Community Engagement – National Lottery

The creation of a series of workshops, delivered by trainee community leaders, targeting communities worst-hit by Covid-19, encouraging recovery and community cohesion. Workshops will be presented as a card deck, to enable resources to be shared with partner organisations. Each card will hold information, tips to frame community engagement processes and problem-solving ideas, finding out what best supports each group.

This new way of working for TCC is aimed at developing community cohesion at a time when communities have become fractured through isolation.

The project includes:

• 10 young Leaders aged 18-25 establish careers in community-engaged practice
• 9 months pilot with 12 groups, established by Leaders in their areas
• Engaging 240 adults aged 18-70+, approximately 40% will be carers, 60% living with disability
• Mentoring and support for young Leaders
• A social media engagement strategy to reach and maintain contact with communities

Outcomes include:

• Creating a toolkit for best practice in community leadership, with provision to develop websites, risk assessments, safeguarding policies and key governance documents needed, enabling more community-led practice across the Black Country 
• Employability skills for 10 young Leaders in a supported environment
• Community cohesion with a focus on Covid recovery
• Developing social networks, enabling better health and wellbeing, and increased confidence

This is part of a wider programme to develop young community leaders across our region, supporting employability skills, with a focus on those hit hardest by Covid-19, including low socio-economic, people of colour and those with disabling barriers.