Community Economic Development Programme – closing date 22nd July
The second round of the Community Economic Development (CED) programme has now launched and is open for applications from communities who want to work towards seeing real economic change in their area.
This year’s programme is looking to support 20 new groups that want to take a lead in shaping their economies for the benefit of their community. Alongside this, we will be working with ten communities who participated in the programme last year, helping them ensure their plans become a reality.
Groups participating in this year’s programme will receive a package of grants and support to help them produce a dynamic and deliverable local economic plan. Your involvement in the scheme will take place from September 2016 to June 2017, but we are selecting our participants now, ready for the Autumn.
Applications are open until Friday 22 July –
http://mycommunity.org.uk/programme/community-economic-development/

Church Urban Fund Near Neighbours Grants
The Near Neighbours programme offers small grants of between £250 and £5,000, as seed funding for local groups and organisations
working to bring together neighbours, and to develop relationships across diverse faiths and ethnicities to improve their communities.
Grants have offered funding to a broad range of work; environmental, social, cultural, artistic, and sporting, that furthers the programme’s aims of encouraging community interaction and social action. Full details at cuf.org.uk

Deutsche Bank Small Grants Fund
If you are a charity, voluntary or community group with an income of less than £250,000 per annum and you need funding for work focusing on increasing social inclusion and improving well being, this fund may be able to help.
The focus of the Small Grants Fund is to help society’s most disadvantaged and communities on the ground.
Projects may fall into any of the following areas:
~ Projects that promote social inclusion, reduce isolation and disadvantage and improve access to services;
~ Projects that advance people’s physical and mental health, wellbeing and safety
~ Projects that maximize people’s ability to strengthen community cohesion and build social capacity
The maximum grant size is £5,000. The application is online here.

Don’t forget to sign up to Funding Central for free email funding alerts. Go to www.fundingcentral.org.uk/

VAC’s Mental Health Training Programme for BMER groups
Are you a BMER group or do you work with BMER communities?
For more information about our any of our courses, please go to https://vac.org.uk/events/category/health-mental-health/. Click on the course you are interested in and follow the instructions to book your place and pay by card (if applicable). The charge for our Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid training courses is heavily subsidised at only £25 per person. All other mental health workshops are free.
Please note that VAC can only accept bookings from organisations working with BMER communities based in Camden, or which serve Camden BMER residents. Places are limited on each course to a maximum of two people per organisation. If you have any queries, please contact us on our team email address: mentalhealthteam@vac.org.uk

VAC has a programme of courses coming up: Click here to find out more. All courses are £25 for members (unless otherwise stated).

Using the Equality Act 2010- ROTA
Free two day training for organisations supporting
Black, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BME&R) communities
Training Day one: Complying with the Equality Act 2010
1st August 2016, 9.30am – 4.30pm
Training Day two: Using the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)
3rd August 2016, 9.30am – 4.30pm
Please note that although the training is free of charge ROTA pays for the refreshments and room hire costs in offering a place on the training. Therefore, if you register your place for the training and fail to attend, you will be invoiced £25.
To book your place, please complete our online booking form, available at: http://www.rota.org.uk/civicrm/event/register?id=66&reset=1.
For more information on this course, please email poornima@rota.org.uk or call 020 7697 4066.

Age UK London – Older Private Sector Tenants Programme
Age UK London is beginning work to raise awareness of the needs of older private sector tenants in London to find solutions to problems they face.
Age UK London needs private sector tenants age 50 and over to participate in a focus group in Camden to kickstart a programme to raise awareness of their needs and to find solutions to problems they face. There are 146,000 households renting privately in London where at least one person is aged over 50, and projections suggest this number is on the rise. The focus group is being held on 28th July at 11.00a.m-1.00pm, refreshments and a £10 M&S voucher for participants provided (help with travel if needed). For more information on the project see here. Contact Natalie Turner on research@ageuklondon.org.uk or call 0207 820 6770 to join or find out more.

London Neighbourhood Planning Gathering
An informal gathering of London’s Neighbourhood Planning people. Guest speakers and the emerging issues of Community Infrastructure Levy spending.
£5 RSVP angela@imagineplaces.co.uk
Thursday 21st July 6pm Kentish Town Congregation Church Hall, Kelly Street, NW1.

The Spark is a series of community-based creative, informative, practical and exploratory workshops and activities across London this summer
From 25th June to 7th August 2016
Check out this video to see more of what the Spark is about
Hip Hop and Food Growing in Morden 29th July
International Struggles and Solidarity in Harringay 24th July
DJ workshops for women in Dalston 29th + 30th July
Black Women’s Stories- A Day of Celebrating each other in Tottenham 24th July
A social space for young LGBTQ+ in East London 17th July
+ Sessions on Gentrification, Politics of Food, Spirituality, Economics, Feminist Mothering, Stigma… and more!
Includes spaces just for Young People, People of Colour, Queer People & Self-defining Women only
All events are wheelchair accessible, and a kids space is available. Details here.

F**kUp Nights: Conversations about failures and other things
Lessons about celebrating and learning from entrepreneurial and professional failure – as lets face it 9 out of 10 enterprises fail. Let’s applaud you risk takers for getting back on your feet and also take the fear out of messing things up. £5, King Cross. Bookings

Mental Health Forum
For users of mental health services, carers, community and voluntary groups and Camden councillors
Chair: Councillor Maeve McCormack
Wednesday 20 July from 6.00pm to 8.00pm at Charlie Ratchford Resource Centre, Belmont Street, London NW1 8HF
If you need help to travel to and from the forum, or to take part, then please contact Paul Kent by Monday 18 July. Telephone: 0207 974 6921 Email paul.kent@camden.gov.uk

Keeping Active Together Summer Tea Party And Bench to Bench Walk
The Community Association for West Hampstead with Kilburn Older Voices Exchange
Friday 22nd July 1.30pm Bench to Bench Walk
Meet at Little Waitrose, West End Lane, NW6 Followed by 2.30pm Tea Party hosted by W Heart at West Hampstead Community Centre, 17 Dornfell Street, NW6
Ring 020 7794 3729 for details. Email kat@cawh.org.uk

Memory Cafes
Millman Street Memory Cafe, 3rd Monday of the month, 3-5pm. Tel: 020 7561 4820
Maitland Part Memory Cafe, 1st Wednesday of the month, 11am – 1pm. Tel020 7561 4820.

London for All
London for All / LVSC have a full programme of courses available for the voluntary sector. Go to the London for All website for full details.

Camden Carers’ Service
Has a full range of events and activities for unpaid carers in Camden. Find out more on the Camden Carers’ Service website www.camdencs.org.uk/activities

Don’t forget that Camden TDS run a full programme of course which are subsidised or free for voluntary sector partner organisations. There is a link to a list of partner organisations on the home page.

Find more Training Opportunities at www.vac.org.uk

Terrence Higgins Trust is recruiting London and Brighton Volunteer Coordinator.
This post holder will coordinate the recruitment, training and supervision of London and Brighton volunteers in a wide range of roles. The successful candidate will optimise the contribution of volunteers to Terrence Higgins Trust services and ensure that a high profile is maintained for volunteer activities both inside the charity and in the wider community.
Based in London, this post holder will have a primary focus on London Volunteering (on average spending 4½ days per week) but will also support the Brighton volunteer programme (on average ½ day a week). The majority of work will be undertake at our central office in London. The post holder must be able to travel to Brighton on average twice a month (travel will be covered by THT). The successful candidate will join a dynamic and passionate team. For more information visit: http://tiny.cc/mluwcy

Urban Growth – Volunteer Assistant Required
Do you enjoy working outside? Do you want to gain experience of supporting individuals with wide ranging mental health needs? Do you love vegetables?
We are a mental health charity whose varied services provide specialist support and advice around problems at work, training and education. We aim to understand, support and enable the recovery of those affected by mental health issues.
This role includes:
• Working with and supporting the programme members on-site
• Guiding the programme members and ensuring that planned tasks are carried out
Desirable experience:
• At least one year’s experience of organic gardening
• Experience of working and supporting individuals in a community setting
• An interest in horticulture, mental health, healthy eating and cookery
Travel expenses of up to £6 per day will be reimbursed on a monthly basis.
Please ensure you are available for both of the programme days and that you can commit for six months.
Please note that you will need to agree to an Enhanced DBS check being carried out and the contact details of two recent referees.
Apply by sending your CV and a one page covering letter, explaining why you’d be the best person to join our programme as an assistant volunteer.
Application deadline, 6pm 24th July 2016 contact r.clarke@jobsinmind.org

Age UK Camden seeks Data and Monitoring Officer – deadline extended
Scale 5 scp 22-25 £23,895 – £25,876pa pro rata – 21 hours per week
Ageing Better Camden is looking for a Data and Monitoring Officer to take the lead on the collection, collation and presentation of data across the programme. We are looking for a dynamic self-starter who can take ownership of the data and ensure we are getting the most from it.
The post holder will be responsible, along with our evaluation and delivery partners, for collecting a range of data and entering this onto local and national evaluation databases.
The post holder will support the Programme Manager in the production of quarterly monitoring reports for the Strategic Programme Board and will also be responsible for supporting delivery partners in the collection of data and use of the database. Full details at www.ageukcamden.org.uk or email jobs@ageukcamden.org.uk.
Closing date – 26th July, Interview – Wednesday 3rd August.

Renters’ Rights London Project Co-ordinator (Maternity Cover)
Renters’ Rights London (RRL) is the first city wide information, education and engagement project for private renters that started in 2014 and is being funded by Trust for London initially for 3 years. It is hosted and managed by Camden Federation of Private Tenants.
The project’s co-ordinator is due to go on maternity leave for 12 months, starting on 31st July, and we are looking for a replacement to keep developing and driving the project forward in Year 3. It’s really important that renters’ voices are clearly heard as we also seek to bring about change in the private rented sector by working closely with other groups/organisations.
Salary: £27,000 per year pro-rata 17.5 hours per week. Pension: 3%
Location: 13 Malden Road, NW5 3HS
For more details about this exciting and challenging role go to:
www.cfpt.org.uk/about-us/jobs-with-us/
To find out more about Renters’ Rights London and what the project does go to: www.rentersrightslondon.org
To apply: Send your CV and a 2 page covering letter to: admin@cfpt.org.uk explaining the following:
1. Why you are interested in the job
2. How your skills, knowledge and experience fit the role
3. How you will go about informing, educating and consulting a wide variety of private renters
4. How soon you can start
Deadline for applications: 6pm on Monday 18th July
Interviews will be held: Week commencing Monday 25th July
We are an equal opportunities employer and particularly welcome and encourage applications from women, disabled people and other under-represented groups in the sector.

Ageing Better in Camden Local Evaluation
Interested in helping to develop a much better understanding about what helps and what gets in the way of older Camden residents feeling less isolated and lonely? If you are, this could be the role for you. We are looking for people with a range of skills and experiences, including analysing data, interviewing people or you may have local knowledge of the area which you can bring to the team.
The time you commit to the role is up to you. The exact nature of the Community Evaluator role will depend on your individual interests, skills and availability. We expect CE’s to be involved in some of the following activities; Face-to-face interviews or focus groups Telephone discussions with people using the Ageing Better in Camden projects Desk-based research, Data analysis and interpretation. We will welcome whatever people have to offer and, as a volunteer, any out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed.
If you are interested in becoming a community evaluator and would like to find out more, please contact the project administrator Becky: Becky.Strike@ndti.org.uk or call 01225 789135 and she will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Alternatively you can visit www.ndti.org.uk

Are you looking to employ an assistant to help with your care needs? CamdenPAs can help
CamdenPAs.org.uk is a new service that makes it easy to find a personal assistant (PA) and puts you in control of your care and support.
If you have care needs, you can employ a PA to help you to live as independently as possible.
CamdenPAs features an online ‘marketplace’ for you to browse through a list of profiles of PAs in the borough. Profiles give details about the services they provide, their skills, experience and personal interests.
You can look through the list to find suitable matches and choose someone you like to help support you.
When you find a match you can contact the PA to arrange an interview and see how you get on. If you like them you can then work out contract details such as hours, duties and wages, and hire them.
If you do not find anyone suitable, you can set up your own a profile describing your requirements and interests, for PAs to look through and contact you.
You can employ a PA whether you receive a direct payment or fund your own care. If you receive direct payments you can get support with the employment from Personalised Support In Camden or AgeUK Camden.
Become a PA
If you’re a PA looking for work or are just starting out, CamdenPAs can help you. As well as helping you finding a job, the site features advice on looking for work, becoming a PA and where to get training.
Why not set up your profile today? Find out more, visit: camdenpas.org.uk or phone: 020 7278 4437

Find Jobs and Volunteering opportunities at https://www.vac.org.uk/

Survey regarding Social prescription and employment
The Work Foundation are running a questionnaire as part of a research project to explore the role of social prescribing in influencing employment outcomes for people of working age with long term health conditions. They are interested in hearing about social prescribing projects whose clients include people of working age (i.e. age 16-64) with any long term health condition (i.e. a condition that has lasted at least 12 months ) – so please complete their survey (which takes around 5-10 minutes).

Share your experiences of Mental Health Services
Share your experiences of the mental health services provided by Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust. This survey has been requested by Councillors in the Health Scrutiny Committee at Camden council. Your views are really valuable and will help to develop local services. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact mubasshir.ajaz@camden.gov.uk or call 0207 527 1261 for details.
The online survey is here.

Camden Consultations
You can find all Camden consultation on the Wearecamden consultation hub.

FREE VAC Membership for Unfunded Groups: Voluntary Action Camden Small organisations with no paid staff and a turnover of less than £1,500 can now join for FREE. To take advantage of this offer just fill in the membership on the online form here.