We want to explore how people are using their local community pharmacies and how they think services could be improved. As part of this project, we have launched a new survey to encourage people to share their views and experiences. Whether it’s picking up prescriptions, getting health advice, or using walk-in services, your voice matters. By getting involved, you can help shape pharmacy services and improve access to healthcare.
We are particularly interested in hearing from:
Children and young people
Frail/housebound residents
Parents and carers
People with neurodiverse conditions
People with sensory disabilities
For more information, visit the Healthwatch Essex website:
We are pleased to share an important new resource designed to shine a light on domestic abuse affecting people in later life. On 29 October 2025, partners across Essex launched Look. Listen. Be aware – a countywide campaign focused on increasing understanding, improving identification, and strengthening support for people aged 70 and over who may be experiencing domestic abuse.
Domestic abuse in later life is often hidden. Older people may face unique barriers to seeking help, including dependency on a partner or carer, mobility or health challenges, or simply not recognising certain behaviours as abuse. This campaign aims to break down those barriers and ensure our communities know how to spot the signs and where to turn for help.
Campaign Goals
Raise Awareness
Highlight the realities of domestic abuse among people aged 70+.
Help the public and professionals recognise key warning signs.
Promote the support available through COMPASS, Essex’s specialist domestic abuse helpline.
Encourage anyone supporting older people to reach out for advice and guidance.
Educate & Equip
Provide clear information for professionals—including caregivers, health and social care teams, and community organisations—on recognising abuse and accessing SETDAB resources.
Support local authorities and community groups to confidently signpost older residents to help.
Who the Campaign Supports
The campaign is designed for:
Community organisations and local authorities
Domiciliary care and healthcare professionals
Unpaid carers
Family members and friends
Individuals aged 70+ who may be affected
How You Can Help
Your support is vital in helping this message reach every community across Essex. You can get involved by:
Sharing and engaging with Look. Listen. Be aware social media posts
Using and circulating the partner toolkit across your networks
Adapting the sample content and campaign assets for your own channels
Championing the campaign within your local communities
Encouraging wider stakeholder engagement and amplification
Sharing SETDAB resources within your organisation to build awareness and staff confidence
Access the Toolkit
A comprehensive partner toolkit—along with digital and print campaign assets—is available to download from the campaign’s SharePoint folder. If you need access, please contact campaigns@essex.gov.uk
Essex communities with ideas to improve their local environment now have the chance to secure significant support through the National Lottery Awards for All England – Environment fund. Grants ranging from £300 to £20,000 are available to help organisations start new environmental initiatives, expand existing projects, or run one-off activities with a clear environmental benefit.
The programme, highlighted by Essex County Council’s Environment and Climate Action team, encourages applications from a wide variety of groups—not just registered charities. If you have a community-focused project that can make a real difference, this could be an ideal opportunity to bring it to life.
What Types of Projects Can Be Funded?
The National Lottery is particularly interested in projects that make a positive environmental impact in one or more of these areas:
Green spaces and nature
Reducing carbon emissions or saving energy
Broader environmental improvements
Potential project ideas include:
Creating or enhancing community gardens, rewilding areas, or providing outdoor learning opportunities
Setting up repair cafés
Launching food growing or food sharing initiatives
Installing solar panels or other energy-saving features in well-used community buildings
Simple Application Process
Applicants need to answer only a few straightforward questions, and decisions are typically made within 16 weeks. This makes the fund accessible to groups of all sizes, including new or informal community organisations.
If your organisation has a vision for strengthening local green spaces, reducing carbon footprints, or improving environmental wellbeing in your community, this grant could provide the support you need.
On Wednesday, 26 November, from 6–8 PM, the Lakeside Theatre at the University of Essex will host REFUSAL, an experimental, one-night-only participatory event bringing together an eclectic group of artists, sound practitioners, filmmakers, and researchers. The evening explores fragmentation, glitch, and disruption as creative strategies—an invitation to step outside normative regimes of spectacle and into a space of exploratory, collective encounter.
Working across sound, moving image, sculpture, performance, animation, and computational experimentation, the participating artists each offer a unique approach to storytelling and media. While their practices vary widely, they are united by a shared commitment to openness, curiosity, and refusal of fixed narratives. Following the performances, attendees are warmly invited to join an informal discussion—an opportunity to reflect on the relationships between media, consciousness, materiality, and the unknown.
Featured Artists
The programme includes contributions from:
Elena Botts Artist and researcher at Essex whose work interweaves glitch, sound-field recording, and site-disarticulation to propose “networked sonic rupture” as a gesture toward other worlds.
E.G. King Creator of semi-improvised sound and movement collages using analogue and digital tools to explore mindful creativity.
Pat Nininger Composer of harmonic and noise-based sound ecologies that dismantle linear listening through rupture and saturation.
Hadiyan Yusuf Kuntoro Yogyakarta-based experimenter and researcher whose interdisciplinary practice bridges scientific inquiry, design, and fine art.
aly,willamina cutler-gear Artist working between statistical linguistics, computation, and composition, here performing with homemade software reanimating dormant Norn lifeworlds.
Rachel Garfield Professor of Fine Art at the Royal College of Art, known for video works exploring lived relationships and shifting subjectivities.
Lu : Lucille : hebe Brownrigg A warm-blooded mammal working with voice, breath, and biological resonance, exploring contamination, melody, and microbial possession.
Yun Lu Animation researcher investigating technical failure, nonlinear temporality, and beyond-human animation
The evening will consist of a sequence of short performances and screenings, including video works, sound performances, talks, and hybrid forms. Each piece offers its own mode of epistemic humility—inviting viewers to inhabit uncertainty, complexity, and the refusal of closure.
The Senior Centre Café, run by HSPS, takes place on the last Friday of every month, offering a friendly and welcoming space for older residents.
📅 Next Session: Friday28 November 2025 🕐 Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM 📍 Location: The New Senior Centre, The Hub, Gilden Park, Fieldfare Way, Harlow CM17 0GJ (Behind the Linden store — free parking available along the road)
Attendees can look forward to an engaging afternoon featuring:
Chair Yoga
Refreshments & Games
A Health Talk from the Vision and Eye Research Institute on Diabetic Retinopathy, highlighting ways to reduce the risk of blindness and addressing global inequalities in eye health.
This session aims to:
Raise awareness about diabetic retinopathy and prevention strategies
Empower individuals and families to better manage diabetes and protect their vision
Everyone is welcome, and residents are encouraged to bring a friend along to enjoy the community atmosphere.
This half-day session is for anyone who has previously completed the Qualified MHFAider® course.We recommend that MHFAiders® attend a Refresher course every three years.
The four-hour MHFA Refresher course gives you the chance to:
✅ Renew your skills
✅ Update your knowledge of mental health support
✅ Practice applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan
✅ Access three years of MHFAider® Support and Benefits
Find out more about Mental Health First Aid training here.
Essex County Council are pleased to announce the launch of two new resources this week designed to strengthen our collective work in reducing youth vaping and supporting young people affected by nicotine dependency.
1. Youth Vaping Toolkit for Education Settings and Youth Professionals
Developed collaboratively by Essex Public Health and the Essex Safeguarding Children Board, and co-designed with secondary schools, this toolkit provides practical guidance, information, and tools for staff working with children and young people. It aims to support early intervention, informed conversations, and consistent approaches across education environments.
2. Youth Vaping Toolkit for Parents and Carers
Created by the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service – Healthy Schools team, this resource has been shaped directly by insight gathered from parents and carers. It offers clear, accessible information to help families understand youth vaping, spot signs of use, and support young people to make healthy choices.
These toolkits form part of our wider youth vaping pilot programme and will sit alongside a new Essex Public Health youth vaping campaign, currently being developed in partnership with primary education settings.
Are you passionate about supporting people’s mental wellbeing and ready to make a real difference in your community? Join us at Mind in West Essex as a PCN Mental Health Coach in the North Uttlesford area (Saffron Walden / Uttlesford North).
The Role: You’ll be the go-to contact for patients on their mental health journey – helping them access services, overcome barriers, and connect with what they need to thrive.
You’ll liaise with multi-disciplinary teams, support patients from referral to engagement, and champion person-centred recovery.
We’re Looking For You If You Have: ✔ Excellent communication & organisational skills ✔ A positive, flexible, problem-solving mindset ✔ Experience of mental health (professional or personal) ✔ Ability to work independently & as part of a team ✔ Good IT skills & willingness to learn
Why Join Us? Working with Mind in West Essex means being part of a friendly, values-driven charity with a vision of open, positive conversations around mental health and full respect and support for everyone.
An overview of how to spot, and help, people with debt or money worries.
Helping Clients in Problem Debt: Recognising Early Signs and Helping Clients Before Crisis
Debt and financial pressure affect millions of people, yet the early signs often remain hidden. Many people do not recognise their situation as problem debt, or feel embarrassed to talk about it until things reach a crisis point.
This practical and informative session is designed for frontline staff, support workers, housing teams, carers, community organisations, and anyone who regularly works with people who may be struggling financially. The session reflects real examples and insights from Citizens Advice work with clients across the region.
You will learn how to spot early indicators of problem debt, understand how financial stress affects wellbeing, and confidently start supportive, non-judgemental conversations that help clients get the right help sooner – recognising always that full, structured and options based advice can only be provided by providers regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (such as ourselves).
What the session covers
What problem debt looks like in everyday life
The difference between priority and non-priority debts and why it matters
Early behavioural and financial warning signs
How the debt spiral develops and how it affects physical and mental wellbeing
How to have sensitive, supportive conversations that build trust
Effective signposting and referral, including when to escalate and how to avoid overstepping into regulated advice
Local trends, common vulnerabilities, and real-life case studies
Practical tools and resources to help clients stabilise their situation
Self-care guidance for frontline workers who handle difficult conversations
Who this event is for
Anyone working with clients or service users, including:
Housing and tenancy teams
Carers and health professionals
Community and voluntary groups
Support workers and caseworkers
Charity staff and advice partners
What you will leave with
Greater confidence in recognising early signs of financial distress
Practical strategies for supportive and constructive conversations
Knowledge of trusted referral pathways and free debt-advice services
Insights that help prevent crisis and improve client wellbeing
A stronger understanding of client vulnerability and the impact of financial stress
