In each of four areas across the city, TDC and our partners hold regular sessions for service providers to meet one another, share information and find ways to ​support community members by working collaboratively.

Over the past year or so we have seen these sessions, formerly known as “hub networking”, grow in popularity and these sessions have typically been held in community locations across the city. Fuelled by coffee & croissants, and facilitated by TDC, (or by our partner The Hangleton & Knoll Project in the West), the sessions have given service providers the chance to meet each other and discuss how to support communities and each other in their area.

Evolving over time to address the needs of the participants, sessions in 2019 saw the Moulsecoomb & Bevendean group take a trip to learn about community activity in Hollingdean, and one East Brighton session took place on a basketball court, as participants took part in a wheelchair basketball game to challenge them to come out of their comfort zone. 

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 brought a halt to face-to-face events, our networking events have moved online. After a number of sessions held via the video conferencing platform Zoom, we’ve had some great feedback from participants, with one saying of our first online session in the Central area: “Thanks Emma, it was a great session and lovely to see/meet everyone. I found it really useful to hear challenges and successes, think everyone’s doing so brilliantly, it’s incredible what strength and resourcefulness everyone has when faced with challenges from all directions. Look forward to catching up again in June“. Another attendee said “These meetings are the best on Zoom I have been to professionally since lockdown!”.

People providing a service role have quickly had to adapt to new ways of working. Most people are working from home where they can, fitting work in with family life and care commitments, plus finding new ways to communicate with colleagues and engage with people who need the services. Many essential services have been quickly redesigned to fit the unusual circumstances and it has been useful for participants in the meetings to discuss these with each other. Other positive effects we’ve seen have been members of the sessions learning new online skills, different people able to attend the sessions who couldn’t make it in person before, and reaching new people through online connections. 

As lockdown eases and the transition to social distancing becomes the “new normal”, it is essential that service providers continue to communicate with each other to deal with the next challenges that arise. Some of these might be how to restart activities and encourage people to attend, respecting people’s legitimate concerns about gatherings and using public transport.

Community Development Worker Emma Reeves says “For those working pretty much in silo these sessions have been a bit of a life-line to work and a catch-up with familiar faces. The Zoom sessions have maintained the dialogue between workers reducing the gap when we do eventually meet in person. It has meant already people are agreeing to work in partnership as a result of the meetings which may not have happened otherwise. In East there are lots of creative ideas to bring community members together to celebrate their resilience and emergence from lock-down”.

If you would like to join a session you can find upcoming dates and details of how to join on our networking page.

East Brighton Park is a beautiful part of our city next to the Sheepcote Valley nature reserve. The park café was recently taken over by Stephen and Marilyn, a couple with years of cooking experience between them and a shared love of food.

After renovating and reopening the café at the start of 2020, their new business plans were scuppered when just 5 weeks after their launch they had to shut their doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown.

Having been looking forward to becoming a bustling community venue, they were disappointed to have to close before many local residents had even found out they had opened!

Despite the difficult situation, Stephen and Marilyn didn’t lose hope “We had to improvise and we started doing a takeout every Saturday from our home. This consisted of a three-course meal featuring a South African-Indian menu. We kept ourselves busy by cooking weekly meals for the infectious disease team at the Royal Sussex Hospital. This brought us joy as the staff really appreciated the food during a difficult time.”

During the lockdown, Stephen attended our area networking for the East Brighton area which we’d moved online and were hosting via Zoom. Through this he met Claire Burchell, our citywide manager, who subsequently went along to the café to meet the pair, offer support and try their delicious samosas. It turned out to be great timing – through relationships she’d built up in the area, Claire connected the café with the trustees of the local Due East neighbourhood council. They invited the café to write an article for their community newsletter, the perfect opportunity to introduce themselves to local people and announce when they would be open again. The well-read newsletter was delivered to households right across the East Brighton area, telling hundreds of potential customers about the café.

Since lockdown measures lifted, the café is now back open seven days a week from ten till five. Their menu features a fusion of classic breakfast/brunch dishes alongside some tasty Indian delights as well as a selection of ice creams and delicious local organic coffee. The café continues to operate a takeaway menu after their Saturday takeaway offer during lockdown was so well received. For the month of August the takeaway menu, known as the Durban Curry Club, will be available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and on these days customers dining in the café will also be able to take advantage of the government Eat Out to Help Out scheme for 50% off their meals.

After the lockdown having had such an impact on this small, independent start-up business, the local neighbourhood council was able to support the café to stay afloat by raising awareness and helping them to integrate with the local community. East Brighton Park is a beautiful outdoor space and as people begun to spend more time out of their homes the footfall to the café has increased. The café is easy for Whitehawk residents to get to and perfectly placed for people enjoying the park and getting some exercise and fresh air. Local people now have the chance to spend their money at a family-run café providing vital facilities to those spending time in their local green space.