The Future For Fleetwood project set out to demonstrate how even the most deprived communities, such as the one in central Fleetwood ranked the 588th most deprived ward in the country according to the The English Indices of Deprivation 2010, hold an array of assets. These include a wealth of people skills and knowledge that can be developed to positively affect the community, improving health and wellbeing.
We began working with an established cook and eat group to test Skills for Care's asset based community development tools. The cook and eat group originated from a food bank, where local people in need were accessing healthy food parcels.
The sessions had been established for some time, having used a small amount of kick-start money to run weekly sessions over six weeks. Throughout the sessions participants were introduced to new recipes, basic cooking techniques and food preparation to allow them to recreate the dishes at home. Being involved allowed them to have a healthier diet, gave them self-esteem and a sense of achievement, and reduced their social isolation.
From working with the cook and eat group, it became clear that participants had a variety of skills and experiences, ranging from ICT to caring, although members found it difficult to recognise their individual strengths and had little confidence in their own ability to develop these. They also viewed skills as formal qualifications and the team found it necessary to elicit conversation about hobbies and interests, previous employment to highlight the skills, and ability necessary to carry out these activities.
The group developed further skills and knowledge through the programme including learning how to manage group dynamics, appropriate delegation of activities based on the skills and abilities present among them, organisational skills, record keeping and sharing new talents and learning with each other.
Due to the increased confidence of some group members, a number of them embarked on personal development journeys. One group member who had been suffering with mental health issues found the confidence to volunteer for a local organisation that supports vulnerable adults. Another who has a learning disability went on to undertake an NVQ in cookery and now actively shares her progress, not only with this group but among other local community groups. A third went on to find paid employment following a number of years out of work due to suffering with depression, and a fourth member enrolled at college to undertake basic English and Maths qualifications.
Lessons learned
The community development team learned a great deal from the cook and eat project and adapted their communication style in order to work more closely with the group. Over the course of the project, they realised that members did not respond well to formality, such as scheduled meetings or formal documents. They also discovered the importance of building up trust and rapport at an early stage, before trying to develop skills. By using more creative ways of communicating, the team learned more about the group, engaged with them and helped them realise and develop their skills.
Outcomes
As a result of taking an asset-based approach to supporting the development of a local community group and realising the plethora of assets in the community that can be mobilised to achieve positive results for individuals and the wider community, we have now recruited a community development officer who will work with other community groups in this way.
We have also gone on to undertake research on behalf of Skills For Care. This involves highlighting the hidden help that takes place in our communities and the value this brings, while also considering the responses of local residents who help others, receivers of such help, and local commissioners, to the idea of formalising the help. This research will be completed at the end of 2012.
Joanna Tattersall is the development manager of health and wellbeing services at n-compass North West
