Aviva Community Fund has provided £292 of match funding
The Mill Community Cafe
Breightmet, England, United Kingdom
Aim
To help people in our community recover from the multiple impacts the pandemic has had, improve resilience and address digital inclusion.
OUR AIM
To build a modern, inclusive, accessible, spacious community cafe from which we can begin to tackle needs within our community. It will provide social educational space developing and delivering long-term self sustaining services for the community.
The Mill Community Cafe will be a thriving hub within the community which will deliver a volunteer-led coronavirus support programme addressing the varied needs and challenges experienced by people in our community. Within this space we will provide opportunities for them to learn new skills, access essential resources, build on existing strengths, and share their knowledge with others, to improve the quality of life for everyone in Bolton and Bury.
Through this, we hope to achieve the following objectives:
- To improve mental health, emotional health and wellbeing for individuals, couples and families in the area.
- To equip people with money management skills that will help them regain control of their finances, and encourage them to share those skills with others in the community.
- To provide people of all ages with the resources and skills they need to maintain their nutritional health on a budget.
- To provide people with the essential basic IT skills they need for seeking employment, communicating with friends and family online and accessing forms of online support services.
- To increase provision for older adults to socialise and engage in a range of activities.
- To increase provision for children under the age of 4 to socialise with their peers and enhance their development.
- To increase opportunities for dads to develop stronger relationships with their children and build supportive relationships with other dads in the area.
- Empower community members to support one another.
- Provide valuable volunteer experiences and opportunities for people in our community.
We are very fortunate and excited to now be operating from our new premises, a former derelict mill in the process of being renovated. This will provide us with a multi-functional space that will hugely increase our capacity as an organisation to serve the local community. We have the facilities to create a multi-layered approach, existing resources, organisational partnerships, and a wealth of local volunteers, which have provided us with the tools we need to mobilise our response.
THE NEED
- High Deprivation & Unemployment - We are located in one of the 20% most deprived districts in England, according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. Children experiencing poverty increased drastically to over 50% due to the recent coronavirus crisis. Children growing up in poverty are at higher risk of poorer health primarily as a result of nutritional deficits that can cause obesity, lower cognitive function and chronic disease, as outlined by The Children’s Society. More children are being pushed into poverty as strains on family finances continue across households in our community as a result of job loss. Around 6 million people in the UK have had their hours cut, been laid off or made redundant during the pandemic. For many of the people in our community who are newly unemployed, they may need help to adapt to the advancement in technology quickly and become accustomed to new methods of securing employment. This can include utilising internet platforms for job seeking, CV writing, interview skills, and support in transferring their skills to a new profession or sector. The crisis has brought a new set of challenges to people in our community, and there is a clear need to provide provision that helps people secure stable employment.
- Mental Health Concerns - More than one-third of people in the area we serve suffer from anxiety or depression, and an estimated 15% (42,000 people) aged 16 and over have a common mental health disorder. For those already living with a mental health condition, the coronavirus outbreak has taken an additional emotional toll, as it increases feelings of anxiety and depression, and makes it easy to experience overwhelming dread and panic. Mind UK, advises the best way to take care of your mental health and wellbeing is to connect with people and access available support services that can help you cope and recover. Members of our community have expressed concerns for their emotional and mental health as a result of the coronavirus. We want to ensure there is a variety of support services readily available for people in our community who are experiencing difficulties with their emotional and mental health. The support we will offer includes counselling, early intervention support, address underlying causes of depression, and help people develop strong supportive friendships, connecting people to befriending services, to ensure people have access to local resources they need to recover.
- Loneliness and Social Isolation - The social distancing measures and recent lockdown have forced many to stay indoors and shield due to their age or presenting health condition. This has increased the number of people experiencing loneliness and social isolation, especially for those who are unable to connect with friends and family via online platforms because they do not own a computer or are not tech-savvy. Older adults are among the most vulnerable to experiencing loneliness and social isolation, according to Age UK, more than 2 million people aged 75 and over live alone, and more than 1 million reported going over one month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member. In this current climate, the concern for those living alone and isolated has grown substantially, and we need to tackle this issue, to ensure that everyone can stay connected with others remotely, and can access services and provision that provide companionship.
- Limited Provision - The pandemic has disrupted the lives of children and young people across the UK due to school closures, lockdown and social distancing measures, affecting disadvantaged children the most. Children in low-income households whose families cannot afford day-trips out, a computer or internet connection miss out on social interaction and e-learning, leaving many children in our community behind. The University of Oxford found lockdown increased children’s emotional difficulties, such as feeling unhappy, worried, and experiencing physical symptoms associated with worry. Alongside this, parents in our community expressed due to new financial strains as a result of the crisis; they are unable to afford extracurricular activities that give their children opportunities to have fun and interact with other children. At Kings Church, we want to deliver free, fun activities that the whole family can enjoy to ensure children and young people recover from the isolation they experienced during lockdown through increased opportunities to interact with other children and their peers as soon as possible.
In spite of the reported negative impacts of lockdown, it has also provided opportunities for families to spend quality time together. For the first time fathers have had the chance to spend an increasing amount of time with their children, the Independent reported in 2015, men spent 39% of the time women spent on childcare, and since lockdown, this figure has risen to 66%. We want to encourage fathers in our community to continue spending time with their children as they begin returning to work. Now more than ever support is needed to help people recover from the multiple impacts the pandemic has had on their lives, with innovative, sustainable long-term solutions.
THE KINGS CHURCH SOLUTION
We are passionate about supporting people in Bolton, Bury and beyond, and to continue offering relevant services, we undertook an Asset Based Community Development approach. As a result of this approach, we were able to identify the needs of those in our local area and what resources and strengths that already exist to mobilise an effective coronavirus responsive programme.
The programme will be 100% volunteer-led by individuals with lived experience of some of the issues we are addressing some of whom are also professionals in the area of services we will be providing. These individuals are genuinely passionate about helping people in the community address many of the new challenges they are now facing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2021, we aim to launch the following areas of support:
Calming the storm a 6-week course which we will offer six times per year to provide immediate support to people who are suffering from anxiety and depression.
Counselling & Listening service that will offer one to one counselling, relationship/couples counselling, family therapy, and listening services for individuals.
CAP Money Management Course aims to equip people with budgeting skills and a simple cash-based system that will help them gain control of their finances to save and prevent debt.
Cooking courses there will be short-term courses for up to 5 people per course, to teach basic cooking skills, provide lists of recipes and instructions to make a selection of different meals.
IT skills and Job club will offer onsite adult computer lessons, covering basic computer skills, job searches, online shopping, navigating emails, video calls, accessing government websites, and resume writing.
Luncheon Club will provide a dining service for older adults, to come together to socialise and engage in a range of activities.
Mini Giants programme is our open toddler group enabling parents/ carers from Bolton and Bury to create peer relationships and support one another.
"Who let the Dads out" will provide engaging activities for dads to build close relationships with their children and improve confidence.
We have seen an increased sense of community belonging and support among people in our neighbourhood during 2020. We are now building on this foundation utilising our new building and team of volunteers to address the problems identified by residents cost-effectively and sustainably. Through delivering our programmes, we anticipate the following outcomes for residents in Bolton:
Improved emotional and mental health - residents in our community will be equipped with new coping skills that will help them manage their mental health and facilitate their recovery to regain a positive sense of self.
Stronger family relationships - through counselling, couples and families will be able to address the challenges they faced during the lockdown and form stronger bonds.
Financial empowerment - residents will become more confident in managing their finances and have the opportunity to deliver money management courses for other people in the community who are experiencing financial hardship. Leading on from this, we will be able to see whole communities in Bolton gain the skills they need to improve their financial situation.
Reduced unemployment - through delivering computer skills and job seeker support, we will see more residents in our community become confident in navigating online employment opportunities and become successful in securing new employment.
Reduced social isolation - older adults and elderly residents will have increased opportunities to socialise and build friendships with others in the community and the volunteers. Through offering IT skills training, older adults will be able to navigate online communication platforms to keep in touch with friends and family. From this, we can help reduce social isolation and improve mental health and physical wellbeing of older adults in our community.
Help close the digital divide - individuals, parents, older adults, children and young people will have learned valuable IT skills that will see them secure employment, communicate virtually, enhance their educational experiences, and have access to computers through our drop-in or loan scheme. From this, we can help reduce unemployment, social isolation and address the digital divide among people in Bolton.
Improved nutritional health - community members of all ages will become confident in baking, cooking and shopping for healthy meals on a budget. This will allow us to see the health of people in Bolton improve over time.
Improved social support networks - children will have a safe environment where they can develop their creativity, communication and language skills through socialising and playing with other children. From this, we can begin to see children recover from the trauma of isolation experienced during the lockdown. Additionally, dads will have a space where they can form strong bonds with their children, increase their confidence in parenting and develop a local network of dads they can count on for support.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Kings Church have already secured funding to facilitate the build of The Mill Community Cafe which we are hopeful will be completed by the end of 2020.
The total cost of launching our new coronavirus response programme including the projects listed above will cost in the region of £50,000, and this will provide us with the equipment we need to set up each project area.
Please, would you consider supporting us with a donation towards the cost of launching these projects, so we can begin to offer residents in our community the tools and support they need to thrive?
This project successfully funded on 16th December 2020