Oasis Bath: Hub News Spring 2020

HUB NEWS VOLUME 2 • SPRING 2020

THE MEANING OF HOPE

IN THIS ISSUE

JO DOLBY - HUB LEADER At Oasis one of our ethos values is 'a deep sense of hope that things can change and be transformed'. It is a value that shapes so many of our plans here and how we see the world.

Hope is not wishful thinking or day dreaming, it is a deep belief that tomorrow can be better, and the only way that can happen is if we take action today. We have hope that families will have enough food to feed their families, we have hope that our church building can be a resource for the entire city, we have hope that kinship carers can be properly supported and resourced. We hope for a better tomorrow and so we work as hard as we can today to turn that into reality. Hub News contains all the latest about how we do that as Oasis Hub Bath. I hope (!) you enjoy reading it!

The meaning of hope • P. 1

Coronavirus response • P. 2 A home for the city • P. 3 Oasis Pantry • P. 4 Spotlight • P. 5 Join us • P. 6

CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE Like many community charities, we've been saddened by the impact Coronavirus is having on so many people, many of whom are already vulnerable. We've been exploring ways of working with others to make sure any response or provision is joined up, and therefore more effective and sustainable.

Right from the beginning of the lockdown we got in touch with families we know through our holiday hunger project, Make Lunch, and asked what they needed. Through that we've been able to provide food parcels for families in need, and signpost people to other support services.

From May - July we're hoping to offer a fortnightly food parcel delivery service to as many people as we can, stocked with food from surplus food charity FareShare South West, and topped up by a donation from Waitrose.

3SG COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITY Virgin Care and 3SG (Third Sector Group) have come together alongside BANES Council and the CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) to offer an advice and support hub for those who are selfisolating, shielding or simply in need of help due to Coronavirus. 3SG have recruited 2000 volunteers across BANES who can help by befriending people and responding to practical needs As a member of 3SG we've been publicising the helpline set up to assist people and we're also working with 3SG to coordinate our food parcel distribution with other project offers so it can reach more people in need.

You can find out more about what 3SG are doing and how to help by visiting their mini-site at www.3sg.org.uk/pages/compassionatecommunity-covid-19

A HOME FOR THE CITY

Our building feasibility study (kindly funded by St John's Foundation) is progressing well, and our architects Connolly Wellingham have begun to draw up plans for the complete refurbishment and expansion of our city centre community building, Oasis Church Bath. The plans shown above are provisional only and have already changed considerably since they were drawn, but they give an idea of the scale of what we're hoping to achieve.

Our vision is that Oasis Church Bath can become a 'home for the city'; a multi-purpose, creative, vibrant space which caters for a wide range of projects, services and activities. We already use the building to deliver and host many different community projects, but there is so much more we could do, and the building is in need of some modernisation to make it fit for purpose.

We've consulted with all our building users, considered existing provision around us as well as local research, and we're confident we're moving in the right direction. We're excited to share more of our plans with you in future editions of Hub News, as things progress.

OASIS PANTRY Through our holiday hunger project, we've become increasingly aware of the problem of food poverty.

Research both locally and nationally shows that poverty is on the rise, and access to good quality, nutritious and affordable food is a challenge for many families.

That's why we're really excited to be launching the Oasis Pantry later this year, which will provide regular access to good quality food which would otherwise end up in landfill. FareShare South West, a charity who redistribute surplus food will stock our pantry, with members paying a small fee each week which will cover some of the project costs. Our pantry will be based in the city centre, filling a gap in current provision.

Similar projects are run by Southside Family Project and Mercy in Action, and we look forward to working in partnership with them. We'd like to thank them for their brilliant help and advice! Huge thanks also to Quartet Community Foundation, who have provided us with funding to purchase fridges and other equipment.

HOW THE PANTRY WILL WORK...

FareShare South West deliver surplus food to us once a week which stocks our pantry

Pantry members find us through direct contact or referrals from other organisations

The pantry opens once a week for members who pay ÂŁ3 to access ten items from the pantry

We are hoping to open the pantry in September 2020.

SPOTLIGHT In this new, regular Hub News feature we interview someone involved in or connected to the work of Oasis Hub Bath.

Hannah Simpson

Senior Practitioner ment Team BANES Family Place

What is your job and what does it involve?

I am a social worker for Bath and North East Somerset Council. I work to support the needs of children and their families where children are living with other family members or friends due to being unable to remain in their parents care – usually because they have suffered abuse or neglect.

Why is there a particular need to support kinship carers?

Often the children they are caring for have had very traumatic experiences which impact their development and day to day functioning. These difficulties do not go away just because they are no longer at risk and take many years to overcome.

Kinship carers can often feel very isolated and may have few people to talk to who really understand their situation. Kinship carers face the same challenges in caring for their child as foster carers or adopters yet the support services available to them are much less established. Thankfully this is changing and in Bath and North East Somerset we offer a broad range of support services to kinship carers including support groups, training, therapy for the child, advice and support around contact, therapeutic parenting support and tailored support plans.

What is the Kinship Carer's Support Group?

The kinship carers support group meets every month at Oasis Bath. It is open to any kinship carer who wants to come and is an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation, support each other, get advice, have a break and offload. The group is supported by Oasis volunteers and myself.

Why are Oasis key in making the support group happen?

Oasis contacted me having recognised a possible need in this area and we have worked together to establish the group in Bath. Oasis’ involvement in running the group is essential not just because they have provided us with a safe space to run the group but also because their involvement in its running demonstrates its impartiality. Kinship carers have often endured extremely stressful experiences through the court process and many people are disillusioned with professionals and particularly social workers. Oasis have been able to offer a support group which is for carers with no other agenda. It enables us to continually give carers the choice over how the group is run, whether they want professionals there or not and supports people to rebuild trust in services.

To find out more about the Kinship Carer's Support group email welcome@oasisbath.org

Join Us!

There are loads of ways to get involved in the work of Oasis Hub Bath. Reading this newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with all we're up to so if you want to make sure you receive this direct to your inbox, four times a year, let us know by emailing welcome@oasisbath.org. Here are some other ways you can be a part of what we're doing...

Volunteer...

From serving up food and facilitating craft sessions at our Make Lunch project, to being a listening ear for our kinship carers, there are loads of different volunteer roles at Oasis Hub Bath. Even a couple of hours every few weeks could make a real difference to someone in need, so if you've got some time to spare get in touch and we'll find the perfect role for you.

Give...

If you’d like to set up a direct debit or give a one off gift through bank transfer, our bank details are; Bank: Barclays Sort Code: 206582 Account Number: 33184838 Account Name: OCP Bath Reference: OHB GIFT

Follow us on social media... @OasisHubBath

@Oasis_Bath

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Oasis Hub Bath is a registered charity (no.1138904) and part of Oasis UK. To contact us email welcome@oasisbath.org, and to find out more about us please visit www.oasisbath.org