News - Page 7 of 32 - Trust for Developing Communities

Our Work with the Albanian Community in Brighton and Hove

From our Community Engagement Worker, Sonila Deda

In some ways it was good timing to join TDC during the pandemic. It meant I was able to reach many individuals and families and help their integration into British society at a time when many were struggling more than usual. It did of course mean many of our activities had to be flexible and change at short notice. Despite this we were able to reach 1000 people, many through online engagement. Especially on the Albanian's in Sussex Facebook Page.

Much of our signposting and engagement has needed to be online and we have started to share stories to inspire our younger members as well as lots of translated information about important services on our website.

We have managed several in person sports tasters, linking our young people with local cubs, including football and boxing. We have also offered women’s drop-ins enabling us to share advice on domestic violence services along with other family service information.

We even had a fantastic celebration for Albanian Independence Day with 200 people participating.

Tackling the Isolation of Older People in Our Community

What does Christmas mean to me?
As we recall the nativity,
The birthday of Jesus so we all rejoice,
But what about those that have no voice?

The lonely, the sad and those on their own,
The ill, the depressed and those with no home,
All who are friendless, no one to care,
No presents to open, no meal to share.

The darkness descends and the weather is cold,
Often a struggle for those who are old,
Whose partner has died, whose children have left,
All on their own, feeling bereft.

Can we make contact, enlighten their day?
Help them recover and go on their way?
Begin a new friendship and give them some cheer?
Together forever as we start the New Year.

Helen Mason

Curiosity Club – The Home of Curious Young Minds

Meet the BMWs 🚴‍♀️

The Brighton Multicultural Women’s Cycle Club began in June 2021 as our MESH project was looking for fun outdoor activities that could be made Covid safe.

A cycling club in Preston Park was set up with support from Bricycles, Sustrans, Brighton Bike Hub and Brighton Bike Share. Our group of multicultural women included migrants and refugees from all parts of the world, some of whom were completely new to cycling. They took off around Preston Park Velodrome and the project was an instant hit, quickly becoming much more than a response to Covid, as the women joining the group loved the fun and independence they got from learning to cycle.

Just six months later, at the end of 2021, the project became constituted and applied for the Council’s BAME Engagement fund, supported by TDC’s staff Cicely and Amy.

The BMWs now have an Iraqi Chair, Egyptian Vice-Chair, Argentinian Secretary, Iranian Treasurer, Syrian Signatory and Algerian Group Ride Leader, and are raring to go this year.

Below, three of the committee enjoy a winter cycle and planning session.

Craven Vale’s Annual Wassail Returns

The Craven Vale Community Centre were delighted to be able to hold their annual Wassail after last year's Covid-19 disruptions. They hosted their own version of this ancient tradition last Saturday to bless their orchard of 70 fruit trees scattered around the estate.

Wassaliling is a pagan ceremony where groups of people gather to bless trees in the hope of an abundant harvest this autumn. Craven Vale Estate's apple, pear and plum trees produce delicious fruit that anyone from the community can take and use, so a bumper harvest is especially welcome. The group sip hot mulled apple cider and sing to the health of the trees. So far the Wassailing seems to be working. The group have noticed plenty of apples on the trees that have been blessed!

Despite the bad weather, there was a terrific atmosphere at the event which included gorgeous headdresses made of natural foliage from Sarah's arts and crafts, song and, of course, mulled cider!

The event was filmed by Latest TV. You can see their report on the event here.

TDC Win Award for Partnership Working at Children and Young People Now Awards

TDC has won the Partnership Award at the Children and Young People Now Awards 2021 for our Project Brighton Streets.

Brighton Streets is a citywide, coordinated detached (street-based) youth work programme led by TDC and delivered by TDC, The Hangleton & Knoll Project and Tarner Community Project. The programme is funded by the Brighton & Hove Violence Reduction Partnership and it has aims to reduce youth violence in the city through early, relationship-based interventions with teenagers.

Our Director of Youth Work, Adam Muirhead said:

This is a reflection not just on those delivering the project but all the incredible people and organisations who have been involved in commissioning it, setting it up, delivering training, making our film, evaluating the project, and being open to working with Youth Work teams in new ways. We can all own this

We are delighted to be recognised for this crucial work supporting young people in the community. To find out some more about this project, you can watch the short film we made last year.

The Bevy Responds to Local Need with LGBTQ Events

The Bevy — a community run pub in East Brighton — door-knocked their neighbourhood in 2019 to identify gaps in their outreach in the community. One of these gaps was the lack of specific provision for LGBTQ residents. Subsequently, a Switchboard report on the impact of Covid-19 on LGBTQ communities highlighted that residents all over the city suffered from increased isolation and lack of safe spaces to be with other community members.

With these findings in mind, a first get-together in the summer was held at the Bevy with local LGBTQ people to develop a programme of inclusive activities at the Bevy. The aim was to create a safe, welcoming and inclusive space and events where people can meet, develop peer-to-peer support, increase mental health and wellbeing and be signposted to LGBTQ affirmative services, such as Switchboard and MindOut.

“We used to go out more, see shows and meet others, but that wasn’t possible in the last years. To have something to do and a place to go to in Moulsecoomb would be great.”

LGBTQ resident attending planning group

In September, a community-run quiz night invited LGBTQ people into the Bevy to come together for the first time to socialise and have fun. Host Betty Swollocks, a well-known local drag queen, entertained the crowd of more than 60 people, amongst those regular Bevy customers, friends and allies from the area and – most importantly – new faces from the local and city-wide LGBTQ community.

The Bevy’s staff has seen an increase in younger LGBTQ people visiting the pub since displaying pride flags at the venue and advertising the quiz night. With support from the Bevy community’s team and TDC, LGBTQ residents successfully applied for funding to run further mental health and social events, bringing community members together to create cohesion and more understanding and awareness through Saturday brunch sessions and a Bingo night over the winter months.

Noor-ul Huda Adventure Into the Woods

After a long time of not seeing each other during the pandemic, Noor-ul Huda – Moulsecoomb’s Muslim women and children group – made plans to get back in action this year with activities, trips and their regular meet-ups. After successfully fundraising, the group put one of its aims in motion by liaising with TDC and Action in Rural Sussex’s Lost Woods programme to go out and experience woodland activities in nearby Lewes.

16 children and young people together with their mothers boarded a train from Moulsecoomb station on a sunny October morning. From Lewes station it was a short walk to the woodland between the railway and river that is managed by the Railway Land Wildlife Trust.

Lost Woods Village Agents had a lot of fun activities in store for the kids and parents including a walk around the heart of the Railway Land, tree identification, games, outdoor arts and crafts. Some of the young people showed off tree climbing skills, whilst the younger children earned explorer credit for displaying quiet fox walking, tree rubbing and coming up with their own games to experience the woods.

Everyone took a bit of learning away from the day about how to behave in and treat a woodland when you visit, but also how easy it is to be entertained in a woodland at any age.

“We were happy that the Lost Woods team invited the group along and planned the woodland activities, but I feel after being given a little support from TDC this time to plan the journey the group can now tackle other local and bigger trips themselves.”

Anke, TDC Community Development Worker

The group brought along lunch for a joint sit-down meal in the Pavilion building, which gave the adults a place to warm up, get comfortable, chat and pray, whilst little legs had energy left to investigate more of their wooded playground for the day.

Asking the kids for feedback after the activity, all voted that they would come back and rated their experience a 10 out of 10.

“I really had a lot of fun today, but next time I want to go to Disneyland.”

Ibrahim, 6 years.

Inspired by this trip, the group is now looking forward to planning other local adventures and excursions further afield, alongside their educational activities for kids and parents of the groups, as well as regular and planned joint meals and events.

Get in touch with Noor-ul Huda
More info on Lost Woods programme

Circus Fun at Preston Park for Migrant Families

During half term TDC’s Equalities team held a special free Flying Seagulls circus show in Preston Park. The event was for the children and families of women who attend our Multicultural Women’s Cycle Club during term time. We had beautiful weather and were delighted to have 70 parents and kids come along to join the circus, including refugees and vulnerable migrants from Syria, Iraq, Spain, and South America.

Organiser, TDC’s Cicely Lloyd described the event.

Beckie and Gozzy were absolutely brilliant and the children were captivated. They had an immediate rapport with the children, and a great balance of friendly, super-fun, and directive delivery.

It was an important opportunity for the adults to meet too, and to watch their children having a great time while they relaxed together (in the sun, hooray).

School holidays can be tough for isolated families on low incomes with EAL (English as an Additional language). Parents had invited others from their English class or from the school run and friendships were strengthened.

TDC heard about The Flying Seagull Project from Tania Skae who is on our Board of Trustees. We would definitely recommend them, and hope to host The Flying Seagull project for families we work with again soon.

TDC’s Curiosity Club Head to the Science Museum

A museum trip is a great way to spend a grey autumn half term day. Last week three TDC youth workers and nine young people headed off to see what they could discover at London Science Museum. Project leader Kate Barker describes the fantastic day out.

The first thing on the agenda was the Wonderlab! - where young people took part in the various activities. The slide in the Wonderlab was a particular hit! There was a sense of independence and exploration about the day as we inquisitively roamed the museum.

After a tasty lunch and a look around the gift shop, it was time for the IMAX. We watched Antarctica with our 3D glasses on and it was fantastic to see the animals come to life and out of the screen!

The bus journey home was filled with singing and laughter, talks about the day, and by the end, a little bit of snoozing! It was a really successful day that comprised of hands on fun, curiosity and learning.

15 Brilliant Students Graduate from our Finding Your Way Course

At the end of September, on the last sun-soaked day of the year, students from our Finding Your Way course had a well-deserved graduation picnic in Preston Park.

Finding Your Way was a short course delivered by TDC and funded by ESF ( the European Social Fund). The nine week course for unemployed adults with English as an additional language provided a framework to guide the students towards employment, volunteering or further learning.

We were delighted to see our dedicated students at the picnic and present each of them with a certificate for completing the course. In many cases it was our first opportunity to meet up face to face so the excited atmosphere matched the glorious weather.

We were amazed at the passion and motivation of the students. Two thirds of them went on to further training such as ESOL courses, accounting and social media use for small businesses. Brilliantly three went on to become employed at the end of the course.

We are so proud of these women and it was a pleasure to be with them and support them on their journey into employment.

Looking Back on Summer Fun with TDC’s Youth Team

Summer already feels far away, but some of our best memories of this summer are of TDC's Summer Holiday Club. We had a wonderful time hanging out with young people in East Brighton Park and at the 67 Centre. We teamed up with Albion in the Community, The Durban Curry Club and The Bevy so all the young people got the chance to take part in a fun activity and got a delicious free meal too.

The range of activities offered included bike maintenance, boxing, football and all kinds of crafts. Also the summer club provided a valuable chance for young people from Moulsecoomb and Whitehawk to hang out, chat to our experienced youth workers, let off steam and have fun.

Over the summer the two schemes were fully booked with 176 participants and over 500 total contacts made across the community.

It was a packed summer. To give you a taste of what went on, here's a selection of some of our favourite photos of amazing young people and TDC's youth workers doing what they do best.

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Our Work with the Albanian Community in Brighton and Hove

The Vision of the Project

“We haven’t attended any Albanian events before and would definitely like to come to more. It was good to learn about my Husbands cultural heritage, well done for organising it, we loved every minute”

Tackling the Isolation of Older People in Our Community

Christmas

Curiosity Club – The Home of Curious Young Minds

“I come to the curiosity club for the nice people. It’s important to make a difference to someone’s life and to help your community”.

Curiosity Club is a science and tech club for teenagers in Whitehawk.

It’s every Wednesday at 5pm till 6:30pm at the Whitehawk Library.

We do photography, filmmaking and blogging projects and go on cool trips.

Here’s Why You Should Join the Club