THE ADVOCATES - BVSC€¦ · ADVOCATES Generic, independent advocacy from Advocacy Matters / 8 all things voluntary & communityin Birmingham February 2013 223 SOCIAL MEDIA AND VOLUNTEER

ANOTHER ROCKY YEAR FOR CHARITIES?Kate Gordon takes a look at the policy year ahead / 14

PREVENTING SUICIDECommon Unity’s innovative training in suicide intervention and prevention / 13

MAKING EVERY CONTACT COUNTImproving health outcomes by training staff to help patients make healthier lifestyle choices/ 12

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A BUDDY MAKESBuilding capacity by sharing the skills and experience of professionals / 10

BIRMINGHAM LGBT HEALTH CENTREAn innovation in tackling health issues for the LGBT community / 5

THE ADVOCATESGeneric, independent advocacy from Advocacy Matters / 8

all things voluntary & community in Birmingham

February 2013 223

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SOCIAL MEDIA AND VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENTRob Jackson looks at how social media can help you find and engage with volunteers / 16

[2] update 223 / February 2013

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T: 08006 525278 E: [email protected] W: www.birminghamlink.org

Feeling let down? Nobody is listening to you? Do you want to see improvements in health and social care? Do you want to influence change in services delivered in your community?

Birmingham LINk helps local people and organisations to speak with one voice, influencing key decision makers in improving health and social care service provision across the city.

To find out more...

You got something to say?

is listening!Can we come and talk?We at Birmingham LINk would like to talk and meet with individuals and groups to

We are the local involvement network in Birmingham and all health and social care

and views to be heard by the people that make the decisions.

let’s talk!

Birmingham LINkc/o Gateway Family Services CIC

Birmingham B16 8PF

T: 08006 525278E: [email protected]: www.birminghamlink.org

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[3]

Another rocky year for charities? Kate Gordon takes a look.

14

Preventing suicide with Common Unity’s innovative training

13

Social media for volunteer recruitment: Rob Jackson

16

Encouraging healthy lifestyles with Making Every Contact Count

12

February 2013 / 223 update

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Feeling let down? Nobody is listening to you? Do you want to see improvements in health and social care? Do you want to influence change in services delivered in your community?

Birmingham LINk helps local people and organisations to speak with one voice, influencing key decision makers in improving health and social care service provision across the city.

To find out more...

You got something to say?

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let’s talk!


Birmingham B16 8PF


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Update is published ten times each year by BVSC

© BVSC 2013All rights reserved

Editorial, advertising and subscriptions

Helen Cobain0121 678 8830

[email protected]

Design Cuthbert Design

www.cuthbertdesign.com

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DistributionPA Publishing Co.

01527 540909

Circulation 1,400 (December 2012)

Cover photo© Twitty / iStockphoto.com

Views and opinions expressed in Update are those of the individual

authors and not necessarily those of BVSC. BVSC is in no

way responsible for and does not endorse goods or services

supplied by organisations which advertise in Update.

Birmingham Voluntary Service Council Ltd (BVSC) is a registered

charity (no. 218795) and a company limited by guarantee (no. 421688).

Cert no. CU-COC-807950

Printed on recycled paper (80% recycled from post-consumer waste) using vegetable-based inks.

Volunteers are the lifebloodVolunteers are the lifeblood of many third sector organisations who rely on their generosity of time, energy and expertise for the benefit of others.

Advocacy Matters believes that investing time and resources in their valued volunteers pays dividends. Through ASDAN they are able to offer all their volunteers the opportunity to gain a recognised certificate for their volunteering work (Page 8).

Sandwell Council of Voluntary Organisations is extending its well established Buddies programme into Birmingham. Volunteer mentors are recruited from business and matched with a voluntary sector mentee, establishing long-term relationships that have demonstrated real benefits to both parties (page 10).

If your organisation relies on volunteers and you’re looking to cast your net wider Rob Jackson suggests ways that you can establish new connections by using social media platforms (page 16).

Helen Cobain / [email protected]

Update is available in PDF format at www.bvsc.org/update-magazine

If you would like a large type version call 0121 643 4343 or email [email protected]

NEWS

FEATURES

FEATURES

SECTOR ADVERTS 19

PLUS...

What a difference a buddy makes: The Buddies Programme.

10

The advocates: Advocacy Matters expands services

8

www.bvsc.org

Sharing skills with Pass It On 4New portable CRB checks 4Support from umbrellas 5Reaching Communities £2.5m 5Friends of Walkers Heath Park 6Home from Hospital Care 6£260,000 for rough sleepers 6Birmingham Hearts and Minds 7Be Positive with Sport 4 Life 7

Birmingham LGBT health centre opens

5

HEALTHUnvalentine Valentine with ChangeKitchen vegetarian pop-up

7

HEALTHY LIVINGTeam Challenge Birmingham makes an impact

4

VOLUNTEERING

HEALTH SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT

PRACTICE THIRD SECTOR ASSEMBLY HEALTH

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many third sector organisations who rely on their generosity of time, energy and expertise for the benefit of others.”

Birmingham Energy Savers 18


NEWS

Christmas came early for the Pass It On graduates who used their newly acquired skills to lead a card making workshop for their peers and members of the local community.

Merlin Venture’s Pass it On Programme is designed to engage communities into the fun of learning new skills and sharing existing ones. The accelerated learning course gives them a range of skills, from effective learning techniques to motivation and confidence for public speaking, all essential skills when they come to running their own workshops.

Ian Gilbert, Pass It On trainer, said, “It was a really impressive workshop, the feedback was amazing and it was great to see our team

New portable CRB checks for volunteersA free service is being launched which allows volunteers to re-use criminal records checks. It means that employees and volunteers will no longer have to apply for a new criminal records check each time they apply for a job.

Instead they will only have to apply once to the Disclosure and Barring Service (created from the merger of the Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding Authority) for a certificate. They can then go online for an instant check to see if their existing certificate is still up to date.

This will avoid the need for individuals to apply for multiple checks to work with different organisations and volunteers will be able to use the service free of charge when they apply for different volunteering opportunities.

Discloseure and Barring Service: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/dbs

Team Challenge Birmingham makes an impactVOLUNTEERING

Since its launch just nine months ago, Team Challenge Birmingham has succeeded in making a positive difference to eight local voluntary sector organisations and involved over 150 employees from local businesses in volunteering.

Alison Sheffield, Team Challenge Co-ordinator, said: “We’ve been really encouraged by the positive feedback from the community organisations we’ve supported – surprised and pleased with the high quality finish and the minimal impact it has had on their everyday activities.”

A recent Team Challenge involved 15 volunteers from Deutsche Bank who created two murals at The Sanctuary in Castle Vale – one in the crèche to add more happiness to a room where parents have supervised contact with their children and the other in Database to pass the test of the local youth group and inspire the job club.

Laura Horniblow, Community Facilities Officer at The Sanctuary, commented: “The team were really helpful throughout the project, helped with ideas and listened

to the ideas we had which is demonstrated in the end result. The project was managed well and there was minimal disruption from start to completion of the project.”

Contact Team Challenge if your organisation or group is interested in receiving a team of volunteers.

Alison Sheffield, Team Challenge Birmingham: [email protected] / 0121 678 8838

We’ve been really

encouraged by the

positive feedback from the

community organisations

we’ve supported – surprised

and pleased with the

high quality finish and

the minimal impact it has had on their

everyday activities.”

Sharing skills with Pass It OnLEARNING & SKILLS

of first time presenters being so confident and comfortable sharing their skills. I know everyone had a great time making their Christmas cards, it was like being in a room full of excited children. I am really excited about seeing what our next Community Workshop will bring.”

There are still a few places available on the next free accelerated learning course which is due to start in February.

The Pass It On Project is funded by the Skills Funding Agency as part of the new Community Learning Innovation Fund.

Community Learning Innovation Fund: www.niace.org.uk/clif

VOLUNTEERING

It was a really

impressive workshop,

the feedback was amazing

and it was great to see

our team of first time presenters

being so confident and

comfortable sharing their

skills.”

February 2013 / 223 update [5]

NEWS

The Charity Commission has launched a new online tool to help charities access information about the support provided by over 40 umbrella and infrastructure bodies.

As part of its wider partnership programme, the Charity Commission for England and Wales has developed its website to allow charities to access information about the support provided by over 40 umbrella and infrastructure bodies.

A new centre is opening to deal with health issues faced by Birmingham's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The LGBT Health and Wellbeing Centre is located on Holloway Circus in Birmingham City Centre and will be a one stop shop for the community and community groups. It will also

work with other service providers to address health inequalities within the LGBT Community, such as high rates of smoking and drinking, self harm, depression and attempted suicide.

The funding for the project has come from Birmingham City Council and the Big Lottery Fund's Reaching Communities Programme.

Steph Keeble, director at Birmingham LGBT, said: “The centre will be an innovation in the way the LGBT community tackles its health issues and provide an ongoing support network for all.”

Birmingham LGBT: www.blgbt.org

Reaching Communities brings £2.5m to regionTen West Midlands projects have secured funding from Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities Programme. The latest funding, which totals £2.5m, addresses challenges such as helping people cope with a range of health conditions.

A £270,000 grant has been awarded to Salus Fatigue Foundation, a charity based in Sutton Coldfield that provides support, advice and education for people affected by ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as well as their families, friends and carers.

Linda Jones, Project Manager, said “The Lottery funding has enabled us to extend our services to reach people across the whole of Birmingham. We have also received a further three years funding from Sutton Coldfield Municipal Trust.

“The activities we provide are weekly support groups, education workshops, self-help groups and outreach groups. These services enable people to deal with the impact of a long term condition on their daily lives, dealing with the emotional changes, and maintaining those things that are important to them – work, education, family and socialising, leading to an improved quality of life.”

www.salus.org.uk

Birmingham LGBT health centre opensHEALTH

An innovation in the way the LGBT community tackles health issues.”

The Commission hopes the new website pages will help charities identify the ‘best fit’ umbrella body for their needs, and will encourage more charities to make use of the support available within the sector.

The Charity Commission's chief executive, Sam Younger, said: “These new pages demonstrate the wide range of existing support and help available to charities. I would encourage all trustees whose charities are not already members of an umbrella body to review the list and consider joining one of our partner umbrella bodies. Being a member of a wider network grants charities access to both formal professional advice and to valuable peer support. I hope charities find this new information useful.”

Charity Commission: www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Other_support_for_charities

Support from umbrella bodiesDEVELOPMENT

Sam Younger, The Charity Commission

FUNDING


NEWS

Home from Hospital Care is expanding to provide services at City Hospital and West Birmingham. The charity helps and assists older people who have been in hospital and are discharged with little or no service support.

Home from Hospital Care’s 60 plus volunteers offer low level, but extremely valuable, free support. This includes respite for carers, shopping, befriending, signposting to other services, escorting to opticians, hospital appointments or to church, writing letters, assisting with housing issues and other common sense help.

They don’t just offer help to patients living alone – they are well aware that many older couples are often dependent on each other and when one enters hospital it can be a very traumatic time for the other.

Home from Hospital Care’s volunteers have a range of different qualifications and come from a

A newly formed community group has succeeded in breathing new life and a sense of community into a recreation area that had become a forgotten wasteland.

Walkers Heath Park was established in the 1960s when it boasted such facilities as a long jump, rugby pitch, basketball and tennis courts, agility equipment and even a miniature golf course. The recreation area was set up to serve the Kings Norton Three Estates (Pool Farm, Primrose and Hawkesley) and Druids Heath, but eventually the facilities fell into disuse and neglect and the park was used merely by dog walkers or as a cut through on the school run.

Richard Page, Leanne Youngson and a group of residents decided to do something to make the park a thriving part of the community once more. They set up the Friends of Walkers Heath Park in November 2011 and this has been a catalyst in putting the park back at the heart of the community.

In 2012, the Friends group decided that they would engage the local community by holding a large, free Community Games. They teamed up with Birmingham Sports and Physical Activity Partnership to do this and the games took place on 19 May 2012. There was an opening and closing ceremony, archery, football, netball, basketball, street golf, street dance, tug-of-war, British Military Fitness and bike polo, as well as traditional sports day event for the small children. Cultural activities included a woodcarver, an open-mic session, the Cantare Choir and a barn dance.

During the Community Games the Friends asked people to become actively involved and to have an input into the future vision of the park by giving their views.

The Friends group has attracted about £75,000 worth of funding to the park for improved facilities and access plus events – and the community is most certainly engaged!

In October, Leanne Youngson won Radio WM’s Birmingham Sports Newcomer of the Year for her contribution, which exceeded all expectations. The Community Games was just the start for sport and physical activity on Walkers Heath Park.

The ongoing legacy of sport so far includes a fun run, table tennis, a football programme, boot camp and a running group. They have great plans and hopes for 2013 which include a second Community Games, team sports and environmental art and conservation!

Friends of Walkers Heath Park: www.friendsofthepark.co.uk / www.fb.me/friendsofwalkersheathpark

Park successCOMMUNITY

Home from HospitalSOCIAL CARE

wide range of backgrounds. Their youngest volunteer is 20 years old, the oldest is 79. References are sought for all volunteers and all are CRB checked. Regular training sessions are provided as well as two social occasions each year for all volunteers.

All volunteers receive travel expenses (car drivers currently 40p a mile) and although the charity has a contract with Birmingham City Council this does not fully fund the charity and therefore they raise the extra money by fundraising and applications to charitable trusts.

New volunteers are particularly needed in East and West Birmingham (although new volunteers are welcome any part of the city). If you would like to know more please get in touch.

Home from Hospital Care: 0121 472 4499 / [email protected] / www.home-from-hospital-care.org.uk

Birmingham homeless charities are to receive over £260,000 to tackle rough sleeping.

Homeless charities across England have been given £3.6m from a government fund to tackle rough sleeping. Grants from the Homelessness Transition Fund have been given to 23 charities, two of which are based in Birmingham – Midland Heart has been awarded £170,940 and SIFA Fireside awarded £89,879.

Housing Minister Mark Prisk said these were the latest awards from a £20m fund to ensure that nobody has to spend a second night on the streets.

Welcoming the grant, Cath Gilliver, chief executive of SIFA Fireside, said, “While Birmingham has been working hard to tackle rough sleeping we’ve become increasingly

aware that we haven’t had sufficient resources to consistently help rough sleepers from Central and Eastern Europe get back on their feet.

“Up to a third of people rough sleeping or squatting in Birmingham are from Central and Eastern Europe. This group need a culturally sensitive service, including language provision, to get them off the streets and help them rebuild their lives.

“This grant will mean we can really make a difference to people’s lives, building on the progress already made.”

Almost £16m has been invested so far through the Homelessness Transition Fund to help 85 charities across the country, the government said.

Homelessness Transition Fund: www.homeless.org.uk/fundMidland Heart: www.midlandheart.org.ukSIFA Fireside: www.sifafireside.co.uk

£260,000 for rough sleepersHOMELESSNESS

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NEWS

Award winning vegetarian and vegan catering company and social enterprise, ChangeKitchen CIC, is hosting a regular vegetarian pop-up at their city centre premises. The pop-ups have been growing in popularity, so much so that they will now take place every third Thursday of the month.

Each pop-up has a theme, January’s was the Penny Pinching Pop Up and February’s, which takes place just after Valentine’s Day on 15 February, will be the Unvalentine Valentine Pop Up – an antidote to the excesses of the previous day!

The pop-ups offer fresh, flavoursome food, influenced by the many cultures living across Birmingham. Customers have commented on the welcoming, laid back approach. Both meat eaters and vegetarians enjoy the atmosphere and share a love of exciting, colourful cuisine. More often than not they go back for seconds! Customers have

Alzheimer’s Society has launched a new and innovative service for people in Birmingham who have concerns about memory loss or early stage dementia.

It will work with people who fall into high risk categories of developing dementia and aims to raise awareness and understanding of the disease and how to possibly delay the onset. These categories include:

■ Memory loss/ forgetfulness

■ Mild cognitive impairment

■ High blood pressure

■ Previous stroke

■ Mobility problems

■ Type two diabetes

■ Heart problems.

Birmingham City Council has invested in the Birmingham Hearts and Minds project as part of

Unvalentine Valentine with ChangeKitchenHEALTHY LIVING

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a choice of two courses for £10 or three courses for £15, both include non-alcoholic hot and cold drinks.

In addition to the meals, Birgit Kehrer, ChangeKitchen’s director, will now be offering pre-dinner Express Cooking demonstrations (£5), so you can learn her kitchen secrets and healthy cooking ideas (booking required).

ChangeKitchen recently gained Silver status from Birmingham City Council’s Healthy Choice Award, which recognises catering businesses that promote the sale of healthier options, and is 2012 Green Restaurant of the

Year. ChangeKitchen is also featured in the recently launched Community Lover’s Guide to Birmingham, which brings together stories of people and their local projects.

ChangeKitchen Pop-Ups take place at: 122 Pershore Street, Birmingham B5 6PA, behind the wholesale marketsBirgit Kehrer, ChangeKitchen: [email protected] or www.changekitchen.co.ukThe Community Lover’s Guide to Birmingham: www.birmingham.gov.uk/ healthychoices

Birgit Kehrer, director, ChangeKitchen

their strategic shift to prevention work. The project provides prevention support such as:

■ Free activity cafés – including Tai Chi, Yoga and Singing for the Brain

■ Befriending – for friendship, social support and encouragement

■ Advisers – telephone information and signposting

■ Support workers – information and emotional support in the home.

If you require any further information or would like someone to come and talk about Birmingham Hearts and Minds to your staff or at any of your groups, please get in touch.

Leena Mistry, Alzheimer’s Society: 0121 706 6645 / [email protected]

Birmingham Hearts and MindsSOCIAL CARE

The pop-ups offer fresh, flavoursome food, influenced by the many cultures living across Birmingham.”

Be PositiveIn celebration of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Sport 4 Life has recently launched the Be Positive project – a sports orientated programme that will improve the lives of 450 disadvantaged young males in the inner city ward of Ladywood in Birmingham, and will provide a lasting Olympic legacy for England’s second city.

The project will provide a structured programme of educational workshops, learning challenges, volunteering opportunities and sports coaching sessions, over a five year period.

In the short-term, the project aims to support young males to build their confidence and self-esteem and to improve their behaviour, attitudes, and understanding of life-skills such as self-respect and respect for others. While in the longer-term, it aims to enable participants to achieve a significant and tangible outcome – gaining formal qualifications, progressing into education employment or training, or ceasing to commit criminal offences. The project is supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

Sport 4 Life: www.sport4life.org.uk / @Sports4LifeUk

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT


SPOTLIGHT

Independent advocacy should be offered by organisations that are not care providers in order to maintain the independent status and avoid a conflict of interest. Advocacy offers more than someone to speak up on your behalf. Quality advocacy can empower, enable and really ensure that vulnerable people are involved in decisions that are made about their lives.

We find that advocacy improves self confidence, self advocacy skills, offers real choice and increases understanding of human and civil rights. Advocacy is based on loyalty and trust between the advocate and the advocacy partner. Having someone on your side to provide information, support you to make choices and understand your rights can really make a difference when you have complex problems to deal with.

Helping more peopleFollowing a successful grant application to Birmingham Third Sector Funding, Advocacy Matters now offers advocacy to a much wider client group across the city. Where

you live no longer has an effect on what advocacy you can access.

The new project started last October and was officially launched at Handsworth Fire Station with Councillor Steve Bedser giving an opening speech, followed by presentations from the charity’s management. The event was well attended and offered members of the public and professionals the opportunity to meet our staff and some of the trustees, find out more about our services and even make a referral.

To set up such a large project in a city the size of Birmingham is no mean feat! Like most third sector organisations, we have no change management departments, no marketing teams. What we do have however is a very hard working, committed team of advocates and admin staff who have supported our operations managers to ensure that the most vulnerable people who really need an advocate are able to access this much needed support.

Broad remitOur remit is to support adults aged 18 years and over who have a learning or physical disability, older adults, individuals who have Dementia or Working age dementia, younger people 18-25 who have mental health issues, individuals living with HIV, Asian women in domestic violence situations and end of life advocacy.

Referrals can be made by telephone, letter or by requesting our referral form by email. Referrals are prioritised according to the issues requiring support, the communication needs of the individual and whether or not anyone else could support the person. We use a wealth of communication aids and methods to ensure as many individuals as possible can have their say. Safeguarding situations are given the highest priority. It is important to remember that an advocate will not investigate abuse, they will be there to support the person through any investigation or meetings that take place.

Outreach surgeriesAdvocacy Matters also offers outreach surgeries at Midland Mencap Hub in Weoley Castle on

the second Thursday morning of every month and at Autism West Midlands in Edgbaston on the third Wednesday afternoon every month.

To promote our work we have been out and about presenting at the Disability Resource Centre, meeting with the NHS HIV lead for Birmingham, visiting the Alzheimer’s society and Roshni as a starting point.

We have welcomed and trained four new staff who have managed to hit the ground running in their different roles. Our new leaflets and posters are now distributed across the city and training for the staff team is booked for HIV in January and from Women’s Aid in February.

VolunteeringOur new volunteer co-ordinator, Novlette Balela, already has 14 new volunteers at our training course in January. Anyone else interested in future training to become a volunteer Advocate can contact Novlette about the next course after Easter. We really value our volunteers and we have now registered with ASDAN so all our volunteers will be offered the opportunity to gain recognition and a certificate for their volunteering work.

It makes a differenceIn our first quarter we have offered independent advocacy to 198 individuals across the city. Yes we do have a waiting list, but this is closely monitored on a weekly basis and we do our very best to reach everyone as soon as we can.

So how do we know advocacy makes a difference? Well, there are the obvious database recordings of soft and hard outcomes which are very important. In addition we have started to complete STAR outcomes. This is very useful as it enables us to map the journey travelled by each individual in different areas to see how the person has become more independent and has seen their life change for the better. We also use easy to understand feedback questionnaires.

Elaine Boyden, Advocacy Matters: [email protected] / 0121 321 2377 / www.advocacymatters.co.uk

Birmingham is now one of the few local authorities in the country to offer generic

independent advocacy to vulnerable individuals, writes ELAINE BOYDEN, chief

executive at Advocacy Matters. Historically independent advocacy in the city has

been inequitable and rarely available to individuals unless they had a learning

disability or mental health issue.

SPOTLIGHT

[9]February 2013 / 223 update

We have no change management departments, no marketing teams. What we do have is a very hard working, committed team who ensure that the most vulnerable people are able to access this much needed support.

In our first quarter we offered independent advocacy to 198 individuals across the city.

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VCS organisations are also being challenged to look at how they use the human resources at their disposal – whether this is employees, volunteers or other support such as graduate interns or employment programme trainees.

The Buddies Programme was developed by Sandwell Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and is being delivered in conjunction with other voluntary sector councils across the Black Country. It is funded through the Cabinet Office Social Action Fund.

Social Action FundThe Social Action Fund is managed by The Social Investment Business on behalf of the Cabinet Office and funds social action projects in England from civil society organisations, public sector bodies and businesses with a track record of delivering social action programmes.

The Social Action Fund is part of a broader programme of support for social action that was announced in the Giving White Paper and takes its place alongside two other funding streams – Innovation in Giving Fund and Challenge Prizes.

The Programme aims to build the capacity of the voluntary and community sector in the Black Country by matching specific community groups, charities and voluntary organisations with experienced professionals and community workers.

SCVO are also keen to work collaboratively with BVSC and others to recruit buddies and beneficiary organisations from the Birmingham area. Participating organisations

SPOTLIGHT

would need to have some operational activity within the Black Country, but buddies can come from anywhere.

Small to medium-sized community and voluntary organisations can receive the support of a Buddy (or mentor) for approximately eight hours per month over a period of three to four months, to help with areas of their operations.

The broad areas of support include:

■ Improving understanding of your organisation’s finances

■ To examine your business operations and identify and address areas for improvement

■ To help you plan and implement a more effective marketing strategy or making better use of digital marketing techniques via website and social media tools

■ Identifying new funding opportunities.

The Social Investment Business’ chief executive, Jonathan Jenkins, said: “The energy and vision of applicants has been impressive and we are pleased to manage a Fund that finances ambitious, life-changing social action projects which will really make a difference and bring people together to improve the quality of life in their communities.”

A Social Action Fund Investee event, held last October, celebrated social action through a range of diverse organisations from projects offering local support, to national campaigns. What all the organisations had in common was a commitment to

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A BUDDY MAKESThe current economic climate, with its fragile private sector recovery and severe public sector funding squeeze, is creating a range of shifting challenges for many, with local communities and the local voluntary and community sector (VCS) bearing its share of the burden. For larger VCS organisations, the changes mean a move into a more competitive, contract-driven marketplace to access public sector funding; for medium and smaller VCS groups it means a greater need to look creatively at new forms of income and a greater demand placed on traditional sources of charitable funding.

THE BUDDIES PROGRAMME WAS DEVELOPED BY SANDWELL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS (SCVO) AND IS BEING DELIVERED IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER VOLUNTARY SECTOR COUNCILS ACROSS THE BLACK COUNTRY


SPOTLIGHT

encourage people to volunteer to make a difference to communities. The event was a great opportunity to share ideas and experiences with over fifty like-minded organisations, and the Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, who joined investees for networking.

Barry Yeomans, director at Hadley Group, Smethwick, signed up as a Business Buddy in SCVO’s pilot programme in 2004 and mentored the Manager of the Sandwell Community Transport for the duration of the 10 week programme. Mr Yeomans found he was able to be more influential in developing the commercial approach needed to meet the challenge of new income streams for the core work of the charity.

Stewart Towe CBE, chair of Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and managing director of Hadley Industries said: “Perhaps one of the most important features is that those involved as mentors and their companies benefit considerably by taking part. Their knowledge of other organisations and the needs of the community are enhanced, the sustainability of organisations involved is strengthened and mentors gain an invaluable opportunity to share their skills in a different environment”

Are you interested in finding out how a Buddy can offer free support to voluntary sector organisations? Maybe your organisation has skills and knowledge you would like to share with other groups? To sign up as a Buddy or to receive support from a Buddy please contact us, we look forward to hearing from you.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A BUDDY MAKES

WHAT OTHERS SAID ABOUT THE BUDDY EXPERIENCE... Mentors found the experience greatly

satisfying and interesting, and would recommend it to other potential mentors.”

Mentors encountered great enthusiasm and interest which grew throughout the programme.”

We are thrilled with our buddy and her input to our organisation, we all get on famously together. We have discussed the differences between industry and the voluntary sector ways of working, and the benefits of us adapting some of those approaches.”

We found the opportunity to talk to a private sector executive very valuable for our organisation.”

The process made us think carefully about our position and challenges.”

You can help them move forward exponentially with very little effort. It’s immensely satisfying to help them to be more successful than they would otherwise be.”

The Buddies Programme: www.buddiesuk.orgRegistration – Carolyn Pratt, SCVO: 0121 525 1127 ext 220 / [email protected] General enquiries – Tippa Naphtali, SCVO: 0121 525 1127 ext 216 / [email protected]


These days, with so many programmes on TV and articles in magazines and papers about lifestyles, most people know what’s good – and what’s bad – for them or their health. Most people know that being overweight isn’t good for their health. Or that eating plenty of fruit and veg is. And that smoking can cause cancer. That being physically active will keep you fit.

Actually making a change is a different matter! Most of us could improve our health by making some small – or big changes – to our lifestyle. Many of us want to, especially at this time of year. It often takes several attempts to make changes to our lifestyle before it becomes a habit.

Sometimes getting a bit of a nudge can help to make a change. Making Every Contact Count (MECC), first introduced in the NHS, is about staff having a short, simple ‘healthy conversation’ with patients whenever appropriate, making the most of the millions of daily contacts. Patients were often asked about their lifestyles, if they smoke or drink, or their weight, yet not given any advice.

This is because staff don’t feel confident about doing so, or don’t think that patients would want it. Yet research shows that patients would welcome information and advice on healthy lifestyles – 75% of smokers, for example, would like to stop. And we know that making lifestyle changes can have a huge impact on health and the major killers – heart disease, stroke and cancers.

Research shows that there is a 14 year difference in life expectancy between people who

HEALTH

follow all four healthy lifestyle behaviours (not smoking, eating a healthy diet, drinking alcohol within recommended limits, and being physical activity) and those that don’t. About 80% of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes cases and 33% of cancers could be prevented by following a healthy lifestyle. Lifestyle factors, particularly smoking, are the biggest contributors to health inequalities.

The Department of Health introduced MECC to help staff to develop the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence. Staff at Birmingham Children’s Hospital have recently completed the training and are starting to use MECC successfully with patients and their families. Jane Powell, Health Promotion lead for the Hospital, says that it has made an enormous difference: “We have seen referrals to the Stop Smoking Service leap up from just a couple of dozen every quarter to over 100. It shows that people are glad to have the conversation and get the information and support that they want to make this important change.”

MECC isn’t just for clinical staff like nurses; anyone with a frontline role dealing with the public can, be part of it, whatever their role. The Hospital also found that staff became interested in improving their own health too, with 600 signing up to a walking challenge to get more active.

MECC is a worthwhile way to help people make the most of their lives. Any organisation which provides services to the public can implement MECC. It’s straightforward and simple to add into existing roles, doesn’t add to staff workloads and there is free online training in the form of two short online modules. The training equips staff to integrate a ‘health conversation’ into their routine contact with the public. MECC is an opportunity for your workforce to become ambassadors for healthy lifestyles and to promote good health in the communities you work with.

Making Every Contact Count: www.midlandsandeast.nhs.uk/OurAmbitions/Everycontactcounts.aspxLocal information and support – Birmingham Public Health Team: [email protected]

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ASIST: Suicide Intervention is a training programme that gives people with the skills to spot the risk of suicide and provide immediate help to those at risk.

■ On average, a person dies every two hours in England as a result of suicide.

■ It is the main cause of premature death in people with mental illness.

■ In men under 35, suicide is the most common cause of death.

National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England (2012)There is a myriad of complex reasons why an individual will seek to end their lives – social circumstances, mental ill-health, life events and access to and quality of support and services. The devastating facts highlighted above have a detrimental impact on the families, friends, supporting agencies and the wider communities the individuals leave behind.

This is why in 2012 the Government launched the National

Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. It builds upon existing directives working to reduce suicide rates in England, such as Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, and sits within the broader aims of promoting mental health and well-being in the wider population.

Applied suicide intervention skills trainingAs part of the Community Cohesion Programme the Community Development Workers in Mental Health and Common Unity are offering training in suicide intervention. The Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, also known as ASIST, is a two-day accredited course offering skills to enable individuals to become more comfortable, confident and competent in helping to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. The training is interactive and practice-orientated to ensure participants gain maximum confidence in helping to support those at risk of suicide.

The training has been developed by an expert multi-disciplinary team

in Canada and has proven to be an effective process in supporting those at risk of suicide for over 35 years.

Everyone’s responsibilityAnyone can come across an instance where they may need to provide support to someone thinking of suicide and it is everyone’s responsibility to be part of the wellbeing agenda, so the ASIST training is open to anyone in the community.

Whether you want to find out more about this suicide intervention model to support a family member or whether you are a frontline worker who deals with the risk of suicide often, ASIST can offer valuable skills to reduce the risk of suicide.

To find out more about the training, or if you would like to book onto a course, contact Shakeela Rashid or Stephen Lewis at Common Unity.

Common Unity Social Enterprise – Shakeela Rashid 07801 130 657 or Stephen Lewis on 07801 130 658 / www.common-unity.com / 0121 554 9360 ext. 4

HEALTH

One death to suicide is one too many – we want to make suicide prevention everyone’s business. Over the last 10 years there has been real progress in reducing the suicide rate, but it is still the case that someone takes their own life every two hours in England.”Care Services Minister, Norman Lamb

PREVENTINGSUICIDE

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POLICY

As one would expect, the sector’s national ‘leaders’ were asked by various journals to give their predictions for 2013. Third Sector’s headline, ‘Another rocky year for charities’,1 best sums up the overall view, with funding cuts and closures being mentioned somewhat predictably several times. However, references were made to other issues which involve change but which could result in improvements including the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) legal structure and Disclosure & Barring checks to name a few.

Also, at national level, we look forward to the final conclusions of Lord Hodgson’s Charities Act Review. Nick Hurd, Civil Society Minister, wrote an interim reply in mid-December but this merely indicated that the jury was still out on most areas as the Government would need more information before making final decisions.2 The only definitive statement was that the regulations would not be relaxed around trustee payments so that large charities will still have to obtain express Charity Commission permission before they can pay trustees for carrying out duties pertaining to governance.

So, at the start of what is anticipated to be a very bleak year ahead, it would be good to look at some of the policies and initiatives underway to help Birmingham’s residents and communities move forward, in keeping with the city’s motto. There are four national policy areas that will be felt in Birmingham this year: Digital by Default,3 Social Care Personal Budgets,4 NHS Personal Health Budgets5 and HealthWatch.6 For each of the policy areas, the process is integral to the outcome; teaching people to use ICT so that they can respond to council budget consultations or research and purchase health and social care provision will lead to policy being effectively put into practice.

Birmingham’s approach to the national digital agenda is set out in Digital Birmingham Smart City Commission’s Vision document, Establishing Birmingham’s Roadmap to a Future City, published

in December 20127; while the local Personalisation policy and HealthWatch information are on the Council’s Adults & Communities site8 and BVSC’s website9 respectively.

Some may ask why VCOs should worry about the digital agenda or the new national health consumer body when so many people will be more concerned with punitive benefit changes during the next 12 months. As the Government’s policy is that access to all public services should be online where possible ie digital by default, there is a real imperative for VCOs to support individuals and communities to use online services. Those who are digitally excluded will also find themselves economically and socially excluded when the big benefit changes start in April.

The ‘train line’ map of life expectancy in Birmingham neatly illustrates why many people – especially those who use welfare services – should be concerned about their physical life chances, and be enabled to contribute to health and social care design if they wish to do so.

Giving Hope, Changing Lives, Birmingham’s Social Inclusion Process (SIP) notes:

■ Birmingham ranks as the 9th most deprived local authority in the UK, with significant pockets in the top 1% most deprived areas nationally.

■ A third of children are classified as living in child poverty. In some Wards this is nearly 50%

■ Unemployment rates are twice the national average.

■ While education results have improved, there are significant gaps for many groups.

■ There is a life expectancy gap of over 10 years between the worst and best wards.

With £600m cuts to be made from the council’s budget, how can these outcome gaps be reduced? The SIP is an iterative process: beginning in late Spring last year, a Green Paper was produced in October. A draft White Paper with recommendations is being produced for submission to the Council in early February. There are seven commitments towards creating a fairer, more cohesive city but the

main call to action for the voluntary sector is to sign up to the document and help take the process forward.10

Until the Council responds to the White Paper, we won’t know which actions, if any, will be taken forward. In the Green Paper, FairBrum advocates the ‘Asset Based’ approach; in my experience, ABCD is interpreted in different ways which largely depend on which sector one works in (or for), but certainly this commitment should be supported in principle. Co-production and delivery of services, and outcomes-based commissioning and procurement are the other two Commitments I would back, the other commitments being ones that it is difficult to disagree with.

£6.7m was spent by the National Empowerment Programme between 2007-11 with the aim of supporting communities to take part in policy development, decision-making and service design. The final report of the Every Voice Counts regional empowerment project for the West Midlands is not available online; however, it is likely to reflect the lessons learned and policy recommendations contained in CDF’s evaluation of the national programme.11 The EVC online archive contains some interesting projects.12

One of the strongest points CDF made in their report was that the local authorities worked to unrealistic timescales. The usual funding and resource issues were there but 10 years, rather than three to five, was felt to be more realistic for the kind of deep-seated cultural changes needed to make the programmes work.

Birmingham Council and its partners have less than three months to get things in place for effective implementation of the big policy changes for 2013 – can they do it? Common sense would say No, but there is a long history of community activism, mutuality and philanthropy in the city going back to Ketley’s Building Society in 1775 and possibly before that. A bit of Brummie Can Do may help to keep the city moving Forward; otherwise, close your eyes and pray. Remember, we’re all in this together!

Freelance trainer and consultant, KATE GORDON,

looks at the year ahead.

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Another rocky year for charities?


POLICY

1. www.thirdsector.co.uk/Communications/article/1165498/analysis-2013-another-rocky-year-charities/www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2013/jan/09/what-year-ahead-hold-voluntary-sector?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

2. www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Interim-Charities-Act-review-response-Nick-Hurd.pdf

3. digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/about/

4. www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN03735

5. www.personalhealthbudgets.dh.gov.uk/News/item/?cid=8582

6. www.healthwatch.co.uk/

7. www.digitalbirmingham.co.uk/downloads/Birmingham’s%20Smart%20City%20Commission%20Vision%20FINAL%20VERSION.pdf

8. www.bvsc.org/news/help-get-birmingham-healthwatch-strong-start

9. www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Adults-and-Communities-General%2FPageLayout&cid=1223328602486&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper

10. http://fairbrum.podnosh.com/files/2012/10/GIVING-HOPE-CHANGING-LIVES-Making-an-inclusive-city-Final.pdf

11. www.cdf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NEP-Evaluation-Final-report-for-CDF-website.pdf

12. http://evcwm.org.uk/

Kate Gordon is a freelance trainer and consultant. Her training and consultancy services are informed by extensive experience in the voluntary sector. She covers generic voluntary sector issues, and has particular interests in Health & Social Care and Employment/HR including volunteer matters.

Kate Gordon: 0784 6107969 / Katherine Gordon / @kagey_infohub / Kate Gordon

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect the views of BVSC.

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Another rocky year for charities?


PRACTICE

Social media is a term used to refer to online sites and tools that facilitate and encourage interaction between people. These days the interaction is as likely to be done via smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices as by computer. Social media isn’t just about passively announcing things and hoping people will respond; it is about dialogue, exchange and community. That’s what makes it social.

The really big social media sites that most people are familiar with are Facebook and Twitter, with some major professional social networks such as LinkedIn also being popular. But social media also includes a wealth of blogging sites, instant messaging tools, live voice and video Internet calling options such as Skype – the list goes on.

There are many striking facts about social media and the way it is changing our world, for example:

If Facebook were a country, its population of users would make it the third biggest nation in the world after China and India!

■ Facebook gets more traffic every week in the USA than Google does.

■ A new member joins LinkedIn every second.

■ Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber and Britney Spears have more followers on Twitter than the entire populations of Sweden, Israel, Greece, Chile and Australia.

Put simply, we cannot ignore social media. As increasing numbers of people use social media sites and integrate them into their daily lives, the ability to work with and through social media becomes an increasingly important element of the toolkit needed to effectively recruit and work with volunteers of all ages. Baby Boomers - sometimes called 'silver surfers' - are one of the fastest growing groups in terms of both Internet and social media usage.

Social media is not a scary place where you need a degree in computing science to function effectively. Put simply, if you know how to use a computer and can navigate your way around the Internet then you have all the skills you need to start using social media; the rest you will learn by giving

ROB JACKSON, director of Rob Jackson Consulting, helps us

understand social media and how we can use it to recruit volunteers Social media and volunteer recruitment

If Facebook were a

country, its population of

users would make it the

third biggest nation in

the world, after China and India!”

it a go and experimenting. If you want to be guided in learning the ropes, recruit some ‘digital natives’ (probably young volunteers) who can hold your hand as you begin.

Remember that the key to social media is the social element – the opportunity to communicate and interact with others in a dynamic way, often in real time, rather than the previous Web approach of exchanging e-mails or reading posts on an online message board. So it is perhaps unsurprising that social media can help those of us working with volunteers in three key areas:

■ Communication with prospective volunteers i.e. recruitment

■ Communication with current volunteers

■ Communication between volunteers.

In the remainder of this article I want to focus on the first of these – how can we use social media to help with volunteer recruitment?

As with anything, it is important to know why you are doing it and what you want to get out of it. Simply going online, signing up for Twitter and jumping straight in will yield far fewer benefits for you and your organisation than if you think carefully about what you want to gain from social media and which networks might be the best ones to deliver that.

Effective use of social media means focusing on the outcomes you want most and then acting accordingly. Determined investment of your time in selected social media sites is far more likely to yield results than spending hours and hours flitting from one site to another.

So before you can use the power and potential of social media effectively in your work with volunteers, you need to develop a social media strategy and set out your social media policy. A simple search on the internet will yield plenty of example strategies and policies as well as articles on how to develop them.

A key aspect of using social media as a tool for volunteer recruitment is that we are able to start with people who already know about and like us and get them

to reach out to their friends and contacts – in ever-widening circles. Because of this interconnection among the people who see our messages, we gain credibility.

It’s another example of the power of word of mouth. All the research invariably finds that people say they volunteer because someone asked them to do so. Share your recruitment messages with existing volunteers and request they send them on to their contacts through their social media profiles, re-posting to their Facebook timelines or retweeting on Twitter. Rather than being seen as impersonal advertising, the recruitment appeals reach new prospects as an endorsement from the friends they already trust.

Because social media is about interaction, when using it to recruit volunteers, do less announcing of your needs and more engaging of the audience with your cause. What can they do quickly and easily that involves them in helping? Perhaps you can suggest something as simple as sharing your latest campaign message on their Facebook wall or completing a very simple opinion poll. Such tiny actions are sometimes called ‘clicktavism’ (activism by clicking) or ‘slacktivisim’ by its detractors – but, if used as part of a strategy to engage people, it can be a useful first rung on a ladder of growing involvement that can and should include the opportunity to volunteer.

However you decide to use social media in volunteer recruitment, ensure that there is consistency across all the social media you use and that there is always a clear and easy action for people to take in response. Direct them to the full description of the open volunteer role or to where they can apply online.

Social media is a value-added recruitment tool, not an outright replacement for traditional recruitment methods. That means that you should continue to recruit in the real world as you always have and still post your opportunities on the same online volunteer opportunity sites you have already found, but now you can add social media outreach to those same recruitment campaigns.


PRACTICE

Social media and volunteer recruitment

Rob Jackson Consulting: www.sites.google.com/site/robjacksonconsulting

robjacksonconsulting.blogspot.co.uk www.linkedin.com/in/robjackson74 @RobJConsulting www.youtube.com/user/robjacksonconsulting www.facebook.com/robjacksonconsulting

Rob Jackson is director of Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd, a consultancy and training company that helps engage and inspire people to bring about change. Rob has nearly 20 years experience working in the voluntary and community sector, holding a variety of strategic development and senior management roles that have focused on leading and engaging volunteers. Rob is also an active volunteer, including serving as chair of governors for a large Lincolnshire primary school.

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The ground breaking scheme pioneered by Birmingham City Council and delivered by Carillion Energy Services means that the energy and carbon efficiency of schools, businesses and up to 60,000 households across Birmingham can be significantly improved.

As the first large scale example of a local authority delivering the Government’s Green Deal, Birmingham Energy Savers will act as pathfinder for others. It is set to make a huge difference to peoples’ lives by making heating more affordable. Birmingham Energy Savers and Green Deal will assist more than 26,000 homes out of fuel poverty and improve the lives of residents across the City.

Local residents and businesses are being urged to become ‘Energy Savers’ under the new initiative which is the first of its kind. The scheme offers households a range of energy efficiency measures, such as heating, insulation and glazing and crucially the funding arrangements that make the improvements affordable and accessible to all.

Under the Government’s Green Deal the cost of installing energy efficiency measures is recovered in instalments through energy bills at no cost to home owners or tenants. Even homes where savings are insufficient to cover the cost of improvements residents may be eligible for improvements under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).

The Energy Company Obligation has Affordable Warmth funding available to vulnerable households on qualifying benefits that own their own homes or rent privately. Under Affordable Warmth, replacement heating and insulation measures will be funded for qualifying households.

The delivery model for Birmingham Energy Savers focuses heavily on a community approach.

Chris Hall from Carillion Energy Services said: “Our approach is to work with local businesses, social enterprises and other partners to deliver a genuinely local solution which leaves as much economic and social value as possible in Birmingham.

“We have committed to create and sustain at least 360 jobs in the area and to help 600 people from priority groups into placements, training and work, many through our own investment and skills training but also by encouraging our business partners to invest locally in a range of new green energy facilities.”

A recruitment programme has also been initiated to hire locally-based energy assessors, who will evaluate properties and provide advice on the energy efficiency improvements they require. Recruitment events were recently held in local community centres to deliver yet another boost to the local economy

Community and local business partners are instrumental in helping to reach households and communities who can benefit most from the initiative, but are often hardest to reach. Birmingham Energy Saver is seeking the help of local groups and residents to publicise the benefits of the scheme locally and encourage households to take the first steps towards energy efficiency measures.

If you or your organisation can help spread the word and encourage people to become a Birmingham Energy Saver please get in touch.

Birmingham Energy Savers: 0800 917 9772 / [email protected] / www.birminghamenergysavers.org.uk

SPOTLIGHT


Birmingham Energy Savers is set to transform the take-up of energy efficiency, tackle fuel poverty, provide residents with warmer homes, make the city a cleaner and greener place to live and provide a boost to the local economy with the creation of new jobs and investment.

We have committed to create and sustain at least 360 jobs in the area and

to help 600 people from priority groups into placements, training and work.”

MEET @ THE BONDBook a meeting room for your next event – 10% discount for charities and non-profit organisations.

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Call Beth on 0121 766 7400 for further information

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Did you know that BVSC offers other corporate services too?

We can help you with accountancy services and human resources support.

Contact us today to discuss your needs.

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[email protected]

www.bvsc.org/services

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What this means for you... You can focus on service delivery: Outsourcing the payroll means your core staff are free to concentrate on service delivery rather than administration.

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Documents

THE ADVOCATES - BVSC€¦ · ADVOCATES Generic, independent advocacy from Advocacy Matters / 8 all things voluntary & communityin Birmingham February 2013 223 SOCIAL MEDIA AND VOLUNTEER