Aspiring Gallatown Learning Report

Aspiring Gallatown Evaluation and Learning Report

“Ah never came to community meetings before…ah went to one Tenants meeting years ago and nearly had to get ma heart re-started it was so boring. Ah didn’y realise you could talk to people and find out what really matters, elbow deep in flour and butter…and get things done… wi a smile on yer face. We’re changing the community, one cake at a time…” Cheryl (Core Group)

“This all requires transformational changes in what we do. We need to work in partnership moreeffectively. We need to make the most of the opportunities we have, and make sure that the resourceswe have make the biggest impact they can.” Draft Fife Local Outcome Improvement Plan. 2017 - 2027

14 th May 2018

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Aspiring Gallatown

Funded by the European Social Fund through the Scottish Government’s Aspiring Communities Fund, Aspiring Gallatown Stage 1 ran from October 2017 to March 2018. The programme’s overall aim is to establish new ways of working in which local people and organisations (public, social and commercial) collaborate to identify and develop sustainable opportunities and solutions to local issues; setting in train long-term changes that contribute to material reductions in poverty and inequality in the Gallatown.

We (Kirkcaldy YMCA, Inspiring Scotland, Fife Council and NHS Fife – key programme partners) understand such change will take time, but Aspiring Gallatown Stage 1 sought to lay strong foundations for this change through three key strands of activity:

1. Enhance community capacity and capabilities - giving local people the tools to engage with, explore and understand their community; and potentially develop responses to some of the needs, issues and aspirations identified.

2. Create a collaborative culture - a collaborative way of working amongst organisations that puts local people front and centre in planning and developing responses to local needs and aspirations, built on trust and mutual support.

3. Build a long term shared vision for the Gallatown - carrying out a community engagement process, led by local people and supported by local workers, to get a firm understanding of the needs and aspirations of the community and the underlying causes of poverty / injustice.

This Report

From the outset, efforts were made to capture the impact of Aspiring Gallatown Stage 1 and to understandhow that impact had been delivered. This report presents the findings from this activity.

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Core Group & Key Activities

The core group was a key part of the project and we started in earnest to recruit 12 local people, mostinvolved in local activities/activism though Link Up, Fife Council provision, Tenants and ResidentsAssociation or members of local groups and share the same passion to change things for the better. Wemet people individually/in pairs to talk over the project, with an emphasis on their hopes and dreams forthemselves, family and community and about their passions. Over time we lost core group members dueto personal circumstances but maintained sufficient numbers (8) to make the exercise meaningful.

During the first development session in November, to plan the community engagement - the strongesttheme to come out of discussion was the fact that, as activists, people are tired of being judged on the poorSIMD stats in the area - that although the SIMD figures in the Gallatown “make for pretty dire reading”,“there are loads of good things going on locally - groups and activities, that are great for the local communityand need to be reflected, recognised and celebrated a lot more…” Stuart

There was a stark realisation that we needed to move fast, with the festive period around the corner, soworkers and the core group came together to plan a number of different creative ways to engage the widercommunity, inform the long-term vision and enhance capabilities of the group, workers and local people -as well as reflect and harness the rich amount of work and projects that were / are ongoing in the community.

The ongoing community engagement led by Fife Council and branded as ‘Join the Conversation’ wasadopted as an effective model and to ensure continuity. The approach aims to: develop relationshipsbetween key agencies and the local community, grow confidence among local people in the value ofengagement, and stimulate participation in community life. A range of informal, fun activities including outdoor pop-up cafes and community lunches create a fertile environment for people stories.

The steering group of key local staff came up with 3 questions that would give the engagement some basicstructure and might be a catalyst for stories and conversations:

• What do you like about living here - what’s good about the Gallatown?

• How could things change to make things better in your opinion?

• What small things could happen that would make a big difference?

These questions framed the engagement and the groups/ activities enabled us to engage with a wide crosssection of the community in a fun way.

Key Activities:

• ‘Humans of the Gallatown’: a local photographer worked with 4 core group members to photographlocal people during their everyday goings-on and ask them to share their stories.

“Projects and outcomes are great - but stories are the beating heart of communities…” Jim Diers

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• Pathhead primary school songwriting - pupils wrote a Carol based on their dreams and aspirations.When 1 young P6 was asked what his dream was for the Gallatown, he replied: “I want to see a fakevolcano full of dogs…”

• Gallatown Gadgees - wrote, sang, played and recorded a song called Motown Gallatown celebratinglife in their community, supported by tutors from Kirkcaldy YMCA.https://soundcloud.com/user391909296

• Pop-up cafes - soup, tea/coffee, muffins and banter in various parts of the Gallatown to capturepeoples thoughts ‘where they are’. This was a great way of engaging with people and getting somespontaneous conversations.

• Peoples Map - a creative way of mapping the assets in the community and the skills and knowledge, including history / heritage. This activityhas transmogrified to include heritagetotem poles being made - inspired by asite visit to another community.

• Community lunches - foody banter filledevents to encourage a broad range ofpeople to come along and talk in a fun,informal way about their community.

• Soup packs - handing out soup packsto people in the community at 1 primaryschool and 3 community events, as wellas providing tasters of soup. This was agreat way of engaging with people,especially in freezing cold temperaturesand we gathered a lot of the Foodconversations.

• Community events - Halloween,Christmas, Burns night etc…andcommunity groups in the area.

• Bake off’s - proved an extremelypopular way to engage families in theconsultation and talk about Food basedissues.

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Progress Against Planned Outcomes

Outcome 1 - A group of local Gallatown residents (estimate 5-10 people) with an understanding of the underlying causes of poverty and injustice in their community and potential responses to them.

Along with Aspiring Gallatown staff, the core group (12 individuals) and others have been involved in a largecommunity engagement / consultation process through the activities mentioned above. They’ve helped toproduce a paper on the findings, including finding key themes and 4 over-arching priorities:

• Mental Health - A focus on front line support for (a lot) of people suffering from poor mental health,bereavement, grief, trauma, addictions. There was an emphasis on this being local and community ledand much more about safe places where people can go to get support, someone to talk - be listenedto, appreciated and treated like a human being and a member of the community.

• Community Provision - people enjoy activities that are on offer in the community, but they want to seea lot more happening - more in the way of opportunities for all ages. People also (again) spoke in detailabout wanting to be more involved in community life but suffered from (in some cases) extreme anxietyand felt they just couldn’t get involved, without the proper help and support.

• Physical Environment - people wanted to make better use of green spaces and assets in thecommunity and either repairing, upgrading or making spaces look and feel better. People feel like theywould socialise more and utilise these spaces more, if there was better planning around how they’reused and managed - including holiday provision, both organised and community led / run.

• Food Security - a lot came out around people not having access to food, or lacking knowledge andskills around cooking, eating healthily, what to feed themselves and their family.

Although the core group only had one field visit - to CLEAR Buckhaven, they made best use of the time they spent there and were inspired by their (CLEAR’s) use / improvement of green spaces and collaboration with Fife Council and other partners. The totem poles / heritage trail that the Gal’toon crafters are working on was totally inspired by CLEAR and they recognised the similarities in challenges for local people and CLEAR as a small community organisation, working in a top 5% SIMD area.

The core group were also inspired hearing about the work of COMAS in Edinburgh and their ‘20More’ project - tackling poverty on a community wide basis and unsticking the thinking around tackling poverty, including using some radical ideas to challenge the seemingly intractable issues.

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The core group, staff - everybody was overwhelmed by the sense of community spirit and pride in the area: “although I’ve never worked in the area, I’d heard a fair few negative comments about the Gallatown over the years and I’m delighted to say that it couldn’t be farther from the truth - the sense of community and feeling supported by the community is palpable and great to see…” Stewart AG worker.

Outcome 2 - A group of local Gallatown residents (estimate 5-10 people) with the confidence and skills to engage the wider Gallatown community, helping them to understand these causes and seeking their input on possible responses

6 core group members along with Aspiring Gallatown staff participated in a 3-day course delivered by SCDCto give participants an introduction to collaborative relationship building in communities and community-ledaction research. Although attendance was patchy (due to personal pressures on core group participants),the training created an opportunity to learn together about community wants/needs and provided a clearerunderstanding of the roles residents can play to facilitate and make change in the community.

“ ah never really understood until now how much of a part I can play and the difference I can make by working with other people. Up until now, I just bobbed aboot doing some volunteering here and there and no really realising the impact it was having…it’s been life changing for me…” Cheryl

Humans of the Gallatown also helped give some core group members increased confidence to head outinto the community and talk to random people. They made an effort to engage with people that they didn’t know, to widen the responses and speak to people not already involved in community activities. Only ahandful of people refused to take part and some of the people who agreed to take part were surprised atthe amount ofcommunity

activitiesthat were happening,were keen to find outmore and find outwhat they could getinvolved in or helpstart up.

Themethods

engagement

andactivities played to thestrengths

andpassions of themembers of the coregroup - making itmuch easier for them to engage with thewider community rightfrom the get go.

“I really like my neighbours - they’re really friendly. They’ll always be there for you if you need them. You’ve got everything you need on your doorstep here…that’s something to hold onto - you can’t buy that…you treasure that and hold onto it with both hands…” Tracy

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Outcome 3 - A group of local Gallatown residents (estimate 5-10 people) with the confidence and skills to engage and co-produce services and opportunities with other bodies as part of any response.

During the SCDC training, it came to light through 2 of the core group, that there was an emerging crisis inthe Gallatown with overdose and drug deaths. As 2 core group members had been working up their ActionResearch focus around support for people with addiction and mental health issues, they felt compelled totake action. They organised a small informal focus group the next day, with local people and discoveredthat there had potentially been as many as 6 deaths in the previous 4 months.

An emergency meeting of the Overdose Prevention and Drug Death Monitoring Group was called, with thehelp of the Fife ADP (Alcohol and Drug Partnership) at which a range of responses were discussed - mostat the suggestion of the core group members and from the community engagement work. The coremembers were represented at the meeting by a local member of staff from the Aspiring Gallatown team.

On the back of that meeting - a number of activities are being trialed including DAPL drop-in counsellingservices, set up of a Restoration Community and a safe space for local people to meet.

With support from staff and partners, some other new activities are up and running already, including YOGAand activities for older people - supported by core group members and other members of the community.

Outcome 4 - A strong collaborative (including local people, public, social and commercial sector organisations) where power imbalances are removed and people put trust in each other to create opportunities and solve local problems together.

Members of the core group came together recently along with local councillors, workers - voluntary andpublic sector - and some representatives of local business to look at proposals to take over the local bowlingclub and building as part of a community asset transfer.

The same group is meeting to plan and organise this year’s Community kids Gala and local businesses arebeing very pro-active in trying to pull in other partners. Some local businesses have been very pro-active inhelping the Gallatown Gala and Community Group in particular with local events like the seasonal partiesthey run. RBS are also looking into supporting the GGCG and Gallatown Bike Hub Ltd with things likeBusiness and financial planning etc…

Training opportunities provided by Link Up, GGCG and other partners were advertised to local smallbusinesses - REHIS Food Hygiene being a great example that was taken up by 2 local businesses for theiremployees.

A number of local businesses have also expressed an interest in doing Overdose / Naloxone awarenesstraining - recognising that there is a local problem and wanting to be part of a locally led solution.

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Outcome 5 - An increased number of local people with an improved understanding of the longterm plans for change in the Gallatown.

The local staff partnership held a community feedback session in February with over 40 local people in

attendance, to feedback what we had found out so far with the community engagement. At all the

engagement sessions, there have also beengreat discussions on the long term plans - whatthese might look like:

“we dinny want much…just a dedicated space to be creative - painting, pottery, wood craft, metal work, ship building… ok ah’m exaggerating, but just a wee space that we can call our own that’s open to everybody - right in the heart of the community…” Margaret - Gal’ton Crafters

An exhibition is planned for June to explore /feedback further to the local community andintroduce the Action Plan and 10-year vision for the Gallatown, as well as celebrating theachievements so far and launching the Humansof the Gallatown book. The event will be a funcelebration of the work that has happened sofar and a way to introduce and promote some ofthe new activities proposed by local people aspart of the community engagement.

Outcome 6 - An increased number of potential new community activists/leaders.

As well as recruiting 2 new local people for the Aspiring Gallatown Core group, we’ve also had new peopleget involved across a lot of the activities and connected with each other through being involved. 2 volunteersat the Gallatown Bike Hub have come up with a great new project to work with people in recovery or thinkingabout it, called re-covery - re-recycling and re-spraying bikes, as part of the cross-sector response. A smallbut perfectly formedresponse that has thembuzzing with ideas and newfound confidence.

Young people are alsoinvolved through theGallatown Youth ActionGroup, Youth Clubs and the Bike hUb. They’recoming together to helpwith the consultationaround the asset transferand the proposed Bike Hubpump track development.

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The question in the community engagement - ‘what small things would make a big difference’, has had an

amazing impact in terms of inspiring potential community activities and also local people willing to take partand /or get involved in more of a leadership role. Anamazing platform to work from in Stage 2 and the NDP.

“I’ve got the sparkle back in my eyes after getting involved in the Gallatown groups and now I want to get loads of other folk involved and getting active in the community - this is community spirit like it used to be when ah wis wee…and it’s a right gid laugh…” Bob Ross

Outcome 7 – A Neighbourhood Development Plan and Health Locality and Cluster Plan covering the Gallatown that is informed by local people’s priorities and interests.

Work continues on the Neighbourhood Development Plan; however, this will to a significant extent will beinformed by the Aspiring Gallatown engagement work, as well as previous engagement already undertaken

by Fife Council through their ‘Join the Conversation’ work.

The Health Locality and Cluster plan is only now getting to the stage of planning the consultation. The NHSsit on the Aspiring Gallatown steering group and our hope is that they will take the lead from local peopleon where and how they should be consulting. An NHS Health Promotion Officer also took part in the SCDCAction Research training with local people - unfortunately she is being switched locality, but her learning willstill be important in informing the consultation.

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Planned Outputs

Output 1 - Ten-year action plan that reflects local people’s priorities and identifies key enablers which will need to be put in place.

The Aspiring Gallatown plan is expected to be ready for launch mid-late June and will cover: fundingstructures; partnership working including increased private sector involvement; community assets - toinclude the asset transfer of the Gallatown Park Bowling Club and Gallatown Bike Hub pump trackdevelopment; continuous community engagement and development of more community activities;new/improved services. As stated, work continues on the Neighbourhood Development Plan and this willbe informed by the Aspiring Gallatown plan.

Output 2 - A preliminary operational and relational framework that defines how local people and organisations will work with each other going forward

The framework is currently in the early draft stage, as we transition through an interim period from stage 1to (possible) stage 2 ACF funding. The steering group felt that they wanted to finish the action plan andvision, including getting the community’s approval. The Aspiring Gallatown steering group have highlightedthe need to ensure collaborative work is ‘effective, efficient, coordinated’ and inclusive.

Output 3 - Vision Statement setting out resident’s vision for the type of Gallatown they want to live in.

The vision statement will be finalised and launched alongside the NDP / Action Plan and will focus heavilyon nourishing and flourishing of the community; building on the great work that is already going on in theGallatown, delivered by local residents, community groups, associations and partners and building for thefuture, combining slow, steady community building with strategic community planning and developmentand at the heart - local skills, knowledge, assets and passions.

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Output 4 - Stage 2 application to Aspiring Communities Fund.

We have gathered a lot of incredibly useful information over the past 6 months that we believe will inform a robust stage 2 application. We are currently waiting on Scottish Government guidance about this process.

Key Learning

We need to offer the right support to our core group and be sensitive to their circumstances

This has been a big project to deliver in a short space of time, which also had Christmas and New Year smack bang in the middle. Although this presented opportunities in terms of running engagement sessions alongside seasonal community events, we lost a lot of core group momentum at Christmas time - this was further compounded by the deaths of 2 prominent community members over the holidays, which had a big impact on 3 members of the core group.

We could have done more to support the core group through Phase 1 - that is abundantly clear. We could and should have been more wary of encouraging their involvement, without over-whelming them. This doesn’t apply to everybody, but probably a third of core group weren’t fully aware of what their involvement entailed and struggled because of that.

Probably the biggest health warning when it comes to having local people involved, whether it’s battle hardened local organisers, or new community activists, is that there needs to be proper support on the ground to ensure that people can take part - especially when a lot of the people living in the community are suffering from trauma, anxiety, chronic illness, mental health issues and a lot of other symptoms of grinding abject poverty. Being sensitive to their circumstances is key.

The Overdose Prevention and Drug Death Monitoring Group meeting mentioned above is a case in point. The meeting was attended by a lot of services - Police, social work, addiction services etc… a lot of services that the core group members have dealt with and don’t always have a great experience of.

The meeting was also talking about people they knew who’d died, in a very matter of fact way. Although the core group members were very keen to be involved at the meeting, they both suffer from severe anxiety issues - we had a conversation prior to the meeting and they decided it would be better for them not to be present, but for us to make sure they had a strong voice all the same.

We are proposing a mentoring programme in Stage 2, for existing and new volunteers/activists, so that they are properly supported and can keep themselves safe. “Support needs to work on two fronts, firstly further coaching and support for members of the community who wish to be involved and more work around relationships and partnership structures.”

A lot of the language and Acronyms around Community Planning and development are incredibly confusing for local people (and workers). NDP’s, LOIP’s, outcomes, outputs, inputs, indicators…to name but a few. Speaking to people in a way that’s understandable, nonthreatening and welcoming is vital for the community to …

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Smaller, short-term activities help people to engage

We’ve found that it’s the smaller short-term activities that people tend to focus on and get hooked into. Ifwe can get a balance between small quick wins that keep people interested, it’s easier then to look at thelonger-term plans and change that the community so desperately needs. The success of Link Up over thepast 6 years in the Gallatown has largely been down to the quick wins and slow, small, steady communitybuilding. If we can marry the two, so that we’re working towards the larger, more intractable issues andhave a vision - we’re on to a winner.

“People need to see results - immediate, concrete and realisable…they need to know that they can make a difference. We need to dream big, but it’s incredibly important to start small.” Jim Diers

We need to enhance how we work together and get local people involved in meetings

There are great examples of excellent partnership working through the project, but much more can be done- especially if people were working more effectively together. A major theme to come out of the engagementwas lack of information sharing - especially local people getting information about activities, projects, plans, developments.

One core group member suggested running a series of sessions with local organisations to highlight andresolve underlying issues: “the work we did with SCDC around relationships and conflict was so so useful and that could be rolled out to do some focused work around trust, conflict, communication and how we work together as a collective, for the greatest benefit of the community…” Kim

The steering group only managed to meet 3 times during stage 1 and it has been highlighted that that isn’tsufficient going forward into stage 2 and beyond. The other key point is how local people are involved - bothof whom said that they were very keen to be key members, but not when it involved long ‘laborious’meetings. This is a key point to be explored moving forward - how do we keep local people involved on anequal footing and remove power imbalances, while maintaining their passion, enthusiasm and attention?

We had a discussion around Community Planning at a family ‘tent painting and hotdog munching’ day. One of the mums who latterly joined the core group said:

“ah dinny ken anything aboot using fancy words and stuff, but if this is it (community planning) - daein’ fun stuff for kids and families in the community and making sure they’re healthy and happy wi full bellies… then get me a t-shirt printed wi ‘community planning legend’ on it …” Stacey

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