Vale of Glamorgan Council
Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
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Agenda Item No 13

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee: 3rd October 2018

Report of the Voluntary Sector

Vale Third Sector "Wellbeing In Action Project" - End of Project Report

Purpose of the Report

  1. To provide the Committee with information on the work of the Vale Third Sector "Wellbeing in Action" Project funded via Public Health (Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan).

Recommendation

  1. That the Committee receives the report for information.

Reason for the Recommendation

  1. To provide the Committee with information about the project and the project outcomes.  

Background

  1. The overarching purpose of the project was to develop a dynamic Health and Wellbeing Network for the Vale of Glamorgan which recognizes, links up and expands the assets we have in our communities to support our population's health and wellbeing and to foster individual community resilience.
  2. Funding of £25000 was made available from Public Health to enable us to undertake this project. The funding was used to employ at part time (21 hours) Wellbeing in Action Co-ordinator to develop the Network.
  3. The work was focused on a specific geographical area in the Vale of Glamorgan (the Gibbonsdown ward), identified in partnership with the Public Health Team and utilising data from the Population Needs Assessment and Wellbeing of Future Generations needs assessments in the Vale.
  4. Following the Communities First footprint in the Vale would enable utilisation of existing networks and contacts in an area of disadvantage and would help to limit the potential loss of knowledge and expertise arising from winding down of Communities First. 

Relevant Issues and Options

  1. Thirty eight community groups/other interested parties and individuals were contacted. Thirty four groups/interested parties/individuals will be part of the Network. Two wish to keep in contact and two did not reply.
  1. Thirty two representatives were invited to the Network to represent the groups/interested parties and individuals. I found that one individual could be a part of multiple groups and those who attended more than one group were very community minded. Two groups will not attend but wish to keep in contact.
  1. There are two types of Gibbonsdown maps and these were combined with primary and secondary boundaries. There are twenty locations where community groups and other interested parties meet.
  1. It was decided to use distorted boundaries and include groups within walking distance of the boundary. decided to use distorted boundaries and include groups within walking distance of the boundary. The project did not focus solely on health and wellbeing community groups and instead focused on mapping all community groups and other interested parties  within the Ward and included the Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) as they are an integral part of the Ward.
  1. Groups not associated with health may have a community based mind-set that would be good for the Network group. The project was about improving health and wellbeing and does not just need health and wellbeing groups; it needs all of the community. Therefore, it focused on all the community groups and other interested parties in the Ward so that the Network meetings would contain a diverse mix of candidates - male/female, young/old. This gave a better idea of the community as a whole. To reach the public, this Network needed to work together with existing services and use the relationships that interested parties have already formed and cultivated with the community, to improve both their own groups and the health and wellbeing of the Ward.
  1. Interested parties also had the experience of engaging the community and fund/support many groups within the Ward. For example, Cwtch Cymru wanted to contact Valeways and arrange walking sessions which may not have happened if Valeways was not part of the Network.
  1. The project found a lack of knowledge within the groups of other community groups and an eagerness to network with others. However, one group declined to join as they felt they had seen this type of project before and thought that these types of projects never last.
  1. The project co-ordinator attended many events and Networks to promote the project and to see how they were run. The project was marketed at various meetings, the local press and on social media.
  1. Two external projects in Gibbonsdown liaised with the Network; a garden project looking to regenerate a piece of land for the community and schools and an art project seeking to create a piece of local art.
  1. Numerous organic links were created: fifteen face to face contacts; twenty seven email links; twenty eight groups/interested parties/individuals in contact via email or face to face. The links formed will help the health and wellbeing of the Ward as the seeds of a social movement are put in place.
  1. A Network email group was created for everyone to share their information about the area.
  1. The Network aimed to create a Gibbonsdown directory for sharing everyone's information about their roles and activities.
  1. Both the Gibbonsdown Residents Board and the Network have expressed an interest in having a community café/lounge. This interested the Principal Health Promotion Specialist and lead of FoodVale who came to speak at one of the Network meetings. The Network was very impressed by the speaker and one member even commented that she was "nice to talk to, not stuffy at all." #
  1. The project was designed to be community led and continue once the project had ended. At the time of writing this report no-one in the Network felt confident enough to lead the Network. Barriers included "funding", "lack of leadership", "timing for meetings and availability of people to attend", "time and management" and "commitment of person running the group".
  1. Many of the Network members felt that this project was a great way to help improve the health and wellbeing of the Ward. One representative stated, "The networking meeting was very good to gather different people from different areas to discuss what is going on in the local area and what plans could we change for the future.  This can only benefit the local community from having these meetings and to stop it now will be such a shame."

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

  1. The funding of £25,000 was provided by Public Health and provided employment for one part time post.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

  1. GVS has a robust Diversity Policy which is put into daily practice through the funding of GVS's work with the voluntary and community groups operating in the Vale of Glamorgan

Background Papers

"Wellbeing in Action" - Final Report - Appendix 1

Contact Officer

Rachel Connor Chief, Executive Officer GVS

Responsible Officer:

Rachel Connor Chief, Executive Officer GVS