This category is for posts which are the presentations at the Voluntary Action Forum. These posts appear on the Voluntary Action Forum page.
Email – Michele.debroglio@coop.co.uk for info about coop foodshare scheme and co-op stores’ community donations.
Email – will@timetospare.com – if you have any questions re Time to Spare
Camden Covid information page – https://www.camden.gov.uk/covid-19
Brilliant work done by “Lifeafterhummus”
Participant list for this session here
Details on where QR codes are mandatory https://www.gov.uk/government/news/venues-required-to-enforce-rule-of-6-nhs-qr-code-posters-and-contact-logs
QR Poster – https://www.gov.uk/create-coronavirus-qr-poster
For contact tracing: For visitors who don’t use the QR code you can use Time to Spare (www.timetospare.com) to log their details. Time to Spare is free for charities and can be used for a variety of purposes, including tracking monitoring and evaluation data for your activities. We can put you in touch with them if you would like (vcs@camden.gov.uk)
Signage: A reminder you can also find signs to print off here, along with sample risk assessments: https://www.camden.gov.uk/support-for-community-organisations#fsmp
Summary list of issues/tensions raised:
NB Further #BuildBackBetter resources here.
Speakers:
Claire Pritchard, CEO Greenwich Cooperative Development Agency and Chair of the London Food Board.
Alicja Bjorn, Pioneer Member for the Cooperative Society and Researcher.
Farrar Rainfly, Founding Director, Lifeafterhummus Community Benefit Society
Claire Pritchard recommended Sustainable Food Places website as a platform for the work in Camden.
Farrar shared Lifeafterhummus’ Emergency Response Data Impact Covid-19 report.
Alija shared that enquiries about grant funding should go to rosalind.stevens@coopmembers.co.uk who will be covering Kentish Town now.
Information for signing up to the Coop’s Food Share surplus collection can be found here https://www.coop.co.uk/environment/food-share
Philip Vaughan at Camden Council is the link person at the Council. phillip.vaughan@camden.gov.uk Currently Camden are undertaking a survey of food providers, food banks etc.
Laura Murphy – contact for Unity Works would be either myself laura.murphy@unityworks.org.uk or Claire.Hilton@unityworks.org.uk We have a full kitchen and staff team available for helping with bulk food prep (Greenwood Centre) or we can also help with ordering wholesale food orders. Really keen to collaborate. Working already with Felix Project. Unity Works also has the Mill Lane Garden Centre in West Hampstead again with training places for people with learning disabilities.
Nicholas Timms, The National Lottery Community Fund. Presentation
Susie Dye, Trust for London. Video
Suneer Fida . All Ways Network
All Ways Network (AWN) will be working hard to ensure that we signpost you to relevant organisations and news related to the sector. Visit the AWN website for full details of the support available.
Every Thursday at 3:30pm Ubele host fundraising webinars on a variety grant funds that are available with techniques on writing better applications. These webinars are free of charge and the presentations/resources are uploaded on our website.
Registration for Fundraising Webinars here.
Treads Radio produced a show in 2020 all about funding for refugee organisations.
Resources Mentioned in the workshop:
Risk assessment specifically for the VCS from Camden Council
Camden and Islington Public Health guide to Test and Trace and latest update and poster to diplay.
Camden and Islington Public Health guide to opening public buildings. NOTE – Latest Version Here
HSE: What to include in your COVID-19 risk assessment
COVID-19: Guidance for the safe use of multi-purpose community facilities
COVID-19: guidance for the safe use of places of worship during the pandemic
Locality re-opening guidance and more resources on the Locality website
NB Further resources from the 23 Sept Update workshop here.
The Voluntary Action Forum, on Wednesday 1st July focussed on the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on the BAME Community & Health Inequalities. The council shared the work that they have done on the issue and was followed by questions and discussion and next steps.
Public Health England report Disparities in the risks and outcomes of COVID-19
Council Working Group: Interim and Final report
The council has published an interim report, exploring how disproportionality is affecting residents locally and outlines six key topics that will be examined to better understand the issues Black, Asian and minority ethnic residents are facing whilst developing actions to protect those in need. Further details and the link to download the report can be found on the Council website.
The final report will be published at the end of July.
Message from Community Partners Team Re: Communications working group
Promotion and invites
The Council sent open invitations to participate in the communications working group in June via the following methods and networks:
VCS attendees
Next meeting
Future Forum and VCS meetings
Funding for BAME organisations
The next VAC forum on 15th July will focus on funding for BAME organisations in Camden. Speakers will include Nicholas Timms from the National Lottery Community Fund and Susie Dye from Trust for London. We will also be getting updates from Ubele and All Ways Network. Full details and booking here.
Sign up to the VAC newsletter for details of future meetings.
This forum focused on the financial impacts of the virus on the sector. Alex Charles from VAC presented the findings of VAC’s recent survey to the sector and the groups broke into breakout rooms on Zoom for a follow-up discussion.
Future topics include:
Wed 1 July 11am Disporportionate Impact of Covid-19 on BAME Communities
Wed 15 July Sustainability or new ways of working??
WEd 29 July Space and place – the role of buildings, offices and meeting spaces in the future??
Somers Town History Group: an update on their work. If you have people who’d like to get involved in activities locally (stories?) -please refer to: somerstownhistory@gmail.com www.aspaceforus.club
Camden Carers: an update on how their work is focused on covid-19. Camden Carers Art Video (Inside/Outside)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS9_ljH5zGQ
Ageing Better in Camden’s Older People’s Advisory Group (OPAG)
OAPG members have various different levels of technological devices, skills and confidence. For some a zoom call is no problem, for others it is a very big step to take. We have been doing our best to support the different needs in the group to keep people connected, as well as encouraging and supporting members to support each other and take the lead – a key principal in our asset-based work.
Members of OPAG (who wish to) have been calling each other regularly to check in and see how others are doing – this system has been devised and led by two older people in the group. Through this lots of group members are staying in touch with someone they know, as well as in some cases forming new or stronger relationships.
The group have also been sending in information they discover about activities going on across Camden that people can get involved in and centrally we have been sharing these in a newsletter. The newsletters are curated and introduced by a different member each week, so we are hearing about all different lockdown experiences, from hanging out the window to get your vitamin D to cycling on Hampstead Heath. This breadth in experience has also reminded us as a programme of the difference in skill and knowledge in our community, and that older people should not in this time all be stereotyped as ‘vulnerable’ – they are valuable assets and should be at centre of our response to COVID-19, as they are for all our work.
Another area of work that is important to mention here is our response for people who are not online at all. There are various reasons for this – lack of materials, wifi or data, lack of skill or lack of confidence and support. And some people just choose to not be online and this should be respected. We have been sending out hardcopy newsletters with at least one activity a week they can do without being online (they are difficult to find sadly and are getting more limited as we go further ahead in this crisis). We have also been doing small teleconference groups – a particularly successful one discusses Grayson Perry’s Art show which in on TV every week. However, these groups come at a cost literally, and in time and resource too, and can often only accommodate 3-4 people at most.
Resource for both getting those who want to be online and those who chose not to be or cannot be needs to be considered from various perspectives. We have been doing lots of research now have some contacts re getting access to devices, but the long term support and access to wifi are proving harder to solve.
The session provided an opportunity for groups to catch up and Donna Turnbull form VAC presented an overview of how the social prescribing is supporting the response and is using valuable data to support response efforts in Camden.
