Echo July-August 2016

July/August 2016

the echo

Our vision: CARING, VIBRANT and STRONG communities where everyone can fulfil their potential.

Our mission: CONNECTING and INSPIRING people and organisations to achieve positive change, while CHAMPIONING their value to partners and the wider community.

Congratulations Healthwatch Dudley!

The Healthwatch Dudley team has been recognised with two honours at the 2016 national Healthwatch Network Awards.

The Awards received over 120 entries across seven categories and 28 local Healthwatch organisations were shortlisted. Healthwatch Dudley was announced as winner in the Diversity and Inclusion category for its work with Dudley Youth Service in inspiring young people to become Youth Health Researchers.

Healthwatch Dudley worked with Dudley Youth Service to set up the NHS England funded project. Dudley Youth Health Researchers worked hard to collect the views of 1,100 other young people, providing valuable intelligence to share with health and care professionals and helping the young people involved to build their skills.

Using early results from the project, Healthwatch Dudley will be further exploring the results to help shape how future mental health services for children and young people are delivered. The project is not only influencing the shape of services, Healthwatch Dudley shared what they learned from the project at a national conference for young people and health and social care professionals at Great Ormond Street Hospital in March.

Dudley CVS has been working with the Dudley Office of Public Health, Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Healthwatch Dudley to develop a Young Champion program which the project will also influence.

On top of that accolade, the Healthwatch Dudley team was highly commended for their work empowering the public to improve local care services. Healthwatch Dudley worked with Dudley CVS to develop an approach to inspire local people to play an active role in their own wellbeing.

Over 100 people from 32 local organisations attended Activate workshops earlier this year and the ideas generated have been shared in a report to the All Together Better Partnership Board.

Find out more at www.healthwatchdudley.co.uk

In this issue

- Healthwatch Dudley - Celebrating success: volunteer Sarah | Bayer Street Allotments | Healthwatch Dudley | What?

Centre | Ehsas Carers | volunteer Jon - Sharing and learning: Small Charity Week | East Coseley | Carers Week | The Big Connect - News: PSIAMS | Dudley MCP AVAILABLE IN LARGE - Get involved: Dudley PRINT ON REQUEST Volunteer Awards | Bostin Summer Camp | Dudley CVS AGM - News: CSE Awareness Week | Brexit and the sector - Afternoon tea with the Queen

Celebrating success!

Volunteer Sarah lands paid role

Everyone at Dudley CVS is thrilled for our admin assistant volunteer Sarah Hill, who’s moving to paid employment at White House Cancer Support after volunteering for 6 months.

Since January, Sarah has been a friendly face at Dudley CVS, supporting with admin tasks, phone calls and welcoming visitors to our Brierley Hill office. Sarah was previously employed at a Wombourne primary school and decided to try volunteering as a way to improve her confidence. After searching for volunteer opportunities online and meeting Eileen in the Dudley CVS Volunteer Centre, Sarah joined us as volunteer admin assistant in January. In April, Sarah started volunteering at White House Cancer Support.

Sarah has grown in her role and says, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting different people, finding out more about how different organisations and charities work and I feel like my confidence has really had a boost.”

Having the confidence to apply for and get the job of Information and Support Officer at White House Cancer Support makes Sarah feel “more excited than nervous” about the new challenges and opportunities she’ll face. Sarah is sure that her time volunteering has helped her to get back into employment and her message to anyone, particularly people that might have low confidence, is “Come and see Eileen, try volunteering. It will get you out there, boost your confidence and let people see your potential. You never know where it might lead!”

Goodbye and good luck Sarah, from everyone at Dudley CVS. Bayer Street Allotments Association £10,000 for Bayer Street has been awarded £10,000 by Awards Allotments for All after a year of hard work from Awards for All supported by Becky from Dudley CVS. The grant will be spent on improving facilities so that community groups and schools can join in activities on the site.

The group will install a wheelchair accessible, water-free and sewage-free eco-toilet, which will compost waste.

The group is already really active in its community, since Becky linked them with colleagues Neil and Donna and the East Coseley Big Local programme.

Through this, the group has worked on growing projects at Coseley Railway station and throughout the area, and has shared their expertise with students of Rosewood School and more than 40 young members of Darkhouse Baptist Church’s holiday club.

Becky supported the group with an application to Awards for All. This involved reviewing the group's constitution, helping the committee amend and understand it, and liaising between the council and Awards for All because the project involved capital work on a Council-owned site. So it’s great news that everyone’s work has paid off.

To read Becky’s story of working with the group, visit: tinyurl.com/jajyj78

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Celebrating success!

Healthwatch Dudley is independent and local!

It’s been a busy year for our local Healthwatch, which has continued to give our communities an influential voice in the development of health and care services.

In the last year over 2,200 people have had their say through Healthwatch Dudley surveys. The team has had conversations with more than 5,000 people, their activities are supported by 72 amazing volunteers and together they have reached out to more than 27,000 local people.

The Healthwatch Dudley 2015/16 Annual Report will be officially launched at the Dudley CVS AGM in October but for a sneak preview head to www.healthwatchdudley.co.uk. There you will be able to find out how the team act on what they hear by producing strong evidence based reports to influence and help shape local services.

The What? Centre scoops prestigious Queen’s Award

Congratulations to the What? Centre in Stourbridge for winning the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service this year.

The What? Centre provides one-to-one therapeutic counselling and advice services for young people across the borough, working with more than 120 young people per week.

The charity is one of 193 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to tackle community challenges.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work in their communities and the What? Centre will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant later this summer.

For more on this, visit: tinyurl.com/zm3s3fq And if you’ve been inspired to nominate a group for this award, contact Eileen on 01384 573381.

Ehsas Carers now a charity

A support group for carers from minority communities is celebrating after becoming a registered charity.

Dudley CVS helped Ehsas Carers to register as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). Support included developing a new constitution and applying to the Charity Commission.

Trustee Shazia Zaman said, “Can I take this opportunity on behalf of Ehsas to thank you for your help for the entire process. I hope this will mean more opportunities for our carers and the support they will receive.”

To contact Ehsas Carers call 01384 422522 or email ehsascarers@gmail.com

Top nomination for volunteer Jon

Staff at Dudley CVS and Healthwatch Dudley are pleased that passionate volunteer Jon Mansell has been nominated for a prestigious West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner's Outstanding Citizens award.

Last year Jon received one of our Volunteer Awards for his work to support men struggling with addiction and depression, and he features on this year’s Volunteer Awards poster.

Congratulations Jon on your nomination and good luck for the awards!

For more, visit: tinyurl.com/z6lty8w

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Sharing & learning Groups in Dudley get involved in Small Charity Week

At least 16 groups got involved in Small Charity Week 2016, an annual campaign to raise awareness nationwide of the wonderful work that small charities do.

Dudley borough’s small charities and social enterprises got involved in a range of activities and events run throughout the week, including telling their stories on social media and attending a special Synergy meeting focused on fundraising.

A mix of groups, volunteers and people that wanted to learn more about setting up and running a charity joined Becky and Eileen on Big Advice Day for a special dy1stop shop (tinyurl.com/z37sy7t). Becky and Eileen gave 7 hours of guidance between them, covering topics such as volunteering opportunities, planning, legal structures, finance and committees. dy1stop shop runs 10am-1pm on the first Wednesday of each month at DY1, Stafford Street, Dudley, DY1 1RT. On Volunteering Day, 12 groups joined Eileen for a networking and learning event for organisations that involve volunteers. Eileen now plans to run these sessions more frequently as participants really relished the opportunity to network and share ideas.

For more about how the week went, visit: tinyurl.com/hc7486t

East Coseley residents share work and learning in Bristol

East Coseley Big Local attended a Big Local Spring event in Bristol on 10 May to share what they have achieved in their area.

A team including Dudley CVS Change Maker Support Worker Neil, Brian Guest chair of the core group, Jan Williams head of communications and core group member and Cheryl Langford gave their presentation about the ongoing work they are doing in their community and how they have brought community groups together by forming a skittles league. They also told of the partnerships they’ve formed with local schools, Bayer Street Allotments and Network Rail/London Midland. They explained work that they are doing with the Canal and River Trust to make the canal safer and more accessible. They told of the work they are doing with Castle and Crystal Credit Union to help prevent people turning to loan sharks, shared how they’ve worked with Dudley CCG, Healthwatch Dudley and Integrated Plus, and explained their involvement with the residents supporting Coseley Youth Club in order to keep it open to local people.

They highlighted that the £1m invested in East Coseley by Big Local was only a catalyst for what they had achieved - it had brought people from all over the community together to work for the good of the area.

At the end of the presentation they were overwhelmed with the amount of questions and interest in what they had achieved so far in their community which seemed to inspire people from other areas. The team felt that they’d represented their community in a positive way and had well and truly put Coseley and the Black Country on the map.

For more on our work in East Coseley, visit www.eastcoseleybiglocal.net or email Notes taken on the day were in pictorial form neil@eastcoseleybiglocal.net. which is an amazing way of showing what was said & bringing things to life.

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Sharing and learning Carers Week events in Dudley

Carers Week (6-12 June 2016) is a national campaign organised by Carers UK, which takes place every June to raise awareness of caring and highlight the issues and challenges that carers face. It’s also an opportunity to recognise the contribution that carers make within their families and communities.

Based on the 2011 Census, around 38,000 carers live locally, including young carers. Many do not identify as carers and so are unaware of their rights and support available.

This year Dudley Carers Alliance, made up of local carers, voluntary and statutory organisations, planned a schedule together to raise awareness across the borough:  Monday 6 June - raising awareness of hidden carers who visited Russells Hall Hospital, CVS Carer Coordinator Sharon, Healthwatch Dudley’s Chris and others set up a pop up living room in the front reception.  Tuesday - Sharon and Sue Aldridge of Dudley Parkinsons raised awareness of Parkinsons and their carers; other Alliance members were in Halesowen.  Wednesday - the Alliance was in Stourbridge and on hospital wards providing the tea and chat service.  Thursday - the Alliance was in Dudley and Merry Hill; others were on the carers amble at Saltwells.  Friday - the Alliance was in Gornal and Coseley.

Dudley Carers Alliance aims to increase awareness and recognise the value of carers, who can often neglect their own needs due to the impact of their caring role. For more information, visit the new Carers Alliance website www.dudleycarersalliance.org.uk

The Big Connect

Eileen and Lorna from Dudley CVS were delighted to join Paul Jaunzems from Langstone Society to Business in the Community’s Big Connect 2016. Andy Mullaney, Dudley’s passionate and energetic Business Connector, had made the invitation which led to Dudley being well represented at the conference bringing together over 100 charities to explore the power of connecting in local communities.

Lorna’s highlights included a conversation with the Chief Officer of Exeter CVS. Like Dudley CVS, they are acting as a catalyst to encourage all sorts of groups and services to work together.

They have also taken on a vacant building which is being developed as a centre for social action and change.

Eileen’s highlights were workshops on employee-supported volunteering and diversity, which discussed approaching businesses with a different angle, such as asking them to give local charities free places on their undersubscribed training courses, and a recent Race at Work survey (tinyurl.com/ha9sqqv).

Workshops were fun, practically useful and well delivered.

Cecilie from New Philanthropy Capital took a crammed room on a whistle-stop tour of ways to measure social impact. You can find lots of handy information on their website: www.thinknpc.org. She also signposted everyone to a brilliant online resource: inspiringimpact.org David Sloly’s session on Finding Your Story was incredibly engaging. Much of what he shared is included in a TEDxBristol talk available to view on YouTube. There’s a link from his website www.sloly.com/

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News PSIAMS making a difference in Dudley

If you are a charity or social enterprise based in Dudley don't forget you may be able to get free or subsidised support with data and outcomes, including the development of a PSIAMS CRM (customer relations management) solution. The PSIAMS team (part of Dudley CVS) has now built over 200 custom digital solutions for local charities and social enterprises covering areas including commercial, innovation, governance, finance, assessment, outcomes, health, case management, HR and marketing.

"It's the best thing that Langstone Society has done for years. It's made updating client records so much easier...when I've been in a health appointment...I can just type in the updated plan and there it is, instantly on his file! Before, admin was a bit of a pain; I had to plan time to go back to the office (it could be days) and get out a file and fill it in all by hand." Langstone Society Community Support Worker To find out more about PSIAMS please visit www.PSIAMS.com or email hello@PSIAMS.com.

You can also get news, tips and advice via the Twitter account: @PSIAMS

Dudley’s new multi-speciality community provider (MCP)

Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will be implementing its next stage of Dudley’s new models of care by procuring an MCP from September 2016. People living longer with more complex health conditions is bringing about many challenges for the NHS. Therefore, the MCP is being developed to enable sustainable, personalised health and care services over the next ten years.

The MCP will be a new single legal entity from April 2017, responsible for a budget of £245 million. Dudley CCG will have one single contract with the MCP for an initial period of ten years. MCP services will be commissioned on outcomes and will be responsible for delivering a wide range of services including:       

Community-based physical health services for adults and children Some existing out-patient services for adults and children Urgent Care Centre and primary care out of hours service Primary care services provided under GMS/PMS/APMS contracts All mental health services All learning disability services Intermediate care services and services provided for people assessed as having NHS continuing healthcare needs  End of life services  Voluntary and community sector services All voluntary sector contracts currently held with Dudley CCG will be moved to the MCP. It is intended that any surpluses made by the MCP will be reinvested into the community to help stimulate and support community-led wellbeing activities, volunteering and peer support. In June, Dudley CVS brought together voluntary and community organisations to explore what the MCP might mean for the sector and how the sector can actively contribute to health care services and influence the development of the MCP. Over the coming months, Dudley CVS will hold further events with the sector on the MCP. For more information, please contact Kate Green on 01384 573381 or email buildingblocks@dudleycvs.org.uk

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Get involved!

Short can be sweet when you’re nominating!

When it comes to nominating wonderful volunteers, it doesn’t have to be long and detailed. Sometimes short is definitely better. Here’s an example of a great nomination from last year. It definitely spells out what makes this volunteer team amazing in very few words! In fact this nomination led to the team receiving a main award.

Don’t forget, you can use the nomination form in the middle of this printed edition of the Echo or download one from dva2016.wordpress.com/nominate/ Deadline for nominations: 22 August.

This team of dedicated volunteers ensures the distribution of much needed food to people in crisis across the Black Country.

Our family of volunteers do every task from collection, dating and moving tons of food to answering the phone and administrations.

Last year they sorted and delivered more than 100 tonnes of food, which helped to provide food to over 23,000 people throughout the year.

Some of our volunteers have learning difficulties and/or are vulnerable adults, but they still choose to contribute, in sometimes cold conditions, by doing both physically demanding and laborious tasks in a tireless way. We wouldn’t exist without them!

Invitation to Bostin Summer Camp

21 July 2016, 10am-4pm at DY1, Dudley Bostin Summer Camp is an invitation to people from or with an interest in Dudley’s voluntary and community sector to come together to talk, listen, connect and learn from each other.

If you’re from a voluntary and community sector organisation or if you’d like to know more about the changes, challenges and opportunities they are responding to in Dudley borough, then Bostin Summer Camp is for you.

To book and for more information, visit tinyurl.com/zfjranj or call Becky on 01384 573381.

Save the date: Dudley CVS AGM and Volunteer Awards Dudley CVS’s AGM and Volunteer Awards will be held on the evening of Thursday 20 October 2016 at Brierley Hill Civic Hall.

Members of Dudley CVS will receive their invitation and voting papers in the coming weeks.

To enquire about membership, call Dale on 01384 573381.

Report on child sexual exploitation awareness campaign

In March, CVS team members Nicki Burrows and Donna Roberts joined partners from Dudley Council, West Midlands Police and voluntary groups such as Phase Trust, ChatBack and Dudley Voices for Choice to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Dudley borough.

The campaign recruited community champions, volunteers from businesses, voluntary organisations and faith groups to help spread messages on the streets of town centres and online about the signs and impact of CSE. The team engaged 995 members of the public and more than 1,500 children and young people.

The CSE Awareness Week blog (dudleycseawarenessweek.wordpress.com) had 1,400 hits and the Twitter campaign reached over 20,000 followers.

For the full report, visit: tinyurl.com/hukkh56

The impact of Brexit on the sector

NCVO (National Council of Voluntary Organisations) has produced its first briefing on potential implications for charities and community groups of the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union. It points to political uncertainty, slow progress on government policy change, and potential financial challenges, according to a new briefing from NCVO. The briefing can be accessed at: tinyurl.com/hdqxmkh

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And finally...

Eileen and Sharon enjoy afternoon tea with the Queen

CVS team member Eileen was delighted to be invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. She had been nominated by two local Deputy Lieutenants in recognition of her efforts to encourage more nominations, for both the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service and Individual Honours (see page 3 for news of the What? Centre being the most recent local recipient of the Queen’s Award). Eileen was joined by CVS colleague Sharon.

It was a memorable trip for them, joining hundreds of others for afternoon tea in the Palace grounds. Eileen said, “It was fascinating to walk through the Palace and admire the paintings and antiques there, and to see the amazing array of headgear people were wearing. Although we were behind a sea of people, we did manage to catch a glimpse of the top of the Queen’s hat!”

Eileen has supported lots of people to nominate special voluntary groups or outstanding volunteers for the Queen’s Award and Individual Honours and wants to get Dudley borough on the map every year. If you want to nominate a special group or person, contact Eileen on 01384 573381 or for inspiration from past winners, visit: tinyurl.com/jguv883

This Echo was brought to you by…

Where you can find us

Dudley CVS team members

7 Albion Street, Brierley Hill, DY5 3EE

Melissa Guest, Communications Development Officer, Healthwatch Dudley Becky Pickin, Small Groups Development Officer Eileen Fielding, Volunteer Centre Development Officer Neil Langford, East Coseley Change Maker Support Worker Sharon McGlynn, Carer Coordinator Lorna Prescott, Senior Development Officer Kate Green, Integrated Plus Manager

With further contributions from

Mark Ellerby, Director, Cloudberry Innovation and Development

Dudley CVS is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee Place of registration: England Company number: 1998105 Charity number: 517766

Dudley CVS office @DudleyCVS

facebook.com/cvsdudley

DY1

Stafford Street, Dudley, DY1 1RT To hire the venue, call Dale on 01384 573381 @dy1venue

Brierley Hill Civic Hall

Bank Street, Brierley Hill, DY5 3DH To hire the venue, call James on 07801 710807 @bhillcivic

facebook.com/bhillcivic

bhillcivic.co.uk

Contact: Telephone: 01384 573381 Email: dale@dudleycvs.org.uk