We’ll be holding our 2018 AGM early in the new year – on Thursday 17th January 2019, 6-8.30pm at the Brighthelm Centre.
Please join us to find out more about our work across the city and meet some of our team. You can read our 2017/18 accounts online in advance.
Let us know you’re coming – RSVP to Louise Yu Wai Shan – [email protected]
It’s been another busy year for all of us at TDC – we’ve seen so much positive activity within the neighbourhoods we work with and across the whole city. It’s been fun continuing our work with many of our long-term partners and collaborators and getting to know lots of new people as well.
Here are the highlights of 2018 according to our team…
“I have had a number of highlights this year, from frantically producing popcorn at the amazingly busy and successful BME wellbeing event to welcoming people from far and wide to the Vallance Centre for the ‘Local and Family History Session’ as part of the Older People’s Festival. More recently I really enjoyed co-working with other TDC staff to support the Community Buildings Network in hosting the networking and information session at Community Base.”
Cal Chester, Community Development Support Worker – Citywide Projects
“A highlight of this year for me has been working alongside Hyde Residents on the Phoenix estate who have worked tirelessly to build a new Resident Steering Group. Its been an honour to watch them grow into a group that is building better ties with their social landlord and organising social events for their community as well as creating local partnerships within their ward. I look forward to attending their launch of the group next year.”
Emma Reeves, Community Development Worker – Tarner & Eastern Road
“This year I came back from maternity leave to a brand new project on Social Prescribing – linking people to community services and groups to improve their health and wellbeing. As a BME engagement worker I have always felt the need to provide dedicated one to one support to the BME individuals we worked with over the years and this project has given me the opportunity to work more closely with them. I am looking forward to connecting further with the wider BME communities and strengthening the existing relationships.”
Sayanti Banerjee, BME engagement and link worker
“It’s been a busy time over the last 12 months with lots of sessions, events and trips provided for young people in North and East Brighton
We started a new Yoga for Teenagers Project in February, had a fantastic Sports Festival for Young People back in June and a packed Summer holiday programme in July and August. We also launched the Youth Café in Whitehawk in July. This is on top of continuing the Young Women’s Group and Thursday Youth Club in Moulsecoomb and the Young Women’s group on the traveller site.
I am especially proud of my fantastic team of Youth Activity Workers and volunteers. Many of the YAW and volunteers are new to TDC and it’s been brilliant to see the team forming and getting on so well together – this then has a positive impact on the work they do with young people. They come to each youth club session with ideas, enthusiasm and a real desire to bring out the best in the young people we are working with.”
Caroline Vitta, Community Worker with Young People
“My highlight would have to be the production of the Moulsecoomb & Bevendean Neighbourhood Action Plan. A testament to the hard work going on between services and volunteers in these communities. It was my privilege to capture this and help begin planning future projects through many conversations and many coffees…”
Kirsty Walker, Director of Neighbourhood Projects
“This year I have particularly enjoyed working alongside our TDC Youth Team in developing our detached work across East Brighton as well as supporting the launch of a new Youth Café in Whitehawk. During the summer holidays we also tried offering weekly Sports drop-ins at local green spaces which proved popular, so will be planning to grow that offer in 2019!”
Claire Burchell, Senior Community Worker with Young People and TDC Detached Co-Ordinator
“There were so many highlights for me this year – Mish and Maha speaking at the Equality Symposium, our BME wellbeing event, the Moulsecoomb Bangladeshi Women’s Group London Trip and our BME Wellbeing Projects Volunteer Louise joining TDC!”
Ratna Jan Bibi, Community Development Worker – BME Communities (Wellbeing)
“I had a great time working with St George’s Hall Committee this year, trying out different activities for the community and neighbourhood in North Moulsecoomb – and most of all celebrating together at St George’s Hall Summer Party in June!”
Anke Thurm, Community Development Worker – Moulsecoomb, Bevendean & Bates estate
“I have met so many wonderful people through the monthly coffee and croissant hub networking sessions I’ve been facilitating in Moulsecoomb & Bevendean and East Brighton. It has been inspiring to hear all about everyone’s sparkle moments and to help to build links between services.”
Kaye Duerdoth, Director of Training and Research
“A highlight this year for me has been seeing local residents take up the opportunities to bake bread at the Stoneham Bakehouse. Through funding provided by Healthy Neighbourhood Fund and a taster session held for the Older People’s Festival small groups of residents connected with others in their community and learnt to bake bread and chat in a relaxed atmosphere.”
Mark Drayton, Community Development Worker – Portslade and Portland Road
“A highlight of this year for me has been the Hollingdean Community Catch Up, particularly the project ideas and new collaborations that have sparked from the event.”
Céza Da Luz, Community Development Worker – Hollingdean and Saunders Park
“My highlight of the year was growing our youth work offer to the Pride Festival weekend. We worked with close to 1,000 teenagers over the Saturday and Sunday ensuring that the whole event was as fun and safe as possible for the benefit of the whole city.”
Adam Muirhead, Director of Youth Work
“This year we started a new ‘Community Navigation Plus’ social prescribing project for people from BAME communities, in partnership with Impetus – this is a really valuable and exciting addition to our BAME work, with more in the pipeline for 2019. We are really pleased to have partnered with Impact Initiatives in their successful bid to deliver the new Ageing Well service for older people across the city and we organised 8 events across the city for the Older People’s Festival this year, a new record!”
Lyndsay Macadam, Director of Equalities
“A highlight for me this year has been working with May Road residents to help them to take back ownership of their road after several years of serious anti-social behaviour that affected the whole street, leaving them feeling isolated and disenfranchised. The residents formed a group that have organised clean up days, produced a newsletter which was delivered to all households in the road, and applied for funding to help beautify the street which they have used to plant flowers and plants along the whole road. Several residents of the May Road also now attend local community association meetings, have joined the association committee and participate and are helping to run several new and existing local activities.”
Amy Allison, Community Development Worker – Pankhurst area and Craven Vale
“I’ve only been with TDC for a few weeks, but the highlight for me has been meeting everyone and hearing about all the amazing work that’s going on with communities across the city – it really brings it all to life. I’m currently organising the move of TDC’s head office into a spacious new office ‘suite’ at Community Base and I hope TDC’s new home for the new year does justice to all the great people who will work there! “
Sarah Thomas, Project Manager
“It’s been a great year in my Older People’s work and my work for the Dementia Action Alliance. I have now created 310 Dementia Friends and a highlight was delivering to the Tarner Young Women’s group who took part enthusiastically. It is also lovely to see the DeMob Dementia Peer Support group thriving.
For the Friends of Downlands Court at Peacehaven it was a coup to secure a second round of Co-Op Community Fund funding amounting to over £11.000. This is due to the strong links that the group supported by me, has forged with the local community.
I have nearly completed my first year working out of New Larchwood to lead on the Older People’s work in North and Central Brighton. I am happy to say I work with a great bunch of volunteers. A particular highlight has been supervising this year’s tranche of Occupational Therapy students, one who is just completing her placement and two who have just completed their pre-placement visits. These trainees bring such a lot to our facility with their enthusiasm and ideas for activities: we really miss them when they go. One of our highlights was our launch party in October for the Intergenerational Supper club, as part of the Older People’s Festival.
It is such a privilege for me to be working in a job that gives me so much pleasure and which brings me into contact with great people. Let me wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.”
Sue Sayers, Senior Community Participation & Development Support Worker
A new office for the new year! From 2nd January 2019 TDC HQ will be based at our new office in the Community Base hub in central Brighton.
Please update your records with our new address and phone number:
The Trust for Developing Communities,
Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton BN1 3XG
Tel: 01273 234 769
Please note: Our team will still be based around the city in their local offices as before, it is just our HQ which is moving.
In November we hosted a networking and information session for managers of community buildings across Brighton & Hove.
This was held as a part of the Community Buildings Network project – a group which brings together people who manage community buildings across the city.
TDC has been working with the Community Buildings Network for the past few years – helping support over 150 community groups to find funding and run their buildings smoothly.
The event gave Community Building Network members and other managers of community buildings the chance to network and gain support for their work.
The informative day covered topics such as recruiting and keeping volunteers and a Dementia Friends session from TDC’s Dementia Friends champion Sue Sayers. As well as hearing how others are successfully managing their buildings, attendees had the chance to share their own concerns and best practices with other people facing similar challenges.
By Elle Hartle, Digital Marketing apprentice.
Look Sussex is a charity for blind and visually impaired children and young people up to the age of 18. The charity aims to create a safe space and hosts a youth club every Wednesday at the 67 Centre in Moulsecoomb for a creative, fun and relaxed session where both the children and the parents are welcome.
As a digital marketer and because I have a keen interest in blind and visually impaired charities – as I am visually impaired myself – I went along to see what the session was about and what sort of activities the charity covers.
Before the session started there was half an hour or so for me to interact and meet some of the young people. This allowed me to get a better idea of how Look Sussex helps each individual, how long they have been coming to the sessions and why coming to Look Sussex is so important to them. I also took this opportunity to ask some of the volunteers and staff about what happens weekly at the Wednesday session and the different activities they do and organise.
As the session went on I felt comfortable in my surroundings. As a young visually impaired person myself I can understand some of the challenges the young people might be facing and how it might be affecting them, physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and mentally every day.
Lots went on throughout the session including Slime making. This involved putting a number of ingredients into a bowl (such as shaving foam and glue) then mixing it until the mixture stays together and it feels and looks like slime. In my opinion this is really good for young visually impaired and blind young people because they are not able to see very well, or at all, so most visually impaired or blind people tend to rely on other senses like touch and smell.
Though I only attended one session I could really tell how much these sessions mean to both the young people and the parents. It allows them access to a support network and gives the blind and visually impaired young people a chance to meet other young people their age who they have something in common with.
Coming to the Look Sussex youth club allowed me to learn more about how people from a younger generation (ie, anyone under the age of 16) copes with being blind or visually impaired and what was out there for them in terms of support for both the client and the client’s family. Before coming here I knew about the Blatchington Court Trust (which I am a client of), which offers services to young people up to the age of 30, but I wasn’t as familiar with what was on offer for the under 16s. This visit really taught me what Look Sussex was all about and how they can offer support for children who are blind or visually impaired.
The club is always open to new members and their families and the sessions are free of charge. Hopefully writing this blog post will help more people find out about the charity and encourage families with a blind or visually impaired child to get in touch and attend these sessions.
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TDC works in partnership with Look Sussex to offer these weekly sessions for blind or visually impaired young people. Sessions take place every week during term-time at the 67 Centre between 5.30 and 7pm. Parents/ carers and siblings are always welcome to stay for a cuppa. All sessions are free.
The group is keen to grow its membership and offer these great opportunities to more young people locally.
The young people plan their activities with the youth workers and these can range from weekly cookery, craft making activities through to silent discos, singing, messy play and quiz nights. As the membership grows, the group hopes to fundraise for trips out and more interactive resources like a set of musical instruments and braille balls for the pool table.
If you would like more information do get in touch with TDC, [email protected] or call 07809 829734 or alternatively contact Look Sussex, Tara Dutton on [email protected] or call 07703 434119.
By Cal Chester, Community Development Support Worker.
Digital Brighton and Hove recently hosted a showcase event at Jubilee Library exploring what is available in Brighton and Hove to support people in later life to get online. The event was attended by service providers, users, and volunteers from across the city.
This was an initiative of the the Digital Inclusion Network – a group of local organisations – local public services, charities & community groups, social enterprises and businesses – who are working together to ensure the switch to online doesn’t exclude anyone. TDC team members Cal and Ceza are involved with the network – tackling digital exclusion is a growing part of our work in Community Development across Brighton & Hove.
It was apparent to all that there is an enormous demand from older people to get online to explore the benefits it can bring such as hobbies, community engagement, independence, contact with family and friends, accessing services etc.
It was also recognised that there are significant challenges and barriers for older people to get and stay online such as lacking access and equipment, low skills and confidence, disabilities and concerns about online safety.
The showcase demonstrated that there are many projects and organisations working to overcome these barriers to inclusion, below are links to just some of the local projects and organisations with a wealth of resources and contacts.
Ability Net https://www.abilitynet.org.uk/we-are-abilitynet-adapting-technology-changing-lives
Age UK www.ageuk-bh.org.uk
Citizens Online https://www.citizensonline.org.uk/digitalbrightonhove/
Digital Brighton and Hove https://digitalbrightonandhove.org.uk
Library connect https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/leisure-and-libraries/libraries/get-online-libraries-learn-use-a-computer-tablet-smartphone
On Wednesday 3rd October, the Hollingdean Craftea Wednesdays group held an event to celebrate the unveiling of the community mosaic they had been working on.
Under the theme of Brighton, the group produced a piece of art to celebrate creativity and friendship. The piece depicted the view of the South Downs from the back of Lindfield Court, a sheltered housing project where many of the Craftea Wednesdays member live.
The group meets once a week and provides a friendly, sociable space for people to work on their own crafts or to get involved in a group project. The group is open to residents of Lindfield Court as well as non-residents and aims to reduce isolation. TDC’s Community Development Worker for Hollingdean, Ceza Da Luz, has been working with the group since May this year as part of his stream of work with Older People and helped promote the event to the public as part of the Brighton & Hove Older People’s Festival. Ceza also works with the local Laburnum Art group, based nearby, and helped arrange a showcase of work from the art group at the event.
Ceza said “From my perspective, I was aware that Sheltered Housing were keen to invite non-residents in to their schemes (including from other sheltered accommodation near to Lindfield Court) – although were not clear how to do it. I also wanted to create a link between both groups which existed at a very short physical distance but did not know about each other. Both groups have separate activities but all aim to reduce isolation. So the idea of having an unveiling (made by MOSAIC Craftea Wednesdays was working on) and a showcase of Laburnum art Group’ artwork came together.”
Holding an event for the Older People’s Festival provided a perfect opportunity and both groups were very happy with the result. Afternoon tea, cakes and scones were served and the grand unveiling was made by a member of The Paley Trust who have supported the group with a £500 grants for materials. Attendees could view a selection of artwork and mosaics by the two groups as well as having the chance to socialise with friends old and new.
The residents of New Larchwood got into the spirit of the Brighton & Hove Older People’s Festival on Monday October 1st with a special edition of the Coldean Intergenerational Supper Club.
Brighton & Hove Older People’s Festival is an annual two week celebration inspired by the UN’s International Older People’s day which is held on 1st October each year. Each year the festival sees hundreds of events taking place across Brighton & Hove to celebrate those aged 50+ in our city and our team at TDC loves to get involved through some of the projects we support.
A lovely spread of sandwiches, sausages rolls, cakes, biscuits and much more was laid out for New Larchwood residents to enjoy and, once school was over, local pupils and their parents came along and set to work offering the food round to the older people and chatting to them about their day.
A fabulous singer kept everyone entertained with a selection of tunes from past and present – from “Pack up your troubles” to the Toy Story soundtrack, people of all ages sung along and danced to the music. The young people certainly livened things up with their presence, talking and laughing with the older people, in between balloon fights with each other! TDC Community Participation Worker Sue Sayers took care of distributing raffle tickets as well as making sure everything ran smoothly, along with plenty of local volunteers and New Larchwood staff. A lovely afternoon was had by all.
The intergenerational supper club takes place once a month and forms part of a jam-packed schedule of events for residents of New Larchwood special care home, helping avoid loneliness and isolation which can be common amongst older people.
Residents have plenty to keep them busy – board games and art groups as well as boccia, a gentle exercise group, musical bingo, a knitting group, a gardening club, fish & chips nights, coffee mornings and the monthly dementia café. New Larchwood volunteer Leila blogged earlier this year about some of the activities she was involved with during her time there.
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Read more stories about our work with Older People.
The Community Buildings Network is a group which brings together people who manage community buildings across the city.
TDC has been working with the Community Buildings Network for the past few years and helping support over 150 community groups to find funding and run their buildings smoothly. Thanks to a grant earlier this year from the Brighton & Hove City Council Communities Fund we have been working hard to help future-proof community buildings across the City by offering supportive health checks for Network members. These have involved reviewing strengths and weaknesses, identifying priorities and developing mini-action plans.
We are holding an event in November to give Community Building Network members the chance to network and get support in managing their buildings. The event is free and we’ll even be putting on lunch, but advance registration is essential so we know how many of you to expect.
Please find details below and a link to book your space:
Community Building Information and Networking Event
For managers and supporters of Brighton and Hove community buildings
Thursday 15th November
10.00 – 2.30 pm with lunch
Conference Room, Community Base, Brighton
· Learn how to recruit and keep trustees, committee members and volunteers
· Make sure your building is Dementia friendly
· Save lots of time with our quick overview of essential policies for community buildings
· Network with others managing community buildings and the CBN committee
· Share your issues and get advice
· Please see draft programme below
Join us for all or part of this informative and informal day. We know you are busy people so we’ve packed the day with lots of useful ideas to support you in managing your community building. We’re even providing lunch.
Book your place here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-building-information-and-networking-event-tickets-49805218750
For more information please contact [email protected].
By Cal Chester, Community Development Support Worker.
As part of Brighton and Hove’ Older Peoples Festival, The Vallance Community Centre in Hove and TDC hosted a session on ‘Starting Out in Local and Family History Research’ on Wednesday 3rd October
Members of a number of regular groups at The Vallance were involved in preparing and putting on a highly successful and well attended event.
The cookery group prepared and served some delicious food, supported by TDC the Vallance Centre’s Friday IT group helped plan and create publicity for the event as well as giving technical support on the day. And the new memories group based at the Centre provided a fantastic display of fascinating archive films, posters, photographs and documents about Hove’s past. Visitors from near and far were welcome to the IT suite to explore their own personal histories using family history research software. Also available were laptops and tablets loaded with information on local history websites and links, and plenty of information was available for people to take away to develop their own research.
It was a great opportunity to learn, for people in the area to meet and there was a really lively and friendly atmosphere in the centre throughout the afternoon. Many guests were unaware that the centre was there or did not know about the diverse range of groups and activities available to them.
Regular members of groups at the centre also enjoyed the session, so much so that when asked if we should do it every year, one responded they should we host something similar every month!
Many thanks to all that supported and attended the event.
