communitylinks

communitylinks105 Barking Road, Canning Town, London, E16 4HQ August 2010

t: 020 7473 2270 • e: info@community-links.org • w: www.community-links.org

Community Links’approach tocommunitydevelopment

Strengthening Communities

We would like to thank the London Borough of Newham for supporting our Community Activity programme.

Introduction

David Robinson, co-founder ofCommunity Links, suggests in therecent publication “Side by Side”

‘It is not only possible forone human being to makea real and lastingdifference to another, it is often all that ever does’

Contents

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COMMUNITY LINKS is an innovative east London charity, running a wide rangeof community services and projects for people of all ages. Based in Newham, we haveover 30 years of experience working with local people to support children, young people,adults and families.

Community Links’ multi-purpose work is focused on achieving our four strategic aims.

l RAISING ASPIRATIONS – building confidence and life skills, empowering people toexplore their dreams, set realistic and achievable goals and fulfill their potential.

l EXTENDING OPPORTUNITIES – supporting those for whom progression from schoolto college to employment does not run smoothly, enabling them to get back on trackand make a positive contribution to their own lives and to the community.

l TACKLING POVERTY – ensuring families can meet their basic material needs – adequate income, appropriate housing, a safe and stable environment – and build a brighter future.

l STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES – helping people to feel safer, building bridgesacross ages and cultures, and working to build a better society for all.

Community Links runs a network of 60 different projects. This report focuses on one ofour projects, reflecting a small part of the work undertaken by the CommunityDevelopment team. We have found time and time again that the kind of intense estate-based community action work which has taken place throughout this project, and thestrong relationships formed between the project worker and the wider local community,can have a powerful and lasting impact on the lives and the well-being of the people wholive here. The achievements set out here were co-ordinated by one part-timedevelopment worker, over two years.

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Our Centres

Activities

Events

Participation

Support

Future plans

This short report summarises some of the work done by the Community Development team atCommunity Links over the last two years

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l Worked with 17 centres across the LondonBorough of Newham, both our centres andother organisation’s premises

l Supported 64 different activities providedby 31 different organisations

l Attracted 1,551 people to activities – 411 of whom had never taken part in acommunity activity before – and enabledresidents to set up strong user groups atfour of our own centres

l  Held or supported 22 community eventswhich attracted 2,992 people

l  Assisted nine local organisations orindividuals to access London Borough ofNewham ‘Go For It’ grants and helped raise£12,574 in funding for small groups orindividuals wanting to set up local activities

l  Our work will continue to expand,with many new projectsalready planned

This report is designed and printed by Sheaf Graphics (0114 273 9067)on paper from carefully managed, sustainable forests.

Centres 60pt 314Centres

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HOSKINS CLOSECENTRE has run anOpen Access Playscheme for a few yearsand has recentlyencouraged the largercommunity to cometogether for activitiesand events at the centre.

This is good for residentsand for the children who

use the centre. Theylearn to work and havefun together through arange ofintergenerationalactivities and events.

There is a group whomeet regularly andsocialise, practiceaerobics, go on outingsand reminisce aboutdays gone by.

‘When you startedwork, you couldleave a job one dayand get another onethe next day, or thesame day. But now, youcan’t do that. I wasfourteen when I firststarted up Aldgate, no,Commercial Road, I started there as amachinist. Kids can’t dothis now, there is no work.

You can’t talk to kids now– they swear back at you.Parents don’t worryabout their kids. Sincecoming to the club wehave helped Jan witheverything. We havesocials for all ages –we’ve got a Pie ‘n’ Mashnight coming up nextweek. The kids are allright really now that weknow them. We likecoming here, it’s not toofar. It gets me out andmakes a change to feeluseful and to make newfriends’

‘Nifty Fifties’ project participant

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Seventeen safe,welcoming andsupportivecommunity centres,accessible to all

GUARDIANJOURNALISTMADELEINE BUNTINGVISITED AND WROTE

‘Thegardenisteemingwithchildren,there isa hubbub of chattingaround tables in thecommunity centre;the air is filled withthe delicious smell ofcakes baking andthere is Loreen,smiling a greeting toone neighbour andthen calling out to acouple of children tobe sure to be back inthe morning for morebaking. This is Rokebycommunity centre, inone of east London’smost deprivedboroughs, Newham’Madeleine Bunting, TheGuardian, 19 April 2010

THE ROKEBYCENTRE opened itsdoors to the people ofthis isolated and troubledarea in Spring 2009. Thecentre is buzzing withactivity from 9 in themorning until 9 at nightand has very quicklybecome a real focal pointfor the local community.

‘Everyone is using thecentre, there’ssomewhere to go andmeet friends now’

Rokeby estate resident

Each week around 225people attend, 67% fromethnic minority and 62%from low-incomefamilies

Baseline SurveysAt each centre wesupport we conduct ayearly baseline survey togauge how people feelabout their area, theirsense of community andalso their knowledge of

local services.  This ispartly so that we, as anorganisation, canrespond best to identifiedneeds, and also toascertain the impact theproject has had on thelives of local people overa set period of time. A baseline study heldbefore the centre openedfound that of 70 peopleinterviewed 70%admitted to being afraidto go out after dark and75% were in fear ofcrime. A recent survey of50 local people foundthat 80% thought that thearea had changed for thebetter since the centreopened.

‘I have got to knowpeople since I havecome to the centre, ithas changed people’sperceptions and peoplefeel more safe’

Rokeby estate resident

‘I would say there hasbeen a 70% decrease inASBOs since the centreopened’

Sue Lawler,Community Safety Team

Of the residents wespoke to 32% told us thatcrime on the estate hasgone down since Rokebycommunity centreopened and that thereare no more gangshanging around.

A SAFER ROKEBYCrime figures onRokeby estate havefallen. Recent datareceived fromNewham show thatthe number ofreported ASBincidents has almosthalved since theopening of RokebyCommunity Links Hub.The number ofreported crime incidents has been more thanhalved over the same period.

Toni – localresident, mother ofthree girls aged 13,10 and 3

‘When I moved here I felt quitelonely, you never used to seeanybody around unless peoplecut across the green to get to theshops. You could sit indoors andnot see or speak to anyone forweeks.

‘We used to have a lot of issuesthree or four years ago withyouths riding motor bikes on thegreen and along the pavements –it was terrifying.

‘We used to have cars set alightand once a caravan was set

alight. There used to be a gangover at the benches and Icouldn’t let my kids out to play.

‘The centre has made a massiveimpact. We come here fourtimes a week now and I havebecome involved in planningactivities and leafleting. I alwaysknow where my kids are and Iknow thatthey aresafe.’

CASE STUDY

CentresActivities

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An exciting rangeof fun activitiesfor all.Sharing commonactivities betweencultures aidspeople’sunderstanding ofeach other

CAPOEIRA A cross between danceand martial arts originating in Brazil.This beautiful activity has attracted lotsof young people, diverting them away

from crime and teaching themdiscipline, teamwork and a skill.

The Newham STEEL BAND ran a12-week course and invited local

families to participate.

KEEP FITAffordableKeep Fit

classes runevery weekfor anyonewishing totake part.

HOLIDAY AT HOME A fantastic project whichran at Forest Gate Baptist Church for people whowere not able to take a break away during thesummer. There were art workshops and

intergenerational activities.

STORY TELLING Young parents orcarers who often feel trapped and isolatedcome together with their children and tellthem stories; a great way for the adults tomeet others in the same situation and

improve their social networks. Of course,the children get to hear some wonderful

stories too!

STREETDANCE Led by a local young man this grouphas gone from strength to strength and has entertainedusers of the centre as well as holding regular classes

and negotiating rehearsal studio space.

Centres 60pt 314

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Jude Greaves is 19 yearsold and is currentlystudying music atuniversity.

‘We moved around a lot whenI was little but after my fatherdied we settled down inStratford from about the ageof six.

‘I have seen The Greenchange and reform, it hasgone through a lot of changesand a lot of things havehappened there, good thingsand bad things. It was oftenused as a base for criminalactivities I remember a coupleof times where cars had beenstolen and driven to the park

and set alight. But since thenthe area has improved and Ithink it has a lot to do with theCommunity Centre.

‘I got involved with CommunityLinks and the centre whenthey had a meeting – my mumwas there she told me to comealong and that I might be ableto get a job there so I went andintroduced myself and I wasput on a course forvolunteering with CommunityLinks.

‘Eventually after volunteeringfor some time I got the job asa paid youth worker and I gotthe opportunity to teach dancearound my area with a projectcalled “Streetz on da Green”.That came about when I wasintroduced to a wonderful

lady called Cecilia who worksfor Community Links. Sheknew that I could dance andshe talked about theopportunity to teach dance.

‘We started off practicing atthe community centre but nowwe are in Maryland studios.

‘I also set up a Facebookgroup for “Streetz on daGreen” to keep peopleupdated about times anddates, and to show our videosand pictures online. Wemanaged to get some fundingfrom Life Bank and which weused to pay the trainers, andfor the studio hire.Community Links has enabledme to come a step closer toreaching my goals andachieving my ambitions.’

CASE STUDY

‘I and my family have

had a fantastic year and

the kids have had some

great

opportunities that they

otherwise would not hav

e had –

a big thank-you goes ou

t to all

the staff for all their ha

rd

work over the year!’

‘If childcare wasn'tavailable I would never

have been able tocomplete the training

course.’

‘The Centre was a very good idea . . . thearea needed it, the staffhere are very kind,considerate and helpful,and always work for thebenefit of the children.’

New peoplegettinginvolved innew things

Participation

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‘Someone said thatthey think that the projectis great and that it hasbrought the community

together, and that she nowknows and speaks to many ofher neighbours who she did

not know a year ago.’

Events for all the family

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BigLunch

Four of our centres held aBig Lunch event where

communities came together toshare food, share space, shareskills, share stories and buildrelationships which would last

beyond the day

Refugee festival running for the eleventh yearin Newham, bringing all communities together with

the message ‘different pasts, shared future’

Pie’n’Mash

BigLunchsharing

locally-grownfood

Pie 'n' Mash introducednew communities to the

traditional cockney favourite.Young and old joined together tosing popular east end songs and

teach them to their newneighbours

Centres 60pt 314Support

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WINDOW WALL E7‘Thank you once again for takingme on board and giving me thisopportunity. I will forever begrateful to you, for believing in meand being a great supportthroughout the project!’

Shofa Begum, local artist

‘Your involvement has beeninvaluable as a stake holder and acommunity development worker.Your assistance in sourcingcommunity groups and assistancewith the window wall has beenamazing.’

Shabana Qadir

LOUGHBOROUGHUNIVERSITY‘Many thanks for agreeing to helpus set up a discussion group ofpeople in the local community inStratford.’

Grahame Whitfield, Centre for Research inSocial Policy, Loughborough University

QUATRO‘Many thanks for seeing me todayto discuss Forest Gate. Thediscussion was very helpful and Iwill be in touch again when wehave made progress.’

Paul Dimoldenberg, Managing Director Quatro

YOUTHOLOGY‘Thank you so much for helpingme with the grant applicationform. I have filled in the rest ofthe form the best I could and aspromised am sending it to you tocheck over. Many thanks.’

Sevil, admin at Youthology

BLUE PACIFIC‘Thank you, Cecilia, for youramazing support! Thank you somuch for your professionalismand enthusiasm.’

Luis Lema

ACORN FC have worked inpartnership with Community Linkssince 2008. They have provided ourproject with excellent support incommunity services analysis andreferrals.

‘Their work has been a majorfactor in the success of our

networking links, which haveencouraged and enabled us toachieve our potential asindividuals, and as a group.

‘Community Links has become tous a most valuable resource. Theyare a solid and reliablecommunity support service, whoare experts in their field.’

Darrell Isles, Club Development Co-ordinator, Acorn FC

LEAD COUNCILLOR‘Cecilia has a really positiveattitude towards working co-operatively with people in order toachieve better results. Herenthusiasm has a really goodeffect on the members of thecommunity that she supports. ‘I have found it a pleasure to workwith Cecilia and would choose herflexible approach to communityinvolvement over any building-based approach.’

Cllr Kay Scoresby, London Borough of Newham

Penny is 46 yearsold and a loneparent of three ‘I lived in Newham all my life, Iwas born in Forest Gate, grew upin Plaistow and for the past 21years I’ve been in Custom House.It is hard to be a single mumbecause everything falls on yourshoulders.

‘Financially it is very difficult too.The majority of my income goeson bills and it is not unknown forme to put £40 to £50 a week ongas in the winter.

‘A lot of the problems in this areaare down to the fact that drugsare so readily available. There isa local drug dealer that operatesright outside my kitchen window.

‘When my youngest son attendedtoddler group in 2004 I met awoman called Joanne there. Sheworks for a local group calledCommunity Childcare and they

help local people get intotraining and gain qualificationsin childcare. They also supportpeople along the way to becomeregistered childminders.

‘They were a life-saver for me. Ifit wasn’t for them I would havebeen either on the dole or in adead-end job that I hated. Icompleted my NVQ2 in childcare,health and safety training, firstaid course and I am currentlydoing my NVQ3, all thanks toCommunity Childcare. If it wasn’tfor them I could never haveafforded to do it.

‘I registered as a Childminder inOctober and gave up my part-time office job in February tobecome a childminder full-time.It is a job that I love and it is alldown to Joanne and CommunityChildcare – I would recommendthem to anyone!’

CASE STUDYSupporting otherorganisations to support thecommunityThis Community Links project has workedwith 31 different providers, working withchildren, young people, adults and elders.We have helped with fund-raising andorganising projects

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Future plans

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People we want to thankDarrell Isles, Acorn Football ClubSinead Sheehan,

American Institute for Foreign StudyElizabeth Anderson, The Aldridge

Foundation Dance SummitLoyda Best, Aston-MansfieldAnne Crisp, Aston-Mansfield CIUGeoffrey Wheeler, Aston-MansfieldClaire Crook, The Big LunchDavid Tross, Social Policy and Education,

Birkbeck CollegeLuis Lema, Blue PacificSteve Allgood, Manager Britannia Village Julie Howell,

Centre Stage Theatre SchoolJoanne Walker,

Community Child Care ServiceSara Watson,

Community Child Care ServiceEric Samuel MBE,

Community Food Enterprise LimitedSarjoh Aziz Kamara, Conflict and ChangeSam Clark, Custom House and Canning

Town Community Renewal Programme John McNeill, Custom House and

Canning Town Community RenewalProgramme

Keith Smith, Custom House and CanningTown Community Renewal Programme

Sgt Clair Grey, Custom House Safer Neighbourhood Team

Alison Skeat, Dirty HandsRosie Dalling, Donmar WarehouseRev Darren McIndoe, Emmanuel ChurchNatasha Adams, End Child PovertyHazel Goldman, Free Form Arts TrustAbdul Malik,

The Forum for Health & WellbeingBill and Eve Perry, Garden CaféAlda Vieira, GirassolMatthias Lionel, GrassrootsFay Coggings,

Health, Nutrition and BeautyAlex Kaye, Iceandfire Rhian Hughes, Immediate TheatreSejul Malde, Immediate TheatreCarron Cleaver,

Keir Hardie Methodist ChurchRachel of Learning ContinuesCraig Obsidian, Local SpaceCatherine Bennett,

Dept Media and Communications, LSE Tamsin Fudge, London Sports Forum

for Disabled People Grahame Whitfield, Centre for Research

in Social Policy, LoughboroughUniversity

Abdul Malik, Making It Happen ProjectOreleo Du Cran,

Community Safety Service, LondonBorough of Newham

Tristan Fluerty, Community Development, London Borough of Newham

Sheila Holden Regeneration, Planning and Property, London Borough of Newham

Matthew Hooper, Safer NewhamPartnership Team, London Borough of Newham

Matthew McRae, Leisure Services,London Borough of Newham

Nigel Mould, Neighbourhood Crime Reduction,London Borough of Newham

Shabana Qadir, Members’ Services,London Borough of Newham

Sabeena Subba,Community Participation, London Borough of Newham

John Watts, Community Leaders and Engagement,London Borough of Newham

Liz Whitworth, Members’ Services,London Borough of Newham

Rouksana Dyer, Newham LinkAsma Elahi, NHSAnn Kavanagh, NHSLeena Khagram, NHSSarah Ruiz,

Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium Sara Watson, Parkside GardeningPaul Dimoldenberg, Quatro Kim Steward, Real Life ParentingSarah Henderson, 

Rokeby Secondary SchoolLindsay Bradbury,

Rosetta Primary SchoolSgt Toni Galinis, Royal Docks

Safer Neighbourhood TeamPeter Stowe, St Mark’s ChurchJessica Nott, Save the ChildrenLuljeta Nuzi, ShpresaJude Greaves, Streetz on Da GreenFrances Clarke, We Are What We DoWest Ham and Plaistow

New Deal for CommunitiesPCSO Sue Lawler,

West Ham Safer Neighbourhood TeamKyla Morris,

WHEAT Mental Support TrustBruce Stokes,

Woodgrange Baptist ChurchSevil Aliogu, Youthology Administrator

CouncillorsCouncillor Freda Bourne, West HamCouncillor Paul Brickell,

Forest Gate NorthCouncillor Akbar Chaudhary,

Forest Gate SouthCouncillor Marie Collier,

Canning Town NorthCouncillor Richard Crawford,

Stratford and New TownCouncillor Clive Furness,

Canning Town NorthCouncillor Patricia Holland,

Custom HouseCouncillor Ron Manley, West HamCouncillor Patrick Murphy, Royal DocksCouncillor Kay Scoresby, Manor ParkCouncillor Winston Vaughan,

Forest Gate South

IndividualsPenny Holland, local resident E16Juliana Sultana, local resident E16Toni Nash, local resident E15Dee Smith, local resident E15Geraldine Pollock, local resident E13 Josie Farrugia, local resident E15Cilpa Beechook, student at Manchester

UniversityP. Kaur, Fitness InstructorNoreen Gilhespy Tracy Morrell, Aerobics InstructorSanu Miah,

Community Development studentShaka Daanwi,

Keep Fit and Dance instructorShofa Begum, local artist, Forest GateElizabeth Acosta,

Community Development studentMina Site

Community Development studentAna Cuevas Fuentes

Community Development studentLinda Maytum-Wilsonand special thanks to the LondonBorough of Newham, not forgetting themany, many people who have helped usover the years, and whose names wouldneed many pages to find space for each of you.

Thank you all.

CITY FARMA fantastic venue fordelivering a range ofactivities in a real farmsetting in Beckton; idealfor the whole communityto get involved, forpeople to gainconfidence and skills byworking with animalsand for people to find amuch needed haven andget away from thestrains and stresses oftheir everyday lives.

PLAY SOW ANDGROWAn environmentalproject based on the siteof the old Abbey Millspumping station.

Community Allotments,events, raised beds,fitness trail, a bird camand lots more willappeal to people andschools from all overNewham who would loveto get involved in anoutdoor project, enjoygardening and natureand may have no spaceto grow plantsthemselves. There is alarge kitchen in therenovated house onthe plot, which we will

use for healthy eatingprojects. Local residentscan share and pass on

jam-making and othercooking skills to theyoung people who areusing the project. Withall the ingredientsgrown on the site!

NEWTOWNA state of the artcommunity centre in thenorth of the borough willprovide a great space for

a whole range ofactivities. There will betraining rooms, a musicstudio, a communitycafé and lots more.

CRANBERRYBased in Canning Town,work with families willbe the focus of oursmall project on thistroubled isolated estate.

Our work will continueto expand, with manynew projects alreadyplanned