It's not all weddings, funerals and christenings...

Community Links work with all sectors of the community, including faith groups. Mamta Khanna had a chat with Reverend Derek Winterburn, Vicar of St. Mary’s in Hampton.

MK: Rev Winterburn, please tell me about the projects you are involved in.

Rev D Winterburn: I am the Vicar of St. Mary’s Parish Church, Hampton and Area Dean of Hampton. I serve as an ex officio trustee at the Hampton Fuel Allotment Charity and the Hampton Parochial Charity. I am trustee of MTV Youth Club and Governor at the Hampton School for Boys and the Chair of Trustees of St Mary’s Hampton, Church of England Primary School (a free school). 

What is the Hampton Parochial Charity?

The Hampton Parochial Charity runs Jubilee House on Ashley Road, Hampton Relief and the School of Industry. Of these, the School of Industry Charity makes grants enabling young people (under 21, and who live in Hampton/Hampton Hill) to study at college or enter a trade. In situations where there is financial hardship at home, the charity might be able to help with tuition fees, travelling or maintenance expenses.  

Out of all the projects you are involved in, which one is closest to your heart and why? 

The MTV Youth Club and the St Mary’s School Hampton are closest to me because of the sense of ownership and the initiative that came from within the Parish Church. These projects are putting into action The Church of England’s vision to care for everybody who lives in the Parish. We went door to door to connect with people who live in the estate off Oldfield Road and to ask residents what the needs of the community were if the Church could help them. It was our way of connecting with people directly. 

Most homes responded by asking the Church to do something for young people in the neighbourhood. Based on this need, we began the MTV Youth Club in 2012. The youth club supports young people between the ages of 8-16 through club work, and connects some of them to local businesses. We not only support 16 year olds to find work but also encourage them to stay in work by problem solving through support and advice. 

St Mary’s School has now been open one year; it has been very successful. We are looking forward to doubling in size in September (from 30 to 60 children). The School has land around it which we hope to develop with woodlands, a pond and allotments.  We envision the school becoming a community hub: where older people and young people can all come to benefit from the activities.

Where would you like to be, 5 years from now?

My dream would be that the school would be full and thriving, MTV will be in its own dedicated building and we will have a nursery attached to the primary school. The school will become a community hub where community members will find activities of interest to them. 

What inspires you on a daily basis?

I do what I do because I feel called by God to serve the people of Hampton. It may sound rather 'theological' but that's my inspiration. Coming to the parish a good number of years ago this was the question that I, the churchwardens and the bishop were asking. We came to the conclusion that 'yes', it was God was bringing us together. At key moments along the way, not least in the initiative to start St Mary's school, I have felt this again and again. 

What are the challenges you have faced in running the youth club and launching St. Mary’s School?

Time! Putting together the initial bid for the school application and then moving forward to opening was exhilarating but very time-consuming. There was a huge amount to learn about the process and working collaboratively meant so many meetings and networking. The launch of MTV Youth was supported primarily by a colleague - and again finding time was his key challenge. Clergy have some flexibility about choosing how to use their days, but there some things that cannot be postponed - Sunday comes round regularly!

Which projects do you need most support for (Volunteering, etc.)? 

St Mary's School continues to need my attention; we continue to appoint new staff, recruit new children and await Ofsted. But as an organisation it is becoming more self-sufficient. However one aspect of wider interest is the surrounding grounds area. The school is keen to work with the wider community including MTV Youth to develop these as a resource for everyone. Obviously there are educational priorities but we hope that our neighbours and others will find something here for them. MTV-Youth always welcomes adult volunteers (after DBS clearance) to work with the young people at the Friday club night and the fund-raising team is open to ideas and people. 

A message for residents

My message to residents is that St Mary's Church, School and MTV Youth, all local people, are trying to serve others. We don't see ourselves as anything other than Hampton people working together for the benefit of everyone - and in that way we share God's love for all. As Jesus said 'love your neighbour.'

Community Links : From dawn until dusk...

I had the pleasure of hosting two meetings this week, in my Village Areas. Two very different meetings, at the extreme ends of the working day.

On Tuesday morning I was up at dawn to meet with local business people from the Village area of Strawberry Hill, over eggs, bacon and coffee at the Golf Club. What's the Community Links Officer doing running business breakfasts you might ask? Well, once upon a time.. Back in  December '13 I ran a community meeting for residents in Strawberry Hill (SH for here on..apologies for the shorthand). One of the outcomes from that meeting was a desire from the community to see more support for local businesses, and to see them more involved with the SH community.

At the meeting we heard that there are thought to be over 100 small businesses working from home in SH. The Council's Economic Development Team is keen to support the development of business networks across the borough. Building this on to my interest in seeing how all local people could do their community bit, I see this as an excellent fit for Community Links.

I was really pleased to welcome 14 businesses to the meeting, on top of which I also received keen apologies from a further six. Everyone I spoke with was grateful for the opportunity to come along and introduce themselves, and were keen to see what happens next... Of course what happens next is up to those that are involved in the group, but my colleagues Susan and Sean and I will be on hand to support them realise their ambitions.

During more regular hours, Lynette attended a 'Dementia Friends' Information Session at Twickenham Library.  Here's what she had to say about it:

"I would really recommend everybody taking part in this free short session (approx. 1:30hrs).  It was so informative and really made you think what it is like to have dementia, and how this can affect your daily activities.  It is a cleverly put together interactive session that offers tips and ideas on how you can interact with people who suffer from this horrendous disease, who you may meet when you are out and about.  I came away with more insight and a much clearer understanding of how I can help make these people's lives just that little bit easier, and feel more confident in carrying on with public life.  My pledge is to spread the word about this truly wonderful training throughout the communities of Richmond."

This short video tells you all about it:

Later in the week I hosted an evening community meeting in St Margaret's, which brings together quite a mix of local people who all seem to have one thing in common - they care passionately about St Margaret's. There is a growing challenge though - acknowledged by some of the regular attenders as well as myself, and that is that each meeting feels like a 'first meeting'. New ideas and new faces are very welcome, but it also means there isn't a sense of progress. The 'original' members were unable to pursue their original project idea, but have agreed to look at others. I'm happy to continue to work with this, but I fear that good will and passion will soon begin to run low if there aren't some tangible projects to get stuck in to. 

What we need in this group is someone who is willing to take on the role of 'lead'. Perhaps, somewhat ironically, this is currently falling to me.. But it cannot be me as I am neither local, nor is it a long term solution! I am looking forward to carrying out the main action of this meeting though...organise a 'green walkabout' of St Margaret's, for local residents to point out opportunities they have seen that have potential for 'greening up' either through a flower bed, patch of grass or a hanging basket.

Until next time!

What was Mr Motivators' key to success?

Another fantastic week draws to a close, and when I take a moment to look back at what I have been involved in, in some way or another, I do wonder quite how it all fits in! Monday I find myself in St Margarets. I organised an open, public meeting, where the invitation was extended to anyone that had an interest in the area. Nothing contentious to discuss, which is often a strong driver for people to come to public events. I was really pleased to welcome a group of people who turned up simply because they love the area they live in, and would like to contribute in some way, if they can. Oh..well, there might have been

some cynicism that the council was ‘up to something’, but that was laid to rest pretty quickly!

Tuesday I joined the discussion about how the boroughs plans to commemorate World War 1 are going. There is a great opportunity for local people who have family lineage connections with the Great War, as well as sharing stories, education and simply reflecting on the sacrifices that were made.

Mr Motivator was
unavailable for comment

Later in the week I attended the launch of Energy Smart Richmond, the borough initiative which should help residents save energy (and money), and help the borough reduce its carbon footprint. It’s not easy though, and as has been a bit of a recurring theme this week, I ask myself… what will motivate people to do something like this?

When you look at the theories of motivation, of which there are many, there are often two basic questions to address. What will doing X cost me? What will I get out of doing X?

To invite a stranger in to your house, spend time with them, process the paper work, then endure the period when work will be carried out on your house is a fairly big personal cost. But it is only a short term cost. The long term benefits...saving money on energy bills, reducing the carbon footprint, perhaps making a better world for our children’s children ... are supremely worthwhile long term gains. 

However, when it comes to motivation, humans are notoriously bad at giving in to the short term costs/wins. Anyone that has tried giving up smoking, or started a new gym regime will attest to this, I'm sure. If you start to throw in easy reasons for people to not opt-in (Will the installer do a good job? How can I trust them? Etc) then encouraging take up will be tough.

Energy Smart Richmond will be a great scheme though, and the Council’s partners, ClimateEnergy are very aware of some of these challenges. Residents can be involved as beneficiaries, street champions, or installers. This is what excites me about this initiative – it can be very ‘Richmond’ orientated. Local trades people are encouraged to do the work, and can receive training to do the best job, local people are to be recruited as street champions to spread the word to their neighbours. This approach has already been demonstrated with exceptional results in Ham, by the Low Carbon Zone Street Champions. Altogether a more people centred approach, I felt.

As an end note, the Community Links Coordinator is NOT about to update his wardrobe with multi-colour spandex. Just for the record.

From Halifax to healthy facts...

Another mega-mixed bag of Community Linking this week. Most prominent in my mind is the meeting I've just had with StreetInvest, a Twickenham based international charity. I heard how three brave and inspirational (read: lovely but slightly barmy) chaps intend to do a trans-Canadian bike ride in 13 days as a fundraiser. That’s nearly 300 miles a day. Many of us in the room were struggling to comprehend the feat, let alone consider the commitment to training to achieve it. Good luck to them (apparently everyone says this, sounding a little sceptical!). I'm sure this blog will feature news of their progress in the future, especially as the charity want to work locally with organisations in the borough.

We didn't meet Richard this week.

An eon before this (well, Monday) I met with a resident who I felt exemplified the kind of person we'd like to meet more often. She has a great idea, an overflowing caldera of passion, and I feel she has hit on something that will do well in the borough. Elsewhere she would be called a 'social entrepreneur' - a Richard Branson-esque figure where profit is community benefits, and everyone is a shareholder.

For the remainder of the post, I hand over to Mamta Khanna, for her account of some training she undertook this week:

We did meet Mamta though...

I was privileged to participate in Richmond’s LiveWell Community Health Champion training run by Richmond CVS and the Hounslow and Richmond Community Health Trust. I say privileged because I was struck by the commitment from my co-participants: all regular people who, out of an interest in reaching out to others within their community, were committed to building their knowledge and skills.  

We explored public health and came to what I consider the core of the training: understanding and addressing health inequities. Richmond, one of the richest boroughs in London, has children living in poverty. Life expectancy in certain village areas in the borough is less than in the more affluent areas. What has Community Links got to do with health, specifically health inequality?  This definition gave me clarity:

“The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organised efforts of society.” (Definition of Public Health, Sir Acheson, 1988)

Improving public health is about society organising its efforts to bring good to all within it. If that isn’t community linking, then what is? Responding to health inequities requires science empowered by the art of encouraging change within people. Community Links practices this art and can be part of the solution to address inequity: engaging people and groups, igniting their connections with where they live and with those around them, and encouraging them to reach out to opportunities to improve their health and overall well-being. I am excited about working with the Health Champion volunteers to link up residents to opportunities.

Thanks Mamta! Hearing about Mamta’s experience made me re-read an article from the Evening Standard, on the Government’s ‘nudge unit’, or Behavioural Insights Team. I love the idea of this, although I know some people find it uncomfortable as it can be seen as manipulative. I don’t think we’re talking the same league here for Community Links (or perhaps we are...? Comments below...), but through our brokerage and linkages, we can support small, positive adjustments and improvements to local activity, through positive methods. From this, I think we all have benefits to gain. 

By the way, is that ANOTHER biscuit you are reaching for....?

A vision of the future...?

“The future is not an inheritance, it is an opportunity and an obligation.” Bill Clinton

Perhaps it’s a little brave (and embarrassingly cliché) to use a politician’s quote to start this post, but I was really attracted by the opportunity and obligation that ‘Teflon Bill’ refers to here. It is particularly relevant to our activities this week. The team has been a part of some great examples of local people and groups making the most of opportunities to improve their areas for future generations.

Prince Charles approves...

I have been attending the Prince Charles endorsed Enquiry by Design Ham Close visioning events. There is a huge opportunity for Ham on the table through our Uplift programme, so it’s worth spending time on getting it right. I’d describe the process as being a little slow ,but very authentic. ‘Slow’ may sound critical, but (and I do love a terrible analogy) for me it was like instant vs. fresh brewed coffee - both are coffee, but one is simply better. 

What I mean is that, whilst slower, taking this participatory approach gets a better result for the community. Whatever the outcome from the process, it has been thorough and I've heard some really interesting things about Ham's history, present concerns and ideas for the future. The outcomes will be grounded (no coffee pun intended) in grassroots, local input.

Lynette has been involved in similar things in Barnes. She told me it was great to see so many local residents turn up to support the Barnes Ponder Community Meeting on Monday evening.  Lots of great ideas were formed on how to take the Ponder outcomes forward, including suggestions of having a sensory garden in one of the parks.  She’s really looking forward to working with Emma and the Barnes Town Team, the Barnes Community Association and local residents to turn their ideas in a reality.

I’ll finish with a suggestion for any people involved in community engagement to read a blog post from Kate Goodall. Quite amusing, and top tips to remember when we are asking people what they want. It can be a dangerous, and misleading question! 

http://kategoodall.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/cogitation-cogitation-cogitation/

(Thanks to Tom in our comms team for the link to this… I’ve always thought it was a cog.)

What exactly is volunteering...?!

This seemingly simple question often pops in to my mind, especially when the Community Links Team are out and about, talking to the myriad people doing good things around the borough. Once again I found myself pondering this after talking with ArtsRichmond this morning. There are many interpretations and definitions; Google nails it down quite well with "working for an organization without being paid."

However, it is this sense of 'work' that often gets the term in to trouble. The evocative image of gap year students building schools in Africa resonates with most people as volunteering, and certainly has 'work' at its core. 

However, what about those people that give up hours of their life to run groups, activities and events for others because it's something they just enjoy doing? This has a sense of work though, as there are duties, responsibilities, often timescales to meet etc..

The real dilemma comes when we think about the people that attend these groups and activities. As a Community Link Officer, I might invite residents to come along to a public session to discussion solutions for a community issue. Unpaid, yet they are giving up their time to provide their knowledge and understanding to help achieve a goal. Yet, how many people see that as a form of volunteering? Volunteering England have a broader, yet more detailed definition which starts to capture this:

any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone . . . other than . . . close relatives. Central to this definition is the fact that volunteering must be a choice freely made by each individual. This can include formal activity undertaken through public, private and voluntary organisations as well as informal community participation.

So, I guess we could start to include lobbying and campaigning as volunteering. No final answers today it seems!