Minutes:
Sian Wade, Network Co-ordinator at the Active Faith Network, was invited to address the Committee as part of evidence gathering for the Scrutiny Review into Integrated Communities. The following points were noted as part of her presentation:
· there were approximately 350 projects across the city organised by the Active Faith Network which could come under the bracket of Integrated Communities. Some of these, which were also reported as part of the previous Scrutiny Review into Social Isolation, were noted as follows:
- ‘Safe Families’ – similar to Homestart with the idea being that a group of volunteers could be placed around a child to help them feel part of their community;
- ‘Assist’ – a scheme involving churches in Fiskerton, Reepham and Cherry Willingham providing a free confidential be-friending service for anyone over the age of 18 on issues such as anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions, which residents of the city could also access;
- ‘Level Up’ – a scheme providing English lessons which had led to a range of connections;
- ‘Butterflies in the Shed’ – a scheme for groups of men and women to learn new skills;
- ‘Eden Project’ – a scheme taking place in St Giles comprising a team of volunteers to revitalise the Methodist Church which had seen very positive engagement from young people and was a very good example of breaking down barriers and community integration;
- ‘Welcome Boxes’ – a scheme aimed at people moving into the city from other countries which provided information on how to connect with services such as schools, doctors and places of faith;
- ‘Night Time Crisis Cafes’ – a new scheme funded by the NHS as part of the mental health spoke initiative to provide support to people and help them re-connect with the community at times of crisis. The first would be opening in the Portland Street area twice a week from 10pm until 2pm but it was anticipated that more would be opened up across the city;
- ‘Bridge Church’ – a facility in the Sincil Bank area following close liaison with the NHS and the City Council’s Neighbourhood Team to provide a drop in facility throughout the week.
· Neighbourhood Boards had been really important to the organisation and it was appreciated that faith groups across the city should be more engaged with them moving forwards.
The Chair invited members of the Committee to ask any questions or make comments.
Comment
There was a common perception that churches or other places of worship tended to be attended and supported by older people.
Response
Alive Church, for example, had good engagement with young people, a lot of which were from the University of Lincoln.
Question
How did people access the ‘Welcome Box’ scheme?
Response
There was a Welcome Box website where the necessary forms could be completed, including those associated with GDPR. Schools and other institutions were targeted in order to reach as many people as possible.
Question
How did residents know about the work of the Active Faith Network?
Response
A lot of the projects were very local level and had relatively high levels of participation. Working through grassroots organisations, such as schools, had proven to be very successful.
Comment
All elected members had non-political leaflets that they produced to advertise their local ward surgeries. There was an opportunity to advertise some of these projects and events on the reverse of the leaflet, which in most cases were delivered to the majority of properties in the ward. It would also be extremely useful for the Council to include these projects and events on its website to help publicise them.
Question
Regarding the night time crisis cafes, would access to this facility be on the basis of NHS referral?
Response
This was a brand new initiative and a 24 hour crisis line with the NHS was already in place. Work had been undertaken in partnership with the emergency services to develop a referral process solely dedicated to mental health crisis. This would be on the basis of a professional referral to start with, but anyone could access the 24 hour crisis line which itself could lead to a referral. This would be a non-clinical service predominantly volunteer based, the training for which was extensive and already underway.
The information collated as part of this item was noted.