The Essex Alliance is proud to announce that we will be launching The Essex Map – a community asset map of our county – on Tuesday, 23rd April 2019!
The Essex Map is designed to give our local public a better understanding of the services available across our county, and help them to connect with these services. Users can search by location, category, and keyword tag to discover the wide variety of charities, social enterprises, community groups, venues available to them.
As a member organisation of The Essex Alliance, you have had a service listing created for you. Before we launch to the public, we invite you to claim your listing and check all of the details are up-to-date. You are also welcome to add additional listings, should you feel that your services would be better listed individually to help users understand the work you do.
To claim your free listing, please visit The Essex Map website using the link below and search for your organisation. At the bottom-right of the listing, you’ll find the “claim this business” link which will allow you to request ownership of the listing and correct/add details.
If you have any questions regarding The Essex Map, including advice on how to make the most of your listing, please do not hesitate to email us using the address at the bottom of this email.
We hope that you will find The Essex Map to be a useful promotional tool for your organisation, but if you have any suggestions on how we can further improve this service please email us.
Following on from the successful delivery of several “Meet Up Mondays” across the
Braintree District, plans are afoot to introduce more venues across Essex in the
coming months, starting in Colchester, Maldon and Epping Forest. “Meet Up
Mondays” are already up and running across Suffolk, where they have been highly
successful at reducing social isolation and loneliness. Paul Tufnell, Senior
Commissioning Officer from the Adult Social Care – Early Intervention & Prevention
Team at Essex County Council, said: “Braintree District Council have picked up on
this scheme and done a fantastic job in rolling it out across their District. There is
definitely a lot of momentum and enthusiasm around this idea and we look forward
to seeing how it develops across the other Essex Districts”.
The purpose of “Meet Up Mondays” is to address isolation and loneliness. Once a
venue has been sourced and a regular time and day set (usually Monday, but it
doesn’t have to be), anyone is able to go along, completely free of charge.
Loneliness can be defined as “a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of
companionship” which occurs as a result of “a mismatch between the quantity and
quality of social relationships that we have, and those that we want” (Perlman and
Peplau, 1981). It is an increasingly prevalent issue facing today’s society, especially
with our aging population. One million people aged 65 and over say that they always
or often feel lonely. However, 92% of people find it difficult to admit to others that
they feel this way, with 80% feeling judged because of it and a third of people
thinking that there is something wrong with them. But it’s not just the older
generation – 13% of us feel lonely all of the time, and two-thirds of us know
someone who is lonely, often a close friend or relative.
As well as adversely affecting of mental wellbeing, loneliness is worse for our
physical health than we might think. According to the Campaign to End Loneliness, it
is worse for us than being obese or smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Furthermore,
lonely people are more likely to develop depression, dementia, and even heart
disease.
With those facts in mind, “Meet Up Mondays” is a relatively simple idea that has the
potential to make a significant, positive impact on large numbers of people. They are
arranged in local coffee bars, restaurants, pubs and cafes, which provides the safety
net of knowing that you can just drop in for as long as you wish, without having to
commit in advance, and everything is free of charge. Staff at the venues will provide
a warm welcome for those who might feel anxious on their first couple of visits.
The initiative is good for business too. Cafes, pubs and hotels, already valuable
assets within communities, provide a hub for people to meet socially. “Meet Up
Mondays” afford them the opportunity to show they care about their local
community and about ending loneliness, as well as enhancing their commercial
viability as they can showcase their premises.
The inspiration for “Meet Up Mondays” came originally from Mick Dore of The
Alexandra pub in London SW19, in January 2018, who decided to offer free tea,
coffee and sandwiches on a Monday lunchtime to entice those in the local area who
‘are fed up with their own company’. The initiative was picked up by Ann Osborn,
Director of the Rural Coffee Caravan in Suffolk, who spotted #MeetUpMondays on
Twitter and introduced it into her own loneliness prevention scheme. The concept
grew further when Ann met Sally Connick, Good Neighbour Scheme development
officer for Community Action Suffolk and there are now over 50 venues across
Suffolk.
Interested venues across Essex are strongly encouraged to sign up to “Meet Up
Mondays” and can do so by visiting www.MeetUpMondays.org.uk or by contacting [email protected]
Reference: Campaign to End Loneliness – www.campaigntoendloneliness.org
On behalf of Essex Partners we would like to invite you an Essex Communities workshop on the power of technology and what this means for public services in new communities.
The Essex Communities project is collaborative initiative developed with representatives from across the public sector to encourage senior leaders within Essex to consider the impact of growth on our communities and public services. Through a series of events we aim to encourage all public service organisations within Greater Essex to consider how they can shape the choices made in designing major new developments to:
have a positive impact on economic, social and health-related outcomes;
create opportunities to develop new models of public service delivery; and
help address long-term service pressures.
Supported by NESTA, the first of these events will provide a stimulating discussion on how technology might shape the planning and design of new communities, and how this might influence future lifestyles, improve outcomes and reshape the relationship between people and public services.
Senior leaders from across Essex will be joined by national experts to consider the implications of growth for public service partners, the opportunities afforded by new technologies, and the steps that we can take to maximise the economic, community and public health potential of the major new developments.
Originally published by Social Enterprise UK: www.socialenterprise.org.uk
With the publication of the NHS’ Long Term Plan and the imminent arrival of the long-awaited Social Care Green Paper, health and social care policy is starting to become clearer.
Join us at our Health and Social Care Conference: A Better Way Forward, taking place in London on 16 May, where an impressive list of speakers will explore the impact of these policies on the role of social enterprises.
We will see how social enterprises are well placed to lead on innovative thinking and to demonstrate how to work with communities and with local people. Chair of NHS Improvement, Baroness Dido Harding will be delivering a keynote in the morning focusing on the Social Care Green Paper and NHS Long Term Plan. Simon Devonshire OBE, Entrepreneur in Residence at the National Physical Laboratory, will also inspire delegates with his talk on digital advances to improve health and social care.
Workshops led by subject experts will delve into the realities and benefits of measuring social impact, provide practical tips on increasing your digital working, look at the opportunities provided by social prescribing; and give guidance on understanding contracts and funding opportunities.
Come along and contribute to discussions on current policy, be inspired by innovations, and take away practical advice to help drive you and your organisation forward.
The conference is of interest to health and social care social enterprises, charities, housing associations, NHS commissioners, local authorities, private providers and all those involved in supporting social enterprises.
Originally published by charitytimes: www.charitytimes.com
Written by Lauren Weymouth
29/03/19
The Charity Commission has published new guidance for charities, urging them to ensure any close relationships with non-charitable organisations are made clear to the public.
It comes amid concerns that some relationships between charities and non-charities have damaged public confidence in charity, the regulator said.
Charities are being told to ensure people outside of their charity understand the relationship with non-charitable organisations is not used to advance non-charitable agendas and interests.
The Charity Commission said its casework identified examples where charities have not managed their links to non-charitable organisations with care, in some cases allowing charities to be misused to further non-charitable interests, including commercial or private interests.
It said whilst it recognises that many charities work successfully in close partnership with a wide variety of non-charitable organisations, such as trading subsidiaries, the guidance is designed to help charities reap the benefits whilst also managing the risks carefully.
The guidance will also allow it, and the public, to better hold charities to account against existing rules, the regulator added.
The new guidance draws together relevant law and practice in setting out six principles to help trustees ensure their arrangements for working with a linked body secure the charity’s interests and independence.
Commenting on the guidance, Charity Commission CEO, Helen Stephenson said: “As regulator, we want charities to thrive and inspire trust, and we know relationships with non-charitable organisations can help a charity deliver on its purposes. But operating alongside other organisations should always be well-considered and trustees must manage the risks that can arise carefully, and with probity.
“Charities hold special status in society and the public rightly have high expectations of them, including that they are driven only by their charitable mission and purpose and that they work to defend and promote their independence from non-charitable organisations at all times.
“No charity should ever use or be used by non-charitable organisations to pursue uncharitable interests.”
The guidance is available on gov.uk and includes an infographic and checklist to help trustees check and review their approach.
The Essex Strategic Co-ordination Group (ESCG) has been working hard over the past two years to facilitate whole-system working, foster collaborative relationships and support Essex Partners, and the Essex Assembly to deliver the county’s ambitions set out in The Future of Essex.
Chaired by Ian Davidson, CEO Tendring District Council and Chair of Safer Essex, the ESCG plays a key role in joining up countywide strategies and work delivered in partnership by capturing and disseminating system learning; identifying and addressing barriers to whole system working; and facilitating and promoting engagement and communication.
With representatives from health, Local Authorities, voluntary and community sector, Police, OPFCC and Essex County Fire and Rescue Services, the Group proactively develops links to, and improves integration with, formal partnership bodies throughout Essex.
ESCG has played a role in developing the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, overseeing the JSNA, and supporting the delivery of the eight Future of Essex projects
The group is currently seeking additional representation on the group from health and economic growth partners. Meetings are held every eight weeks, if you would like to join the group, submit items for the agenda, or would like more information on the group please contact [email protected]
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