Wandsworth Care Alliance

Volunteer case study: Deirdre’s story

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Alice met with Deirdre a volunteer for Learn to Love to Read about her volunteering journey and experience using the Wandsworth Care Alliance, Volunteering Wandsworth website.

Deirdre has lived in Wandsworth near St. George’s hospital for near 15 years and has always commuted to central London as a practice nurse, as a result she hasn’t been able to know many people in the area.

Deirdre wanted to do some volunteer work but never really found the time as she worked throughout the week. Having recently reduced her working days and deciding that now would be the best time to connect locally through volunteering. Deirdre, googled volunteering in Wandsworth and found the Volunteer Wandsworth website hosted by Wandsworth Care Alliance, where she got a chance to scroll and see what was on offer locally.

Deirdre knew she cared a lot about children and their education. She didn’t grow up with a lot of money but was fortunate enough to have support from her family with reading stories together and having books in the house. Deirdre has always felt concerned for young children who don’t have the support that their peers do and could potentially fall behind in their education because of this.

She felt that primary school was particularly important, to catch inequality early and make sure children don’t feel left behind as they became teenagers. Deirdre hadn’t heard of Learn to Love to Read prior to seeing the charity advertised on Volunteering Wandsworth, but when she found the opportunity on Volunteering Wandsworth, it seemed the perfect fit.

It took a few months for Deirdre to get through her DBS checks, receive her and partake in an online phonetics training session, before getting started with the children in her school.
Since last November Deirdre has been volunteering and reads with three 8-year-old children every Friday afternoon, and she really enjoys it.

Deirdre say’s ‘It’s a nice opportunity to build a bond with these children each week, watching them grow in confidence each week’.

Deirdre joked humbly that ‘It makes her happy to see them smiling brightly when the teacher brings them out of the classroom to meet her, but they were doing multiplication sums today so perhaps they would be happy no matter what’.

We think she’s just very humble, and that these 3 children treasure their time with her to get this dedicated attention, as well as the chance to get lost in an exciting story. Everyone loves stories and we’re grateful to Deirdre for sharing her volunteering story with us.

Learn to Love to Read are a great local charity in Wandsworth who keep connected with volunteers like Deirdre through special training with phonics, regular emails, volunteer coffee mornings and fundraising events like their upcoming pub quiz! We hope you might like to show them some support.

We asked Deirdre:

What are three rewards you get from volunteering?

  1. Doing something worthwhile
  2. Meeting new people
  3. Getting involved in local community

Would you like to volunteer locally? Surf Volunteering Wandsworth

International Women’s Day: celebrating and supporting women

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International women’s day (IWD) is a globally celebrated day annually on the 8th of March. IWD gives a focus on important issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. This year’s campaign theme is ‘inspire inclusion’, where we aim to inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion and for women themselves to be included and felt a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. Together we can create a more inclusive world for women.

At Wandsworth Care Alliance (WCA),we are committed to supporting individuals, families, and communities in Wandsworth. We share and advocate for a range of services includes health advocacy, community engagement, and support for caregivers. But beyond these vital services, WCA plays a crucial role in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment within the Wandsworth community.

We provide resources and support to ensure women have access to essential healthcare services, including reproductive health, mental health support, and preventative care. By prioritising women’s health and well-being, WCA contributes to breaking down barriers and promoting a culture of inclusivity and support. WCA also shares opportunities for growth such as career development, networking events, activities and so much more to allow women for all walks of life to come together and connect, collaborate, and share their experiences.

Resources:

The menopause charity:
This charity aims to educate everyone so that perimenopause and menopause are properly understood. They want women to understand the changes that are happening to them and be able to know what to do next. They also want to ensure that health care workers, employers, friends, family and co-workers understand and have the appropriate resources to be able to provide correct information and support.

To learn more click here.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG):
Wandsworth is committed to developing an ambitious, long-term strategic approach to ending violence against women and girls. Wandsworth now has a safe space where women or girls, or anyone who is feeling vulnerable can go.

For more information click here

Girl guiding London:
Girl guiding has great opportunities for young girls and leaders looking to join them, providing non-stop fun, learning and adventures. They cover a wide range of South West London areas.

Discover more and get involved.

Talk Wandsworth:
Talk Wandsworth offers a wide range of therapeutic groups and courses that take place across Wandsworth.  They also offer several wellbeing workshops designed to support a variety of needs.

For more information click here.

AGOE Empowerment Network:
Agoe Empowerment Network CIO are a charitable organisation that serve Wandsworth and wider London communities. They support underprivileged women and families from disadvantage backgrounds who have English as their second language. Their aim is to support women and families and help empower them to overcome obstacles they are facing.

To learn more, click here.

Events:

Enable community are offering free fit mum classes in Wandsworth.

These are free physical activity classes for new mums in Wandsworth. The session is wonderful and allows new mums to bond with other mums and create a social hub through physical activity, the best thing is that the mums can bring their children along as well.



Richmond women’s hub:
The women’s hub is a new service which aims to deliver holistic support, enabling women survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence or multiple disadvantages who live in the borough to thrive and recover in a community wellbeing setting.



For more information click here.

Women enterprise awards:
The Women’s Enterprise Awards have been created to spotlight the achievements of female entrepreneurs in the borough, many of whom run a successful business whilst jugging the needs of their families.



For more information, click here.

Breathe mum’s event:

Breathe Melodies for Mum’s is a free group singing programme for mothers and their babies looking to boost emotional and mental wellbeing.

They are hosting a free 10-week programme for new mums with babies aged 0-9months, for Wandsworth residents.

For more information and to sign up click here.

Do you have more resources to share on this article on International Women’s day?
Email communications@wandcareall.org.uk so we can share resources and support one another.

Health Inequalities Fund: welfare support and legal advice for all people

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people sat in a group with laptops collaborating

To be effective in tackling health inequalities we must not just react to illness but also prevent illness by helping people to live well and stay well. Some people may struggle to access welfare and legal advice, (particularly those belonging to less advantaged groups).

People need a good standard of living and protected rights to stay healthy.

WCA are programme managing the Health Inequalities Fund to allocate funds to voluntary sector projects in Wandsworth and create a steering group to deepen conversation about this issue and address barriers to accessing local services. Project delivery will run from March 2024 – March 2025.

What groups are we working with that experience health inequalities?

Organisations who work with the community in the following 6 theme groups are being invited to collaborate and join the following project information sessions.

19th February – 11:00-12:00 Unpaid/young carers project – RSVP

19th February – 14:00-15:00 Learning difficulties/autism project – RSVP

20th February – 11:00-12:00 Black/Asian/Global majority ethnic project – RSVP

20th February – 14:00-15:00 LGBTQIA+ project – RSVP

21st February – 14:00-15:00 Asylum seekers and refugees project – RSVP

22nd February – 14:00-15:00 Socially isolated people project – RSVP

Is there funding available to support the projects?

Funding may be available to support people with activity addressing these issues at the discretion of the lead organisations who will be organising an engagement group in March 2024.

Could you be a project lead?

Do you believe your organisation is a leading voice in Wandsworth on engaging people in one of these 6 key themes? You could be a project lead and access funding support from £10k-£80k.

Project leads will receive a fund and a programme manager for development support.

We are taking project proposals for 6 project leads (1 per theme) in the voluntary sector from 5th February – 29th February.

What’s the expectation for health inequalities project leads?

These projects must build on insight (from existing work with one of the above themes in the community) but we also expect you to propose a new approach to work and activity to engage people in welfare support and legal advice.

You must be prepared to engage other organisations in the delivery of this work at steering group meetings.

You must agree reporting requirements and accommodate external evaluation at the end of the project.

How to apply to be project lead

Register your interest by emailing communications@wandcareall.org.uk

We will be in touch with more information.

Want to hear about other funds and opportunities for voluntary sector organisations in Wandsworth? Join our mailing list.

Better mental health support for Mums in Wandsworth

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Having children is celebrated as a joyful time full of celebration, but for many, becoming a parent can be destabilising, lonely, and even life-threatening. MBRRACE’s recent report shows that 40% of all maternal deaths (occurring between six weeks and a year after the end of pregnancy) are from mental health related causes. Maternal suicide is the biggest cause of perinatal deaths.

At Wandsworth Care Alliance we’ve been doing health studies and talking to local community organisations to find out more about these issues since 2022. We aim to start a bigger conversation about mental health support for mums and birthing parents, connecting people with the support services they need. For the last 2 years we have been building a healthwatch report on the impact of perinatal mental health, and the way parents access mental health services during this time.

When we spoke to 13 birthing parents from ethnically diverse backgrounds, we found that many didn’t ask for help with their mental health. Issues included not feeling safe to open up with healthcare professionals, experiences of discrimination, and not knowing who to turn to.

Read the latest report

A range of factors affected parents during this time, like having a partner for support, having a positive relationship with maternity staff, and 50% of participants claimed that poor housing negatively affected their mental health.

What next?

There is local mental health support available for parents. However, we’re finding out that people might not know where to find it or how to access it.

Talking to the NHS about working together on discussing this issue as part of maternity services will be key over the coming months but there is also action we can take together to make sure that people know where to get support.

Here are 3 support links you can use or share with parents.

Family support

Little Village story

“When having a baby you need a lot of stuff,” Jen, the Tooting baby bank manager. Jen first found the baby bank Little Village when she was looking to donate items her child had grown out of. She started volunteering and fell in love with the cause.

Not everybody has everything they need as a parent and Little Village offers free support bundles to Mums in need, with clothes, toys, bassinets and more, available to be delivered, or picked out in their shop experience.

Little Village pride themselves in giving more than just things, with a creche, space to talk and a signposting team. They often hear shocking stories of adversity from local Mums. This Winter, they’ve had more emergency calls from St. George’s Hospital for Mums who can’t be discharged from hospital because they have nothing for the baby to wear or sleep in. Little Village always needs donations and volunteers to deliver this vital work.

Volunteer

Donate

Free Events & Support for Mums

  • Breathe Melodies know that mental health makes a difference and offer informal Mother and Child singing sessions which are a great way to build bonds and share culture too. Find out more
  • Enable offer free fitness classes for Mums every week
  • Estate Arts are holding a free Baby & Me morning on 3rd February with life support training
  • The NHS are promoting early learning and development activity ideas on the Better Start for Life website. Click here

Do you have more resources to share on this story for local Mums? Email communications@wandcareall.org.uk so we can feel each other’s support.

Farewell to our VSCS Manager, Julie Bristow

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We wanted to let you know that Julie Bristow, the Voluntary Sector Coordination Service Manager, who has run the VSCS since it started in 2020 is leaving WCA this week. 

Julie said: “I want to thank all the organisations within the voluntary and community sector for the support and engagement you have had with the VSCS over the last four years.  It has been a really enjoyable and rewarding experience working with and alongside you all and witnessing first-hand the incredible contribution you have made, and continue to make, to Wandsworth and its residents.  I am sure you will go from strength to strength and rest assured that the Voluntary Sector Coordination Service will continue to inform, connect and support you as you go forward into 2024.”

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