Oasis Bath: Hub News Winter 2020

VOL. 1 • WINTER 2020

HUB NEWS A newsletter from Oasis Hub Bath

We Have Launched!

We had a great evening of celebration in November as we welcomed special guest Steve Chalke to officially open us as a fully fledged Oasis Hub! We heard from Steve and our Hub Leader Jo Dolby about the vision of Oasis locally and nationally, and our plans for the future. Claire Henwood, co-founder of our holiday hunger project Make Lunch, highlighted the rising need of food poverty in our city and why holiday hunger provision is so important. We were also privileged to hear the powerful story of one young woman's recovery from alcoholism, and how a twelve step fellowship group that meets in our building has been essential in maintaining her sobriety. As if that wasn't enough we also enjoyed Oasis logo cupcakes and champagne!

This issue: We Have Launched!

PAGE 01 Who are Oasis?

PAGE 02 Our Delivery Model PAGE 03 Kinship Carer's Group PAGE 04 Building Dreams PAGE 05 Join Us! PAGE 06

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Who Are Oasis?

Oasis Hub Bath is part of Oasis UK. So who are Oasis and what do we do?

Oasis is a global family which collectively works around the world delivering a range of projects and services that help tackle social injustice in whatever form it manifests itself. Through our integrated ‘Community Hub' model, we seek to create a new sense of neighbourhood so that everyone, regardless of their background and starting point, can join together to overcome life’s hurdles and reach their God-given potential.

We hope that our five ethos values (or behaviours) permeate everything we do and are obvious wherever and whenever you encounter Oasis. They are;

A passion to include everyone A desire to treat everyone equally, respecting differences A commitment to healthy and open relationships A deep sense of hope that things can change and be transformed A sense of perseverance to keep going for the long haul

"We can't wait to see how the work of Oasis Hub Bath develops" STEVE CHALKE

You can find out more about Oasis in the UK by visiting www.oasisuk.org.

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Our Delivery Model At Oasis Hub Bath we’re involved in a range of different community projects, all of which sit in our tiered community work delivery model: Direct delivery Anything that we deliver directly and independently, even if other organisations are involved.Â

Partnership delivery Projects and services we co-deliver with one or more partner agency or organisation.

Hosted delivery Projects and services that are delivered by other agencies or organisations, but which use our facilities as a base

Private hire The rental of our community space which provides important income for the above tiers.

Some of our Current Projects...

Direct Delivery Make Lunch: our holiday hunger project serving free, nutritious meals to families in the school holidays in several locations across Bath.

Partnership Delivery Kinship Carers Support Group: A monthly support group for kinship carers enabling them to access vital peer support, as well as being able to talk with social care and be signposted to relevant support and resources.

Hosted Delivery Addiction Support Groups: Through our partnerships with Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, Oasis Church Bath is home to six different addiction support groups.

For more information and to read about our other projects visit www.oasisbath.org/projects

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Kinship care is ‘when a child lives full-time or most of the time with a relative or friend who isn't their parent, usually because their parents aren't able to care for them’. (Grandparents Plus). There are around 200,000 children in the UK living in kinship care, and approximately 100 kinship carers in BANES.

Research shows that around half of children (52%) are in kinship care as a result of parental drug or alcohol misuse, although other reasons include bereavement, imprisonment, parental abuse or neglect and parental ill health. Almost half of children in kinship care have some kind of special need (49%), most commonly emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Despite these complex needs kinship carers often don’t receive the same level of support as foster carers, which is why we, in partnership with BANES Council Family Placement Team, have started a monthly support group just for kinship carers. Our group provides an important service and enables kinship carers to access vital peer support, as well as being able to talk with social care and be signposted to relevant support and resources.

We've had three meetings so far with 11 different carers accessing the group. The format is simple and is based around peer led, informal conversation. There is always coffee and cake, and our role is simply to provide a safe space where carers can meet and spend time with others who understand what they're going through. We hope to access funding in the near future to develop the group and offer more services to kinship carers in need.

HUB NEWS

"Coming to the group has been so helpful. I had no idea how much I had to say, and how much I needed to talk!"

PAGE 04

Building Dreams Oasis Hub Bath exists because of a partnership between Oasis UK and Hay Hill Baptist Church, a church that has been in existence on the Paragon in Bath since 1869.

The Hay Hill Baptist Church building, now renamed as Oasis Church Bath, is now managed by Oasis. Developing this amazing space into a vibrant, modern, community facility for a range of groups and projects to use, is one of our big dreams.

"Between 2015 2018, 173 community spaces in our area have been lost"

The building is a beautiful, grade two listed, 150 year old property, rich in both heritage and potential. However, it presents a range of challenges and is in need of a major refurbishment. In 2019 we were delighted to receive a substantial grant from the St John's Foundation, which has enabled us to commission a feasibility study and project execution plan for the property.

This is the best possible way for us to understand the building's current status and condition, as well as develop an exciting plan for the future which ensures this building is protected as a community asset for our city.

We have commissioned local architecture firm Connolly Wellingham to complete our study, which is well underway! We'll keep you updated with our progress and the results of the study once its finished. We want to say a huge thank you to St Johns for their support and funding.

QUARTET COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

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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

Oasis Hub Bath is a registered charity (no.1138904) and part of Oasis UK. To contact us email welcome@oasisbath.org

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