Telford and Wrekin Volunteering Service Plan for Cities of Service. Volunteer

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1 Telford and Wrekin Volunteering Service Plan for Cities of Service Volunteer D2162

2 Contents A Message from the Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council Our co-operative values of ownership and involvement are at the heart of volunteering, we all know that sense of satisfaction that we get from giving our time on a voluntary basis, whether it is helping out a neighbour, campaigning for something we believe in or taking on a formal volunteering role. A Message from the Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council page 1 Executive summary page 2 Introduction to Cities of Service page 4 Telford and Wrekin as a City of Service page 6 Understanding our priorities page 7 Our service initiatives page 9 Volunteering is a co-operative activity; it helps to build relationships and partnerships between public, private and voluntary sector organisations. We are fortunate to already have a huge number of volunteers in Telford and Wrekin, many of whom volunteer within Council services. Through Cities of Service we can build on this experience and create even more opportunities for residents to be active citizens within our Borough. We have ambitious plans for Telford and Wrekin, our strategy is based on making Telford and Wrekin a place in which people want to live, work, visit and play. Our plans for growth provide many opportunities but we also have some key challenges that we need to address, reducing inequality is one of these challenges. We know that we can t do this on our own. Volunteering can help to positively address poverty and disadvantage by giving people new skills and confidence and strengthening their social relationships. I also believe that the involvement of residents in developing and delivering local solutions is vital to our work as a Co-operative Council. Telford is a place of enterprise, innovation and partnership and I am pleased that we are one of the first Local Authorities to deliver the Cities of Service programme within the United Kingdom. I am confident that our involvement in this programme will help us achieve our ambitions to build a sense of pride within our communities and to improve the health and wellbeing of our people. Telford & Wrekin Council s service initiatives overview page 12 Page ii Page 1

3 Executive summary Cities of Service provides Telford & Wrekin Council with an opportunity to really understand the impact that volunteering can have on our key local challenges. Many council services are already supported by skilled and enthusiastic volunteers, and we know that volunteering makes a significant contribution towards the lives of many residents in the Borough. As a Co-operative Council we want to be able to respond to the increasing number of residents who want to become actively involved in making Telford and Wrekin a better place to live. Our two Cities of Service volunteering projects will contribute to our priorities but we also want to be able to take all of the learning and experience gained from our involvement in the programme to develop a blueprint that can be applied to many of our local challenges. Our aim is to contribute to two of Telford & Wrekin Council s priorities, to create safe, clean, and well maintained neighbourhoods in which people feel a sense of pride and to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities and address health inequalities. Cities of Service will focus upon six of our neighbourhoods, which will support our priority to narrow the gap between our most and least deprived communities. Through this programme we will work with the voluntary, public and private sector to deliver two high impact volunteering projects; Pride in Your Community and Let s Grow. Pride in Your Community provides an opportunity for residents to be actively involved in improving the environment within their neighbourhood. This will involve reporting and prioritising environmental issues, taking part in community clean ups and improving public spaces within the neighbourhood. Residents will be supported to improve their own gardens or areas outside their property. Volunteers will also help to spread the word about the importance of looking after the local environment and will help to increase resident s sense of pride in their local area. We will support residents to develop the skills and to access the tools and resources to improve their local area. We will measure the impact of Pride in Your Community on our ultimate goal - that residents within our Target Areas have an increased sense of pride within their neighbourhood. Let s Grow will help residents to grow, cook and eat more fruit and vegetables. With the support of volunteers residents will develop their food growing skills and will be supported to grow in their own gardens or community growing spaces. Volunteers will deliver healthy cooking courses, and will run tool hire schemes and local food box schemes. The project aims to increase participant s consumption of fruit and vegetables and increase their levels of physical activity. Our ultimate goal for Let s Grow is that participants report improved health and wellbeing. demonstrating the impact of our projects on the local environment and the health and wellbeing of residents. Through this programme we will see an increase in the numbers of people who actively take part in their local community, who help and support their neighbours and who take responsibility for their local environment. Residents will be eating more healthily, taking more exercise and improving their mental wellbeing. The experience gained through Cities of Service will be shared across the organisation and with our partners, and will help us to work with residents, voluntary organisations and businesses to broaden our range of volunteering opportunities and the diversity of our volunteers. More information about Cities of Service in Telford and Wrekin can be found at volunteertelford.co.uk Being part of Cities of Service will help to raise the profile of volunteering within our local area by Page 2 Page 3

4 Introduction to Cities of Service History The Cities of Service coalition and its member cities aim to find new and innovative ways to harness the power of volunteers to solve strategic city issues. The coalition builds on the work of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who pioneered the approach, designating New York as a service city and creating opportunities for thousands of citizens to serve. Many other cities have replicated the approach. Today in the United States, the Cities of Service coalition includes more than 170 mayors, and it is successfully mobilising thousands of volunteers to improve their city one task at a time. Volunteers give their time on high impact initiatives in the service of others and their local city, often coordinated by a Chief Service Officer. Cities in the coalition share successful strategies to ensure the most effective initiatives are copied by others. Over the past three years, the movement has spread internationally to inspire Team London and Count on Me in Madrid. Cities of Service UK Now Telford & Wrekin Council has the opportunity to join this movement. We are one of seven pioneering local authorities working with the Cabinet Office and Nesta, the UK s innovation charity, to adapt the Cities of Service model to the UK. Telford & Wrekin Council has received funding, tools, training and mentoring support from Nesta and the Cabinet Office as part of the programme. Because this work is part of a wider movement, we have developed relationships with the other UK Cities of Service - Bristol, Kirklees, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Barnsley, and Swindon. Vision Cities of Service efforts focus on impact volunteering volunteer strategies that target community needs, use best practices and set clear outcomes and measures to gauge progress. The key aims of the programme are to: n Help local government find best ways to mobilise energy, talents and passions of people to make a real difference to local priorities n Focus on measuring results: rather than measure how many people volunteer, we measure the impact those volunteers have n Create strong leaders to champion the programme and create support within the city How does it work? We have undergone a staged process to identify local challenges that we can address by mobilising volunteers alongside public services and have worked with partners in the community, voluntary sector, and with local businesses to develop projects that can have an impact on those challenges. We have developed clear metrics to track our progress and demonstrate the impact our projects are having. We have also made a commitment to communicate our results on a regular basis. There is more detail about our initiatives and intended impact later in this document. Service in Telford and Wrekin Telford & Wrekin is a Co-operative Council and our aim is to work together with our residents, partners and local organisations to collectively deliver the best we can for Telford and Wrekin with the combined resources that we have. Active involvement of residents within their neighbourhoods and in shaping and supporting the delivery of Council services is fundamental to our Co-operative approach, volunteering is an important strand within active involvement. The aims of Cities of Service complement Telford & Wrekin Council s Co-operative priorities and values, we recognise the valuable contribution that volunteers already make in Telford and Wrekin, volunteering makes a major contribution to all aspects of life in the local community and supports the delivery of services in both the voluntary and public sector. Volunteering brings benefits to both the individuals that volunteer in relation to building confidence, developing skills and building social networks, and to the organisations that are supported by volunteers, many of which wouldn t be able to operate without the input of volunteers. Page 4 Page 5

5 Telford and Wrekin as a City of Service The financial climate in which the Council and other organisations are operating means that there is a need to develop new ways of working in order to address our key strategic challenges. Although Telford and Wrekin isn t a city, we experience many of the same challenges as large urban areas including inequalities across our communities in terms of the environment, health outcomes and economic prosperity. Cities of Service provides an exciting opportunity to harness the energy and enthusiasm of volunteers to deliver two high impact projects that will contribute towards addressing these inequalities. One of our strategic objectives is to narrow the gap between our most and least deprived communities, and we have identified six Target Areas on which to focus. Brookside, College, Cuckoo Oak, Donnington, Malinslee and Woodside contain neighbourhoods that are amongst the 10% most deprived nationally, Cities of Service will therefore be delivered within these six areas. Through Cities of Service Telford and Wrekin will receive 30,000 between April 2014 and March This funding will be invested in supporting communities to access the training, equipment and resources to deliver the Pride in Your Community and Let s Grow projects. The programme will be supported by an investment of a minimum of 175,000 to support the Cities of Service Project. The Council is also investing 13m during the same period, to improve the physical environment and infrastructure of the Borough; this will complement Cities of Service and provides a visual commitment to residents that the Council takes its responsibility for maintaining the Borough seriously. We have already engaged a number of organisations including Sanctuary Housing, Harper Adams Agricultural University, Brookside Improvement Group, Sutton Hill Residents Group, and Telford and Wrekin Greenspace Partnership in the development of this programme. We will continue to work with representatives from the public, private and voluntary sector to deliver Cities of Service. Cllr Davies Ambassador, Cities of Service for Telford and Wrekin As a volunteer myself, and in my role as a Ward Member and Cabinet Member I have seen the impact that volunteering can have on individuals and the wider community. I am fortunate to meet many volunteers in my current role and I m always impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of the people that I talk to. As a Co-operative Council it s essential that we help to facilitate volunteering in the Borough. We can do this by providing good quality volunteering experiences and capturing the impact that volunteers have, Cities of Service will help us to do this. By showcasing the fantastic work of our volunteers we will be able to encourage more of our residents to become actively involved in their communities and to experience the benefits that volunteering can bring. Understanding our priorities Create safe, clean, and well maintained neighbourhoods in which people feel a sense of pride. When asked what matters to them most about Telford and Wrekin, residents identified the environment (litter, clean streets, fly-tipping) as their second highest priority below safety. The Council currently spends 1.8m per year clearing litter and fly-tipping with the greatest demand on these services coming from our six Target Areas. n 4055 incidents of fly-tipping were removed from across the Borough between April 2013 and March 2014 n 2224 incidents of fly-tipping were removed from the six Target Areas during April 2013 and March 2014 (55% of the Borough total) The impact of a poor physical environment on people s health and wellbeing is well documented and this level of demand on Council services isn t sustainable. Residents in our Target Areas tell us that untidy gardens and open spaces and poorly maintained streets, roads and signs contribute to a lack of satisfaction with their local neighbourhood. Residents have identified that there is a need for investment from the Council but they also feel that they have a role to play in addressing these issues. Residents want to be involved in raising awareness about environmental issues and in delivering local environmental projects. Access to tools and equipment and developing gardening and DIY skills will enable a wider range of residents to become involved in improving their local area. Pride in Your Community will build upon the Council s Street Champions scheme and the work of existing resident s and friends groups. The programme will also enable new projects and groups to be developed and importantly provide a mechanism to measure the impact of these schemes. Through active involvement in improving the local area it is envisaged that residents will have an increased sense of pride in their community which will support a change in behaviour in terms of taking responsibility for taking care of the area in which they live. Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities and address health inequalities A key health challenge in Telford and Wrekin is that the health of residents is not consistent across the Borough. People living in our more deprived areas are more likely to die earlier and are more likely to suffer from poorer physical and mental health. People living in the most deprived communities have a lower life expectancy and are more likely to die before the age of 75. n Male life expectancy in the most affluent areas is 79.8 years, compared to 74.9 years in the most deprived areas n Female life expectancy is 82.5 years in the most affluent areas, compared to 80.6 years in the most deprived areas It is also estimated that in 2010 around 17,200 people in Telford and Wrekin suffered from a common mental disorder such as depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, with Page 6 Page 7

6 Volunteer everybody has s o m e t h i n g t o o ff e r Our service initiatives around 60% of these are estimated to be women and it is also known that at least one in four adults experience mental health problems at some point during their life. Food growing is important for a healthy diet and lifestyle, saving money, learning skills, and bringing communities together. There is a strong evidence base that growing projects result in improved physical and mental health outcomes for the participants. Local patient engagement research aimed at understanding resident s current lifestyle, attitudes to health and barriers to change, identified that there was a need for people to be able to access support locally. People associated exercise with attending a gym and felt that costs were a barrier to increasing their physical activity. People were aware of the impact of eating fruit and vegetables on their health and wellbeing but it was felt that there was a lack of support to make changes and that healthy eating would cost more. Through engagement within the Target Areas it has been identified that there is an interest in developing community gardens where residents can grow fruit and vegetables, residents have also identified an interest in growing fresh produce within their own gardens. There are also a number of active volunteers who work within our community cafes within our Target Areas and there is a willingness to share their skills and experience around healthy cooking with others within the community. This information has been used to develop the Cities of Service Let s Grow volunteering project. This project links closely to the Five Ways to Wellbeing; Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give, these evidence based actions promote wellbeing and underpin the Council s Public Health agenda. Page 8 Pride in Your Community involves residents in keeping their area clean, tidy and well cared for. Volunteers will receive training and support to enable them to take part in the following activities; n Resident s awareness of importance of taking care of their local environment n Improve and maintain community outdoor spaces n Number of residents volunteering on environmental projects on a regular basis n Local clean ups and litter picking n Number of environmental projects delivered through volunteers and impact of projects n Support neighbours to improve their gardens n Run a community based tool hire scheme n Identify and report local environmental issues and develop sustainable solutions to these issues n Deliver environmental educational awareness within their community We will work with residents, local businesses and existing voluntary groups to identify and carry out a programme of voluntary based environmental improvements across our six Target Areas. Participants will be supported to develop and share their skills, funding will be available to purchase equipment, provide training and to purchase plants and materials to improve the local area. Through the Pride in Your Community Programme our goal is for residents within our Target Areas to have an increased sense of pride in their neighbourhood. We will measure this by capturing the following information within our Target Areas; n Number of residents who have an increased sense of pride in their neighbourhood n Resident s perception of the cleanliness of their local area Page 9

7 Let s Grow gets people involved in growing, distributing and cooking fresh fruit and vegetables. Through Let s Grow volunteers will help to deliver the following activities n Setting up and running food growing clubs, providing training and support and advice on growing fruit and vegetables n Healthy cooking courses n Local food box schemes n Community based tool hire schemes (linked to Pride in Your Community) n Setting up and maintaining community food growing spaces Participants will have an opportunity to either grow food within their own garden or window box or to volunteer within a community based food growing space. These spaces will be identified by the communities within the Target Areas and can involve local businesses, schools and existing voluntary groups. n Participants reported improvements to their health and wellbeing n Physical activity levels related to the Let s Grow project n Levels of consumption of fruit and vegetables n Confidence in cooking healthy meals n Access to fruit and vegetables n Number of community growing spaces developed What our volunteers say... I like learning new skills and meeting people. I suffer from low confidence and self esteem and this really helps build my confidence up. It s good for your CV too! Anne Webber, volunteer, Donnington café Get involved to make things better, it helps to make where we live nicer and therefore a happier place to be. Pride In Your Community volunteer I like coming here and serving the community. I enjoy talking to people and meeting new people. Sometimes I talk to people about their problems which feels helpful. Mike Smith, volunteer, Donnington café The Let s Grow project focuses on evidence based research on the positive impact of physical activity, consumption of fruit and vegetables and active community participation on the health and wellbeing of individuals. The project aims to increase access to affordable fruit and vegetables, increase individual s physical activity through gardening, and develop skills and confidence in cooking healthy meals. Through Let s Grow our goal is to improve the health and wellbeing of those who take part in the project. We will use the following information to capture the progress of the project and to understand its impact; Page 10 Page 11

8 Telford & Wrekin Council s service initiatives overview Let s Grow Our Priority Our Aims Impact Metrics What success will look like Launch date Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities and address health inequalities Improve the health and wellbeing of Let s Grow participants within our Target Areas Participants report an increase in their health and wellbeing Participants have better access to fruit and vegetables Participants have increased skills in preparing fruit and vegetables 65% participants report an improvement in health and wellbeing 50% participants report better access to fruit and vegetables 75% of participants report an increase in these areas Autumn 2014 Participants have increased confidence in preparing fruit and vegetables Participants are more physically active due to growing activities 50% participants report an increase in physical activity Participants have increased skills in growing fruit and vegetables 50% participants report an increase in skills Number of residents participating in community growing plots 108 residents participating in community growing plots Pride in Your Community Our Priority Our Aims Impact Metrics What success will look like Launch date Create safe, clean, and well maintained neighbourhoods in which people feel a sense of pride Residents within our Target Areas have an increased sense of pride in their neighbourhood Residents within our Target Areas feel that their neighbourhood is cleaner Number of people who report a sense of pride in their area Number of projects delivered Number of volunteers regularly participating in environmental projects More residents have an awareness of the importance of taking responsibility for their environment Baseline to be gathered Autumn projects delivered 216 volunteers regularly participating 75% respondents have awareness of the importance of taking responsibility for their environment Autumn 2014 Number of participants reporting an increase in skills and confidence 50% participants report an increase in skills 50% participants report an increase in confidence Page 12 Page 13

9 Telford and Wrekin Volunteering Service Plan for Cities of Service Volunteer