WCA are organising a new programme, working with the health service, 6 partner non-profit organisations, and a university evaluation team to help people in Wandsworth get legal support and welfare advice.
The fund has been designed by the ICB as part of a holistic (whole person) approach to health that sees how people are less likely to need mental and physical health services if they have a good standard of living, with an understanding of their rights and entitlements.
To approach this, the South West London Integrated Care Board (for the NHS), have found 6 themes that correlate to poor health outcomes. These themes are:
- Black Asian Global Majority
- Learning disabilities and autism
- LGBTQIA+
- Young and unpaid carers
- Socially isolated people (loneliness)
- Asylum seekers and refugees.
They have given us a fund to help address the inequalities local people might be more likely to experience due to the underprivilege and discrimination these groups face. The fund will be used for improving the welfare and legal advice offer for better health outcomes.
Not for profit organisations work in the community, with these groups. As experts at reaching these communities, the ICB recognises that the funds need to be community led and distributed to 6 lead organisations on the frontline. This will help the ICB better understand the issues within these theme groups and help them to carry out preventative care more effectively after listening to the feedback from this project and others like it.
How does it work?
Wandsworth Care Alliance (WCA)manage, divide and distribute £320,000 to 6 leading organisationsto represent each theme.
We will then:
- Work with the ICB
- Give development support and funds to project leads
- Set up a steering group for each project
- Coordinate external evaluation with Roehampton University
Together, with support from us (WCA) and having regular check-ins, project leads will design and deliver a programme responding to service users’ specific needs that runs between March 2024 – March 2025.
How the project is going so far?
The six leads of the different themes have begun work on their projects in a variety of ways including research to understand the barriers faced in accessing welfare and legal advice, reaching out to their target groups to make them aware of the project, and carrying out workshops and 1-1 sessions. As the projects progress, we will provide more detailed updates on the impact of the work.
List of the organisations involved and links to websites here:
- BAGME – Community Empowerment Network https://www.communityempowermentnetwork.org.uk/
- LD and autism – Share Community https://www.sharecommunity.org.uk/
- LGBTQIA+ – Spectra https://spectra-london.org.uk/
- Young and unpaid carers – Wandsworth Carers’ Centre https://carerswandsworth.org.uk/
- Socially isolated people – Citizens Advice Wandsworth https://cawandsworth.org/
- Asylum seekers and refugees. – CARAS https://caras.org.uk/
For more information on this project contact us at communications@wandcareall.org.uk