Free Creative Sessions in March and April 2023 for community organisations who support WOMEN in Wandsworth. Helping to develop a stronger community of women and tackle inequality.
Neko Trust is a majority female-led, live music industry charity based in Wandsworth. Neko aims to address the widespread gender, diversity and class imbalances in the creative industries, supporting people to progress no matter who they are or where they come from.
Email: outreach@nekotrust.org for more information.
We know how important it is for young people to have mental health advice that takes into account their faith, and cultural background. For young Muslims in particular, finding tailored support can be challenging. For a young person who’s struggling, it can feel very difficult to talk about what you’re going through and reach out for support especially if you’re worried that the people around you won’t understand.
But we want young people to know that they don’t have to struggle alone, and that they deserve to feel proud of who they are. Whoever they are.
That’s why we’ve teamed up with Muslim Youth Helpline, and worked directly with young Muslims from across the UK, to create a range of faith friendly information and mental health advice.
About the project
The project focuses on understanding the current and future needs of voluntary and community organisations (VCSOs) in Wandsworth, and how the Council and partner organisations can best support the sector to build and sustain its capacity.
Rocket Science will conduct a wide range of in-person consultations which are essential in order to build a foundation of trust which is a pre-requisite of co-designing outcomes which are understood and shared within the community.
They will speak to a broad range of stakeholders, including VCSOs and statutory sector partners such as the Council’s commissioning teams, NHS partners within the Integrated Care System and service departments that work with the voluntary sector.
Opportunities to listen to the full range of community stakeholders will include 5 themed working groups (each meeting twice); a borough-wide survey; impromptu meetings at community events as well as 1-to-1 interviews.
The findings and draft recommendations, which will be co-designed along with the project steering group, will be fully tested at a large community consultation event in the summer before their presentation to the Council.
About Rocket Science
Rocket Science UK Ltd, established in 2001, is a business with a social purpose; we help to tackle social inequalities through research, service design and grant management across the UK. We enable individuals’ and communities’ participation in identifying and implementing improvements to services and changes to systems which enhance peoples’ livelihoods. We are practised at involving a diverse range of organisations in our consultations and co-productions of needs analyses.
For more information about us please visit our website, where we also have a bite-size introductory video about the work that we do across London and beyond.
Introducing the Rocket Science team
John Griffiths is one of the co-founders of Rocket Science and has 20 years’ experience working in public-policy development, implementation, evaluation, strategy reviews and grants management. He recently led part of the review of the City Bridge Trust’s 5-year strategy (Bridging Divides) to capture the learning from the Trust’s strategic investment programmes. He has also consulted and reported on several London Boroughs’ strategic and funding relationship with the voluntary and community sector.
John Griffiths will be the Project Director and oversee its delivery, quality assurance and be accountable to the Council for outputs from the commission. He will also contribute to consultation activity and support the team in developing recommendations and actions.
The team will be led, day-to-day, by our Principal Consultant, Alisi Mekatoa, who is a long-standing local resident. Alisi has worked in the NHS in public health for 9 years, followed by policy positions in mental health at the Cabinet Office and the DHSC. Her academic career spans the wider determinants of health and health policy implementation. Alisi will be the main point of contact on the project and she will work alongside the other consultants in engaging stakeholders and attending VCS events throughout the borough.
Alistair Ross is a Lead Consultant at Rocket Science whose work has focused on various youth employment and transitional programmes, and is involved in engagement with young people, employers, and stakeholders. On this project, Alistair’s role will involve engaging and consulting with stakeholders throughout the borough, collecting data and writing up the final needs analysis report and recommendations based on the findings.
Elliot Negru is a Consultant based in the London office and a current Wandsworth resident. He has experience working on various projects with a focus on employment, mental health and wellbeing and housing. Alongside Alisi and Alistair, he will be supporting the team with data gathering and stakeholder consultations throughout the borough.
Information about the project
Modern Slavery Awareness Training (online) – 23rd Feb, 2:30 to 4pm – Bookings are via TPD Code ASC-0223-T005 http://s4s.wandsworth.gov.uk/T193385
The purpose of this 90-min webinar is to provide an overview of what Modern Slavery is, the different forms, what signs to look for, what to do if you suspect modern slavery, and what support is offered to survivors. Modern slavery comes in a variety of different forms and is the fastest growing illegal activity in the world and can be extremely difficult to detect—knowing about modern slavery and being able to make the right calls is therefore vital to the prevention of this horrific crime and to ensuring that survivors know their rights and can access support.
Half-Day Modern Slavery Awareness Training (in person Wandsworth Professional Development Centre) – 26th April, afternoon – Bookings are via TPD Code ASC-0423-T002 http://s4s.wandsworth.gov.uk/T193386
This 4-hour course provides delegates with key information about the scale and nature of modern slavery internationally and in the UK. It aims to highlight different trafficking patterns, the varying forms of modern slavery, and how to spot the signs and identify if someone is experiencing or is at risk of modern slavery, as well as what to do next. During the course, delegates will be able to look at real life case studies of survivors in order to learn how to identify the common needs and barriers to disclosure. We provide this information considering relevant legislation, such as the Modern Slavery Act 2015, National Referral Mechanism, and ECAT (the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings).
Any issues with booking via TPD to be referred to tdservice@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk
Estate Arts has organised health & wellbeing community events and mindful yoga classes for people in Roehampton. See the flyers below:
