Community Webinars

In February we welcome Rosa Trout from Bournemouth #WalkForFreedom, an annual global event by A21 to raise awareness of human trafficking & exploitation. One of A21’s strategies in the fight against human trafficking is Reach. Reach focuses on educating and equipping the general public to understand, identify, and reduce the risk of human trafficking through education curriculum, prevention materials, and awareness campaigns.

In January, we welcomed Tom Lane, a Principal Youth Worker at the charity STEPS Club For Young People in Weymouth. STEPS provides a range of activities, opportunities, projects, awards and support for young people aged 13-19, many of whom are disadvantaged, excluded or vulnerable. They undertake a significant amount of work supporting young people, including education, training and employment, relationships, bullying, bereavement, drug and alcohol use, crime and anti-social behaviour, self-harm and suicidal ideation, abuse, sexual health and mental health.

Jullie joined us from West Howe Community Enterprises, a local community charity on a mission to help everyone live happier, healthier lives – and feel more connected along the way. WHCE is a thriving community centre in the hub of West Howe, with daily activities going on for everyone, with their community-run projects include the Community Shop, Community Café and Community Activities. Please come along if you have a spare hour in your day to find out more.

Dan Johnson and Clarissa Blackmore joined to us all about MYTIME Young Carers, who are fighting to level the playing field for young carers. Young carers have been hidden in society for too long, with the vast majority juggling a huge amount of responsibility unsupported. MYTIME recognise and celebrate the incredible young people who do so much to support those that they care for. They believe that young carers should have access to the support, the friendships, and the opportunities every child and young person deserves.

We heard from Anna Reeves, the service manager/chair at The Bournemouth Gateway Club, how the club is a friendly day opportunity and social club for adults with learning disabilities and related conditions such as autism. Bournemouth Gateway Club is a vibrant, inclusive community where adults with learning disabilities/autism can make friends, enjoy activities, and build confidence. We offer day opportunities, a fortnightly social club, social events, life skills courses, trips, music, games, and more – all in a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment where everyone belongs.

Sue Warr, Manager at PramaLife, shared insights into the impactful work PramaLife is doing to empower independent lives for older people across Dorset.

For over 40 years, PramaLife has been providing care services throughout Dorset. Their vision is a world where no one is unfairly disadvantaged or excluded due to age or infirmity and where everyone can enjoy life as they age.

We welcomed Anne Cato and Paulette Julius from  St Deny’s Activity Group, a non-profit organisation which aims to improve mental health and wellbeing by providing activities for mental wellness which offer mutual support, good times and a listening ear. Their mission is to prevent social exclusion and empower members of the community who are experiencing mental health issues.

We welcomed Lynn and Maddy from Dorset Action for Children, to shine a light on the services they provide and specifically Dorset Nightstop, which provides young homeless people aged 16-25 with shelter through a network of vetted volunteer host families:

The charity has a wide range of services for parents and families, including parenting support, childcare, fostering, residential care and policy and research. They also ensure children’s voices are heard and campaign for improvements in their lives.

They also run a Parenting Support Service providing individual/group programmes and webinars for parents/caregivers struggling with their children’s challenging behaviour.

Ellie Douglas from the United Players Football Programme

Ellie Douglas shares the wonderful things that are happening with the United Players Football Programme. The United Players is for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young refugees from across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Southampton and Portsmouth.

Liz Guilmant-Cush, CEO of The Friendly Food Club, Dorset’s cooking and food education charity.  Their team delivers cooking skills sessions and food education programmes across the community. Their work focuses on disadvantaged and marginalised children and adults through therapeutic cooking sessions and community meals.

Erica Sloper CEO of Poole Waste Not Want Not, who run a community shop intended for individuals and families struggling to feed themselves and their families with nutritious food due to financial hardship in Poole and surrounding areas – and so much more for the community they serve with wellbeing days activities and meals to name just a few.

Jae Harris from Somerford Youth and Community Centre (SYCC), a small independent non-government funded charitable organisation at the heart of the Somerford community that aims to meet the needs of young people, their families, and the wider community. SYCC runs youth clubs, activities and other services for young people such as mentoring and mental health support. SYCC runs a community food project called The People’s Pantry – a low-cost service for families who are experiencing food poverty and there is a gym open to the community to use – and so much more.

We welcomed Mike Graham (Chief Executive Officer) and Tanya Bailey ​​​​(Education, Training & Employment Coordinator) from The Lantern Trust, an independent registered charity that was founded in 1983 to help vulnerable and marginalised people in the Weymouth and Portland area. The Lantern Trust aims to bring a lasting change in people’s lives through our dedicated service; meeting people’s practical, emotional, and personal aftercare needs. Their ethos is one of social inclusion, and aiming to break cycles of disadvantage and dependency.

We welcomed Abigail Parkes (she/they), the Marketing, Outreach and Fundraising Coordinator from Beyond Reflections. Beyond reflections is a charity working to create a safe community for trans+ people and their allies, providing support designed with and for the community. They provide a mixture of one to one and group support for gender diverse adults (including those who are questioning) as well as cis people who are struggling with a loved one’s transition. Abigail’s role is to work with the wider community to spread awareness of BR’s services, build relationships and partnerships that help to improve those services, and ensure they are sustainable for many years to come.

We welcomed John Hanson Chair of Trustees Grounded Community and interim CEO of The Parks Foundation. John has spent the last 8 years helping set up local food growing charity, Grounded Community, in Boscombe. John is keen to see Grounded Communitybecome fully established and embedded into our local community, recognising the huge benefit there is when we grow together.

The Parks Foundation is a small but perfectly formed independent charity devoted to enhancing Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole’s parks and green spaces for everyone to enjoy, breathing life into our towns and providing our communities with precious spaces to get together, exercise and play.

Christchurch Community Partnership’s vision is to see social isolation and loneliness eradicated in Christchurch. Although working with the whole adult population, the CCP mainly delivers services and projects to older residents, given that Christchurch has the highest proportion of 65-90 years old in Dorset. Their objective is to reconnect isolated folk back into community through Lunch Clubs, Coffee Connections and many other activities, where they can build social networks, to improve their quality of life. CCP’s other focus is to bring organisations and groups together to work collaboratively so the community benefits from a wider range of support.

The team at Space Youth Project support young people who are or may be LGBT+. Here they share their great work, their plans and hopes for the future, and explore ideas for research collaborations.

We welcome Heather Olive, the Age Friendly Community Coordinator for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Heather shares the work that is happening locally creating Age Friendly Communities.

December’s community voices webinar welcomes Nick Viney – Dorset farmers ‘Lookout’ coordinator.

Hear how the farming community in Dorset have developed a new initiative to encourage people to be ‘Lookouts’ in their local area, watching for signs that other farmers may be experiencing mental health difficulties and encouraging them to talk.

When the concept of the Bibby Stockholm barge for asylum seekers was announced in Portland without any public consultation, the local community experienced a groundswell of racist, violent opinion and speech.

A group of local people who were dismayed by this racist intolerance came together through Stand Up To Racism and formed The Portland Global Friendship Group. Hear how they have been supporting the asylum seekers and building bridges within the community by showing kindness and tolerance.

October’s Community Voices webinar welcomed Lorraine Stanley, founder and CEO of SWAD – where disability and sex come together. SWAD grew out of the need to meet the gap between the requirements of the disabled community and what was being offered by service providers. SWAD believes that sex is something that can be openly discussed and should not be swept under the carpet.

We welcomed Dr Gareth Sherwood – CEO of YMCA Bournemouth. YMCA Bournemouth works across BCP and Dorset in the areas of supported housing, family support, early years, youthwork, sports and leisure, community centres, business development, mentoring, training, pre-school, holiday retreat, wellbeing, mental health, contact centres and more.

We welcomed Gregory White from Drop The Mask Productions. Drop the Mask Productions is a Community Interest Company that creates safe, inclusive employment opportunities by removing the barriers for those with physical and mental health disabilities, creating space for everyone to reach their full potential.

We welcomed Bels Wathen from HealthBus. The HealthBus Trust is a charity that provides accessible and appropriate healthcare to people experiencing homelessness in Bournemouth and the surrounding areas.

International Care Network (ICN) share their work in providing support and advice services to refugees, asylum-seekers and vulnerable migrants in the BCP and Dorset local authority areas.

In conversation with BCP’s Poverty Truth Commission (PCT), sharing how individuals with lived experience of poverty become part of the solution to systemic failures and injustices.

You can find out more about the Poverty Truth Commissioners in this video from their 2022 launch event.

Jessie Budynkiewicz from West Howe Community Enterprises 

Hear how West Howe Community Enterprises uses a community-led, strengths-based inclusive approach to build a thriving community that identifies its own needs and has the confidence to meet them.