AgeUK Wandsworth’s Better at Home services help them to fulfil Age UK’s goal to enable older people across Wandsworth to live independently in their homes for as long as they wish to, or are able to.

They work in partnership with Council and health colleagues to achieve this goal. The range of support that Better at Home can offer clients complements the rest of Age UK Wandsworth’s services, allowing them to provide an holistic approach to supporting their clients’ physical, emotional and social wellbeing.

Read the impact report here: Age UK Wandsworth Better at Home Impact Report

If other Wandsworth organisations have information or impact reports like the one from Age UK Wandsworth, please get in touch – we would love to share that information on our website and in our newsletters.

The borough’s most vulnerable families are to receive additional financial support from the council as part of ongoing efforts to support Wandsworth households struggling to stay afloat in the cost-of-living crisis.

In line with the council’s priorities of delivering a fairer and more compassionate borough, low-income residents are to receive a one-off winter payment as part of the town hall’s response to the current economic situation.

Low-income households with children will be eligible for a £150 payment, while those in childless households will receive £75. This one-off Winter Payment is being provided to all households that had previously received support since April last year from the Wandsworth Discretionary Fund Crisis scheme.

The payments are made via a voucher that’s redeemable for cash at any Post Office branch. The council has this week issued 2,549 vouchers with further vouchers to be issued before the end of March to the hardest pressed households.

The payments are part of the council’s £5m Cost of Living support programme – the biggest support scheme of its kind in London.

Council Leader Simon Hogg said: “The council is absolutely committed to making sure it does everything it can to help people through this cost-of-living crisis and beyond.

“The council’s actions will be shaped by an unshakeable commitment to deliver a fairer, more compassionate and more sustainable borough. Helping vulnerable residents struggling to heat their homes or put food on the table is at the heart of these commitments.

“We have set aside significant funds to work with our partners and local charities to help provide the best support we can for those people facing the greatest hardship. This includes providing cash to go directly into the pockets of our most vulnerable residents
“All this will be achieved without affecting people’s council tax bills. We will keep the same low council tax – which is the right thing to do as it is a tax that hits those on low incomes the most.”

Other support measures the council has put in place to help vulnerable residents include:

• £185k to the Wandsworth Citizen’s Advice Bureau to employ more advisors
• £1m being given to The Wandsworth Discretionary Social Fund
• All eligible households getting a one-off Winter Cost of Living Payment of up to £150.
• Extending free school meals during school holidays
• A School Uniform Support Scheme to help families with the cost of new school uniforms
• The launch of an online Cost-of-Living Hub to help with fuel bills, advice on reducing bills, information on benefits and what to do in a crisis, help available for families, where to get mental health support and links to community organisations and charities that can help.

To support its efforts the council is establishing a Cost-of-Living Commission to hear from residents how their lives are being impacted and help shape what further action can be taken to support them.

For more information about the Wandsworth Discretionary Social Fund and the support it can offer please visit the council’s website.

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.

www.nekotrust.org

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. 

Check out our faith friendly advice here

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