Agenda item

The Community Champions is a neighbourhood based volunteer project which focuses on health. The paper describes the current 6 projects and activities delivered, and reports on the key findings from the Social Return on Investment Evaluation from 2014. The committee is asked to review the approach and make recommendations about how the approach could be extended or developed.

Councillor Rory Vaughan welcomed Christine Mead, Behaviour Change Commissioner, together with Rahma Ibrahim, a Community Champion from the Edward Woods Estate.  Ms Mead provided a background to the project which had started with The White City project, initiated as one of 16 projects under the Well London Programme, in 2008.  Three initial projects in Old Oak, Park View and Edward Woods had successfully established themselves within the fabric of the local communities they served.  This led to three more projects being established, also based within the Borough.  Ms Mead attributed this success to way in which the projects were structured and the responsiveness of volunteers within the community.   Volunteers worked towards improving their own as well as local health knowledge and also received training and support from the Royal Society of Public Health.  This process equipped them with skills and knowledge to enable them to undertake health focused projects within their localities that were of interest to them, allowing them to develop at their own pace and initiative.   Evaluations of the first three projects demonstrated significant impact beyond the broader sense of public health, so affecting positive change on community safety and cohesion, employability and improved health in terms of being more active.  At the core of each project was a strong sense of neighbourliness and the desire to affect change from within the community. 

Mrs Ibrahim was invited to share her experience as Community Champion, based in her locality, the Edward Woods Estate.  In 2013, Mrs Ibrahim explained that she had found herself struggling to cope with the demands of a growing family and expecting her fourth child.  Feeling isolated and seeking a wider purpose in life, she discovered the work of the Edward Woods Community Champions, who had welcomed her, offering support, information and guidance.  Mrs Ibrahim eloquently explained that the Community Centre had become a surrogate family to her, having herself, no immediate family residing in the UK.  She discovered a passion for volunteering, attending coffee mornings and organised events, and was subsequently motivated by a strong desire to help her local community flourish.  As her confidence increased, in time Mrs Ibrahim was sufficiently motivated by the experiences of mothers and families in the Somalian community to reach out to them, offering support, information and organising group trips.  Recognising a health need within the Somalian male community, and the high prevalence of drug use (specifically, “Khat”, a class C drug illegal since 2014) eventually led Mrs Ibrahim to paid employment with Turning Point.  Her experience as a Community Engagement Worker offered her invaluable learning and development opportunities, through which she was able to engage with Somalian community. 

Mrs Ibrahim expressed her gratitude for the opportunities she had gained through her work as a Community Champion, which she considered to be life-changing.  The beneficial impact of this role also extended to her family, and in particular her daughter, for whom she had become positive a role model.

Councillor Joe Carlebach thanked Mrs Ibrahim for her excellent presentation, commented that the Community Champions initiative was a fantastic intervention in hard to reach communities, noting the empirical evidence (Cabinet Office report, social Return on Investment or SROI) which supported this view. He commended the work of Ms Mead and her colleagues, who had been instrumental in launching the project.  Given the huge benefits in terms of improved health outcomes, self-esteem, employability and engagement with hard to reach groups, Councillor Carlebach asked what further support could be offered to further facilitate the work of the programme, particularly, for example, with GP’s, who have not integrated Community Champions into the services they offer.  Ms Mead explained that the Community Champion model had evolved from the work of what was known as the “Nudge Unit” (Cabinet Office, Behavioural insights Team), which established that most people were likely to act on messages communicated to them by friends, family or neighbours. It followed that communicating messages about health in this way would ultimately lead to improvements.  The SROI study did not just set out the aims of the project but additionally, the benefits.  It was noted that there had been further developments, working more closely with the CCGs and housing providers.  Working with GPs was more challenging given the pressures practices were facing, although there were exceptions with Community Champions based in practices.  

Ms Mead sought the support of the Committee on how links with GP practices could be further improved.

ACTION: Public Health / HASCSIPAC

Councillor Andrew Brown commended Mrs Ibrahim on her moving presentation and congratulated her on seeking improvement that was not limited to her own circumstances but more broadly linked to that of the wider community she lived in.   Councillor Brown viewed this as a clear return on social investment and believed the estimate of £ 2.78 million to be considerably underestimated.  In response to the question of what the Committee could do to further support this work, Ms Mead referred to the concept of “frugal innovation”.  There were many ideas involving innovative development and communication and their applications.  Community focused helpers were a vibrant and growing resource, which when motivated and stimulated offered a potentially huge social return on investment. 

Referencing her earlier example of Somalian drug users addicted to “Khat”, Mrs Ibrahim sought more support.  She explained that many users lacked awareness about how the drug was manufactured or where it originated and were subsequently also unsuspecting about possible contaminants, with serious consequences.  Help, advice and support services to users were unavailable to many who were already dealing with difficult situations, and feeling increasingly disenfranchised and isolated.  She concluded that a holistic approach was required, as the prevailing enforcement laws ensured that some Somalian men returned to Somalia, leaving Somalian mothers to deal with a second generation of young people, continuing the same cycle of addiction.  Community Champions did much to raise awareness about drugs and alcohol but further support was needed. 

Patrick McVeigh welcomed the report, and with reference to page 36 enquired what was the appropriate community response.  Ms Mead explained that the JNSA was an evidenced based analysis which identified the need of communities across the community.  In terms of inequalities, Public Health looked at the age of death, with early death being equated with the level of poverty and deprivation that characterised deprived areas.

Councillor Natalia Perez thanked Ms Mead for the report and commended Mrs Ibrahim for the good work undertaken and how it had benefitted her community.  Focusing on issues such as employability, Councillor Perez enquired about the role of the third sector in terms of supporting the beneficiaries of the programme and in terms of the volunteering opportunities to engage with local residents.  Ms Mead responded that the programme focussed both on improving employability and health outcomes.  Public Health focussed on the wider determinants of health, which in turn could improve employability.  Community Champions was a pathway to employment and offered a clear link to improved health outcomes. Mrs Ibrahim pointed out that every champion was an individual, with choice as to what they could achieve once they were offered a road map to guide them. Ms Mead continued that they relied on the third sector coming forward as an organisation which could determine and shape the structure of the projects, with the primary capability being the capacity to reach local residents. Mrs Ibrahim confirmed that while her experience as volunteer had directly led to paid employment, it had also exceeded her expectations, offering her the opportunity to develop skills and be passionate about serving her community. 

Councillor Hannah Barlow commended the report and enquired about the training days offered, what were the key incentives offered and pastoral support volunteers were provided with, acknowledging that voluntary roles required energy, commitment and support.  Mrs Ibrahim explained that she had received health care training (achieving NVQ Level 3), travel and childcare reimbursement, assistance with training placements.  Funding was a practical concern, but more important was mentoring and support from like-minded individuals, acknowledging that individual volunteers would each have different skills but would receive equal commitment.

Co-optee Bryan Naylor expressed his support for the report and enquired about the way in which community champions were recruited and the sustainability of the programme and how the third sector worked to sustain it.  Commenting on recruitment, Ms Mead explained that successful recruitment was based on hard work and the commitment of colleagues, spending considerable time in talking people.  She added that there were limitless numbers of people (of employment age) who were interested in making this kind of contribution through the programme.  The work of the project manager, together with committed volunteers, was critical to the projects overall success, which then became sustainable through the energy generated.  Sustainability was also achieved through the life of the community itself, with most individuals residing within them long term, helping to sustain and embed a network which exceeds the span of the locality of the project itself.  Community projects have a natural lifespan, evolving over time. 

Councillor Brown enquired whether the training offered to volunteers could be extended to include academic support for Mathematics and English qualifications.  Mrs Ibrahim commented that these had never been her strength but acknowledged that during the course of her training, her proficiency in both verbal and written English had improved considerably because of her work as a Community Champion.

Councillor Sue Fennimore reported that the Administration had undertaken considerable work through Poverty and Worklessness Commission which had produced a report, the findings of which were promising and impressive.  The Community Champions programme was major part this work, as was the role and vital contribution of volunteers and the third sector.  The draft strategy contained 10 main recommendations, many of which captured the journey experienced by Mrs Ibrahim.  The Community Champions programme was embryonic and the start of a number of projects that will be rolled out across the borough under the Poverty and Worklessness Commission umbrella.   It was noted that the Commissions’ report will be considered by the Committee at its meeting in January 2017.

Councillor Rory Vaughan asked how information about the benefits of the project could be more effectively communicated across the Borough, and further, how it could be made more accessible.  Councillor Barlow distinguished between face to face contact and online social media tools, and how these could be applied more effectively.  Ms Mead confirmed that face to face contact was critical in the way in which it reduced social isolation but added that a number of the Community Champions used Whatsapp group messaging to maintain contact and share information.  However, while this was a powerful tool, it was no substitute for face to face contact. 

Summarising the key points of the discussion Councillor Vaughan confirmed that the Committee supported the continued expansion of the programme and emphasised the importance of partnership working between Public Health, housing and health professionals across the Council.  Councillor Vaughan also recognised the potential hurdles in engaging GPs in this area and noted the increasing need to raise drug and alcohol awareness amongst particular groups of the community.  Councillor Vaughan acknowledged the vital role of the third sector in the development and training of volunteers and the benefits generated, both in terms of improved health outcomes and employability.  Finally, Councillor Vaughan confirmed that the Committee would be considering the Poverty and Worklessness Commission report in January 2017.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.