Sport England is looking to support innovative projects that remove barriers to being active during the coronavirus pandemic for those communities that are currently least well-served. Already existing inequalities are currently being exacerbated by the pandemic and those most affected are not able to access sports and activity and are missing out on the health benefits.
Further information and an online application form are available on the website of Sport England.
Applications can be submitted until noon on 24 June 2020.
Alastair Gordon, Head of Profession: Research and Citizen Insight at Essex County Council, is looking for feedback from volunteers who support statutory organisations across Essex.
The note below sets out an invitation to participate in primary research examining their experience of volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a core element of the TCG’s research into statutory agencies’ involvement of volunteers during the pandemic, and they would be grateful if this is shared with relevant volunteers and volunteer groups.
An invitation to share your views and experiences of volunteering during the Covid-19 pandemic
Partners from across the public and voluntary sector in Essex are undertaking research to better understand how the public bodies have involved volunteers prior to and during the Covid-19
pandemic.
We want to gather views to help us improve what we do in the future.
We would like to understand your experiences of volunteering during the pandemic whether your offer to help was taken up or not. The support or helping hand you’ve offered could range from
helping a neighbour with their shopping to holding a formal voluntary role within an organisation, or it could be anything in between!
What’s involved?
We would like you to talk to one of our professional research team (via video or telephone call) share your views and experiences volunteering both before and since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Areas of discussion could include:
What prompted you to volunteer?
How effectively public services have involved you, or used you time and skills?
What would lead you to sustain voluntary activity into the future?
What can public services might do to make it more likely that you will volunteer in the future?
When?
We hope that discussions can take place between 15th June and 10th July. We will arrange discussions at a time that is most convenient for you. Taking part in this research is completely voluntary, and you will be able to stop at any time.
Interested?
If you are happy to take part, please provide some information about you and your household by completing this short survey below. This will help to make sure we talk to a wide range of Essex
residents in this research.
If you would like support to complete this survey over the telephone, please call 03330 321086 between Monday to Thursday 10am – 3pm.
Please note we will be speaking to a limited number of people, and unfortunately this means we will not be able to speak to everyone who expresses an interest.
If you have any questions about the project, we will be more than happy to speak to you, please contact Le.Ho-Everiste@essex.gov.uk
Confidentiality
Any information you share with us a part of this project will not be identifiable to individuals or organisations in our final report.
Essex County Council fully complies with information legislation. If you would like the full details of how we use personal data, and the rights you have about its use, please go to www.essex.gov.uk/privacy-community or call 03457 430430
Following easing of Govt local down rules as organisations are starting to consider how to return safely to using their premises Public Health England and the HSE have warned of the risk of Legionella growth in stagnant unused water systems in buildings which have been left unoccupied for weeks or months. Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia and everyone is susceptible to infection. Don’t assume that because the water system on your premises was previously low risk, it will remain so after a period of disuse.
Employees are being encouraged to help those who may be at risk of domestic abuse by learning the tell-tale signs that show their colleagues could be experiencing it at home.
One in four women and one in six men are expected to be affected by domestic abuse during their adult lifetime and one third of all violent crime in Essex is domestic related.
In response, Alpha Vesta launched a six-month pilot project in January offering bespoke training to businesses and organisations recognising the need to invest in this area for a healthier, happier, safer and more productive workplace and create a culture of understanding.
The organisation has developed a CPD accredited training workshop for workplaces, businesses and organisations to equip them with the skills to understand, recognise and respond to those showing signs that they may be experiencing domestic abuse or using abusive behaviours.
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex (PFCC) contributed £19,980 to the Bridging the Gap project from the 2019/2020 Community Safety Development Fund. As a result, the training is being offered free of charge.
Lucy Whittaker founded Alpha Vesta in February 2019 with an ethos that more preventative work needs to be done before victims and perpetrators of abuse enter the criminal justice system or health and social care sectors.
She said: “It is so fantastic to have the PFCC on board as it gives a massive platform to spread the word about this work. They are dealing with the response to domestic abuse every day; so much resource is being put into it. I have been working on this for such a long time and want people to hear about it.
“I passionately believe in this.”
With the Coronavirus pandemic meaning more people are working from home, the training has been adapted to be delivered online.
Lucy Whittaker said: “I have adapted what is usually a full day’s training into several shorter online sessions.
“The training has been adapted to consider that Coronavirus could be used as a trigger as it threatens the perpetrator’s control. We discuss it as a weapon and how it acts as a barrier to the victim.
“We talk about how important it is now to stay in touch with colleagues regularly, being very conscious of the language you use and being aware a perpetrator could be just out of view of your video call. Being conscious that people may be drinking more at home and struggling with children at home all day are issues to consider. We encourage people to watch the eye contact; are they conscious of time or having to come off the call or out of camera view? I have spoken with one person who was on a video call and noticed slight marks around the other person’s neck. How to approach situations such as this in a safe way are incredibly important things to consider.
“We are not training people to be frontline practitioners. This is about opening our eyes and ears and being savvy enough to notice things, but also to be aware of the risks and knowing not to challenge someone who you suspect may be a victim. Do not look at a situation and assume; what you think you see might not be happening.
“But, simply understand a bit better. Then, if that person does reach out to you, you are in the best position to handle it and understand how to get them the support they need. When people go back to work or school, there are going to be some who are traumatised as they have not been able to reach out. By engaging with this training now, it puts you in a much better position to spot the signs, to know how to talk to them and know very quickly and clearly how to signpost them to help.
“Now is a big time to be learning.”
Jane Gardner, Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “Breaking the cycle of domestic abuse is one of the priorities in our Police and Crime Plan. Working together with partners across the county including businesses and employers, our objective is to help those who suffer in silence and reduce the impact on children and families. This training helps people recognise the signs and indicators of domestic abuse and gives victims confidence that they will get the help and support they need. It really is a great initiative and one that we are proud to support.”
Free webinar supported by the BBC on how to get your charity’s story into the news. Learn directly from three leading journalists ‘How to pitch in a pandemic’.
Celebrate Small Charity Week with a Virtual Volunteering Event. In small groups via Zoom, get free expert 1-to-1 advice with media and communications volunteers who can help you with the communications challenge you are facing.
Free webinar with Google Digital Garage providing training on Writing for Social Media. Learn how to create compelling content and develop the right tone of voice. Discover writing techniques to tackle character limits online and how to interact with your audiences.
Time to Change is a growing social movement changing how we all think and act about mental health.
“9 out 10 people have faced stigma in their lifetime due to mental illness”
Too many people are made to feel ashamed or isolated because they have a mental health problem and, for some people, the stigma and discrimination are said to be worse than the mental illness itself.
What Is Being Done?
Essex is home to two Time to Change Hubs – one in the East of the county, and one in the West. Collectively and independently, the Hubs initiate and run regular local activities to challenge mental health prejudice, coming together to maximise impact.
The Hubs also work with employers and schools to help end the negative attitudes and behaviours towards people experiencing mental health problems.
Where Do the Hubs Work?
The East Essex Hub covers all areas located in East Essex including Tendring, Colchester, Braintree, Chelmsford, Maldon, Castle Point, Rochford, Brentwood, Southend and Basildon.
The West Essex Hub works across Epping Forest, Harlow, and Uttlesford.
Time to Change Champions
Time to Change Champions are at the heart of our campaign; our work is Champion led.
Champions use their own experience of mental health problems and talk about mental health whenever they can, including:
Having conversations about mental health with family, friends, or even the postman – and talking about their own lived experiences
Running a Time to Change activity within the community, such as in a café, train station or their workplace
Telling their story online or in the media
Champions can dedicate as much or as little time as they want to the role, there is no time commitment. The Time to Change Hub Co-ordinator is there to help and support Champions with their anti-stigma campaigning.
Full training is provided, and Champions learn skills on how to reduce the stigma around mental health.
Champions can also apply to the Time to Change Champions Fund for a grant of up to £500 to run an anti-stigma event.
If you’d like to find out more about becoming a Time to Change Champion, please contact your local Time to Change Hub.
We are proud to release our evaluation report of a digital inclusion partnership pilot in West Essex, funded by DCMS, involving Citizens online, the Digital Boomers Group, delivered by CVSU, VAEF, Rainbow Services, supported by Your Alcove Ltd, and Acticheck Ltd.
This pilot lasted one year exploring the merits of the Living Smart Homes concept and the Digital Buddies and Learners model, focusing upon the elderly, and those of any age living with a disability, We are extremely proud of the outcomes and learning acquired about the digitally excluded within our communities and how we can reduce the barriers to the lack of inclusion within these cohorts.
I think it strongly proves that digital has a vitally important and relevant part to play within the lives of many of our marginalised and excluded members of our society. Also it shows how it can improve their lives in the sense of being able to connect with the outside world and function easier within your home when coping with other life challenges.
Charities may be able to access local authority funding via either the small business grant or retail and hospitality grant.
The Small Business Grant provides a one-off cash grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses, to help with ongoing business costs.
The Retail and Hospitality Grant provides a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property, depending on the rateable value, if your organisation operates within the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors.
Eligibility for these varies by local authority, but the small business grant will take precedence over the retail and hospitality grant – we suggest you look into the uses of your premises to see which you are most likely to be successful for.
Essex Councils for Voluntary Services (ECVS) are co-ordinating the offer of a small team of Employee Volunteers from Essex County Council with bid-writing experience. These volunteers can help complete funding applications for VCSE organisations in Essex which have been adversely affected by the impact of Covid-19 on their activities and income and are at risk.
If you would like to be considered for this support please complete this Expression of Interest and an ECVS member will be in touch with you to discuss further. This is at present a time limited activity, so we ask that you put your details forward as soon as possible to enable us to assess your requirements against the time, skills and experience of the team providing the support and schedule in as many requests as possible.
These FREE skills webinars are being provided by Anglia Ruskin University as part of the Community Research Project on the 18th June. They will help those of you with organisation and community groups and fellow members to further develop leadership and negotiation skills.
Developing leadership skills is about identifying and understanding our own values; working within a diverse environment; developing relationships within teams; and defining identities. Effective leadership is crucial to the success of any organisation as leadership is about motivating and influencing people so that they work together to achieve the goals of the organisation.
Negotiation is something that we all engage in every day, often without even realising it. Formal negotiations form a crucial part of most people’s day-to-day professional or work lives, but informal negotiations are often engaged in any environment, without any structure or pre-planning. This webinar will enable you to develop your existing abilities as a negotiator, with emphasis on a practical application of those skills.
These workshop are organised by Dr Claudia Schneider (Reader in Migration Studies) from Anglia Ruskin University who has conducted research on social inclusion over the past 15 years. The workshops discuss the concept of two-way social inclusion and presents a number of national and international social inclusion projects in the context of migration.
