partnerships

Coseley Lunch and Chat – working together to bring people together

Helena Norman Big Local, community activities, local groups and clubs, older people, young people , 0 Comment
Coseley Lunch and Chat – working together to bring people together

Each year East Coseley Big Local organises four seasonal Lunch and Chat events during the daytime for local people to come together to enjoy and share a three-course meal together. The meals bring people of all ages together, people that might be on their own or simply looking for a place to be to meet others for a drink, meal and a chat.

In the beginning, East Coseley workers and volunteers found it quite challenging to find people living on their own as many were quite isolated and rarely left the house. It’s through partnerships with local services Just Straight Talk, Integrated Plus and local residential homes, working closely with people to help them to stay connected in their day-to-day work, that we have been able to find and connect people in Coseley. This collaboration has helped us to reach people of all ages (from 21 to a staggering 101 years old!).

A partnership with Marston’s Brewery and local pub The Apple Tree Inn has provided a safe, friendly and familiar space to host the meals where local people can get to know each other. The staff who work there are always welcoming and make sure everybody feels comfortable.

New people are often accompanied to the meal with support and encouragement from the service, helping them to feel comfortable leaving their home with confidence that they will be safe.

East Coseley Big Local workers and volunteers have also been raising awareness with local residents and helping them to spot people who may be experiencing loneliness. This has led many to carry out small acts of kindness to check in with their neighbours. A few residents have referred neighbours to the Coseley meal.

It’s by working together that we have been able to find and bring people together.

At this year’s Christmas Lunch and Chat we were joined by 80 residents from Coseley of all ages to enjoy a meal together.

Georgia from the Integrated Plus team got chatting to some of the residents at this months Christmas Lunch and Chat event… Integrated Plus identifies opportunities for people to become more involved and active in their community to help improve their wellbeing.  “Jason and I were kindly invited to come along with clients that we had worked with over the past year who reside in Coseley. Ten of our clients came along and joined in with the festivities.

This is Joyce (and Georgia)! Integrated Plus met Joyce earlier in the year to help her to attend Airtime, a social group for people with respiratory conditions. Joyce said she enjoyed the meal: “I appreciate coming here. The best part is talking to other people because I spend a lot of time on my own”.

This is Karen (left) and Irene (right). Karen said she enjoyed the meal as this enabled her to talk to other people and made her feel more involved in the community. Karen and Irene are hoping to meet up soon when shopping in Coseley!

Integrated Plus met Betty and her son Trevor in the summer to help her to claim a blue badge to get out and about more easily.
“The meal has been lovely and would recommend it to anyone who is feeling lonely. It is a break from being on your own.”

From left to right, this is Gordon, Gwen, her friend Dorothy and Derek. Gordon is 92 and is used to being on his own but feels that getting out to speak to other people is nice, especially around Christmas time. Gwen and Dorothy thought it was lovely to have a Christmas treat like this locally. Although they’ve been good friends for over 40 years, they now find it difficult to get out so they are really thankful that they were asked to come along to the meal.

Derek: “I have been overwhelmed by kindness here. I feel safe and I have enjoyed every minute. I haven’t been out for months so it has been nice to get out and speak with new people”. Derek has also accessed additional support from Integrated Plus including obtaining a new bathroom through a Dudley home improvement service.

It is clear to see that gatherings like this help to combat loneliness and how speaking with other people can really make a difference to someone’s happiness, especially at Christmas time. During this meal, some of our clients saw people that they hadn’t seen in a long time and were able to chat with them.” Georgia, Integrated Plus.

Just Straight Talk (JST) is a community project supporting people by providing the practical help and motivation they need to turn their lives around. JST helps people to increase their confidence and self-esteem which results with engaging positively within society. Many people have been supported by JST to attend the Lunch and Chat events.

At the last Christmas meal we were also joined by Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from Sedgley and Coseley handing out ‘Christmas presents… with a twist’ – Gift bags full of crime prevention advice and home security gadgets. It was great to have them join us at the meal to speak with local people that may be vulnerable to crime.

If you would like to find out more about the Coseley Lunch and Chat events contact neil@eastcoseleybiglocal.net

A year of collaboration and partnership in East Coseley

Helena Norman Big Local, Big Local Plan, business, community activities, Green spaces, Ideas, local groups and clubs, Local Trust, older people, Shaping our local services, Sharing, Sharing our passions, skills and spaces, young people , 0 Comment

Looking back at 2017, it’s been another great year for East Coseley Big Local, developing successful partnerships with local groups and organisations, businesses and national organisations, working on collaborative projects and sharing resources to make East Coseley better place to live. We look back at a few of our most successful partnerships from last year!

A great partnership between East Coseley Big Local, Marston’s Brewery and the Apple Tree Inn, formed 4 years ago, enables Lunch and Chat events throughout the year for local people and families of all ages who often feel a little lonely and isolated in the community. Providing a safe space where local people can get to know each other over a hot meal. At this years Christmas lunch, we were joined by 55 members of the community of all ages ranges, from 22 years old all the way up to a staggering 101 year old! Volunteers, support workers, people and families from the community all enjoyed and shared a three-course Christmas meal together, with entertainment and a small gift. East Coseley Big Local Chair, Brian Guest said “The Apple Tree plays an important role in the community. It is the perfect environment for friendships to flourish.”

East Coseley is working in partnership with Beatfreeks, a youth organisation based in Birmingham, to unlock the potential of young people in the area. It started with a skateboarding party in the park, followed by a 16 week programme of Friday night activities at Clayton Park Youth Centre, which kicked off with an open-air pop-up cinema last September. The weekly events were rapidly co-designed and hosted with young people, in response to their ideas and interests. Activities including poetry, crafting, filmmaking, circus skills, singing and comedy were all enjoyed by young people in the area. A film was produced at one of the sessions themed on happiness, “What makes you happy”. One young person said, “I now look forward to Friday evenings”

Initially, the youth centre was under threat for under usage, it’s now thriving and occupied for most of the week, it’s now a safe place for young people to go in the evenings.

The East Coseley Skittles League has become a staple in people’s diaries. It started 3 years ago and takes place 4 times a year. One of the most amazing things about the evening is the community groups that attend are talking to each other about collaborating on projects. Neil Langford, Community Changemaker said, “The most wonderful part is that people enjoyed the evenings so much, they felt like they wanted to give something back. So we started a raffle, and this year (2017) we raised over £300 for the local food bank operating at Darkhouse Church. All the money donated by people in the community at the skittles night helps other people in the community.” Brian Guest, East Coseley Big Local Chair, said, “Grandparents, parents, children, friends, everybody of all age groups, all mix together and enjoy a great night of fun and games. In fact, sometimes the skittles becomes secondary, people are enjoying themselves so much!”

East Coseley Big Local supported and funded Bayer Street Allotments to grow flowers and shrubs on the embankment and in window boxes at Coseley station. This year the allotments association joined the ‘adopt a station’ scheme, set up by London Midland, which has allowed volunteers to have better access to the station and have improved ties with the railway authorities. The partnership formed between East Coseley Big Local, Bayer Street Allotments, Network Rail and London Midland has been a great success.

Working in partnership with the allotments and Roseville School, for children with social, behavioural and emotional problems, has given young people an opportunity to learn how to grow and look after plants.

Residents have been cleaning up the area with regular litter picks and collaborated with the local Spar shop who now come along to help out. Local businesses are now working with the community.

The connections made at the Community Conservation Forum, Dudley Zoo, with wildlife experts, including the Birmingham Bat Group, lead to the discovery of two species of bat in Coseley’s canal tunnel. East Coseley is now working with Canal and River Trust to improve the canal towpaths and having conversations about creating a wildlife area on the canal.

East Coseley is bringing back events that people had missed in the area. Every year the Big Local funds The Big Event, which takes place at Clayton Park Youth Centre. At last years event, the community came out in the scorching heat to enjoy a fun day out with family and friends.  Neil Langford said, “The main aim of the event is to bring families together so that they can enjoy a day out, they don’t have to pay entry, it gets people out who may not be able to afford to go to big events. We have now formed a great partnership with Dudley MBC who gave us permission to use the park and provided us with advice to get the event up and running.”

The Christmas Lights Switch On in Roseville is now a major event for the area which always has the support of East Coseley Big Local. This year families came out in the heavy snow to enjoy a market, entertainment and a performance from The Coseley Comets. 

Last October we held the Big Local Big Chat in Coseley, which brought together Big Local partnership members, workers and reps from the Black Country, Birmingham, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the Wyre Forest. The theme of the event was ‘Collaboration and Partnerships’ It was clear when listening to other Big Local areas that building partnerships can help to kick-start projects, accomplish shared visions, and possibly open doors to new opportunities.

The collaborations we have seen in East Coseley prove that anything is possible if we work together.

We’re now looking forward to an exciting year ahead, building on, and creating new partnerships in 2018!

Have you been inspired by any of the stories in this post? Are you interested in starting a project to improve the Coseley area? It’s always lovely to hear your thoughts, the Big Local team would love to hear from you! hello@eastcoseleybiglocal.net