HAMPSHIRE
COMMUNITYMIXER
JUNE 11th2014
REPORT
ED WALTON
SENIOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Introducing the Community Mixer 2014
Hampshire is home to over 1.32 million people according to the most recent census (2011). Figures show that Hampshire’s community is both growing and diversifying. This means that in future, the range of services provided and commissioned by the County Council, and partners,will need to adapt to meet the changing needs of the population.
Current reductions in the funding available to local government means there is a pressing need to do things differently. With this is mind, a key aim of Hampshire County Council’s Corporate Strategy is to enhance the way the Council works with communities to improve services. Given the size and diversity of Hampshire, this is not always a straightforward task and so there are many different ways the Council currently works with communities.
For instance, Spectrum Centre for Independent Living’s User-Led Organisations Project is one example of how the Council’s Adult Services Department is working with communities to build capacity in User-Led Organisations. Additionally, Hampshire Independent Equalities Forum also has a role to play in helping to ensure the Council’s services are fair and equitable. Action Hampshire and the various Councils for Voluntary Service also have roles to play in enabling voluntary sector organisations to remain sustainable, innovative, and, able to respond to diverse local need.
There is a lot going on in Hampshire to support communities and the Community Mixer event aimed to bring together many diverse community organisations to build networks between groups and to explore options on one of the key issues facing community groups in current times – access to funding.
Aims of the event:
The event had two key aims – these had been identified by Spectrum Centre for Independent Living’s User-Led Organisation project
1)To promote networking between all organisations present on the day
2)To inform communities of the various funding options available
The event was planned and organised by Hampshire Independent Equality Forum and Spectrum Centre for Independent Living with support from Hampshire County Council’s Inclusion and Engagement Team.
Opening Address:
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Roy Perry opened the event along with Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Hayes. Both were keen to stress the important role communities have played in ensuring Hampshire remains a safe and prosperous place for people of all backgrounds to live. Along with the external funding opportunities that attendees would hear about on the day, both elected officials were keen to highlight the availability of funding from both the County Council and the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner.
More information on County Council Grants can be found here:
More information on grants from the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner can be found here:
Leader of the County CouncilPolice and Crime Commissioner
Councillor Roy PerryMr Simon Hayes
Talks on funding:
Talks were given from Big Lottery Funding Awards for All scheme, and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation. More details on the presentations can be found here:
Further information on Big Lottery Funding can be found here:
Further information on Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation can be found here:
Sarah Carroll
Funding Officer, Big Lottery Fund
Afternoon Session:
Ludlow Johnson, Equality and Diversity Manager, South Central Ambulance Services, spoke about the importance of addressing equality and diversity issues within the public sector in light of the Equality Act 2010. He also spoke about the approach South Central Ambulance Service has taken to ensuring they comply with their legal duties.
Further information on Ludlow’s presentation can be found here:
Ludlow Johnson
Equality and Diversity Manager
South Central Ambulance Service
Networking Opportunities:
Amongst other networking opportunities over the course of the day, time was set aside in the morning and afternoon sessions for “Showcase Hours”. Councillor Andrew Joy, Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships opened the sessions.
For these sessions up to 20 participants spoke for 3 minutes each about their group or organisation and what they offered to local communities. More details of the groups and organisations involved in the sessions can be found at the end of this report.
Councillor Andrew Joy Showcase Hour Session
Executive Member for
Communities and Partnerships
Feedback from the day:
Feedback from the day indicated that the main outcomes from the day were achieved. Further comments provided examples of how events like this could be improved in future.
On average, delegates rated the funding talks at 4.1 out of 5 and comments included:
- “Really helpful, even though I had researched funding providers online – hearing someone speak about them gave an additional level of clarity, very useful”
- “Excellent, sufficient time taken to explain the way in which applications should be made”
On average, delegates rated the opportunities to network at 4.2 out of 5 and comments included:
- “Provides a useful opportunity for us to join up our services, a relaxed way to do this with plenty of opportunity to speak to others about their services”
- “Was good to talk to people I wouldn’t have before, especially from the same area”
- “Met lots of new people and opportunities may well come up in the future to work together so it was very useful for me”
In terms of things to be improvedfor next time, delegates told us:
- “It would have been nice to have more staff from Adult Services and Children’s Services to talk to”
- “This should happen more often”
- “Maybe the day could have been a little shorter”
Next Steps:
We are keen to repeat the Community Mixer style event next year so please look out for further information.
There will be further events aimed at developing the way Adult Services engage with communities, please contact for more information.
Thank you:
Big thanks go to the planning team from Hampshire County Council.
Roger Fenn at Spectrum Centre for Independent Living &
Radhia Tarafder, and Anna Potten at Hampshire Independent Equality Forum.
Left to right: Anna Potten, Councillor Andrew Joy,
Roger Fenn, Sayem Kabir, Ed Walton, Radhia Tarafder
The Hampshire Independent Equality Forum (HIEF) unites individuals, organisations and networks from a range of communities and special interest groups – including, but not restricted to, those relating to race, disability, gender, transgender, age, sexual orientation, and religion and belief.
We aim to work with you to combat discrimination, support equalities and celebrate Hampshire's diversity of culture and experience
Spectrum Centre for Independent Living’s User Led Organisation project is aimed at helping user and community-led groups to set up, develop, and remain sustainable.
We aim to encourage networking with other groups across the county and to work with the Council in developing the policies that are important to service users, carers and communities
Thanks also to Amjid Jabbarat Instinctive Images for all the excellent photography
Links to more information:
More information on Hampshire County Council can be found here:
More information on Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner can be found here:
More information on Hampshire County Council’s Corporate Strategy can be found here:
More information on Spectrum Centre for Independent Living’s User-Led Organisations Project can be found here:
More information on Hampshire Independent Equality Forum can be found here:
More information on Action Hampshire can be found here:
More information on the Councils for Voluntary Service can be found here:
More information on Hampshire’s Inclusion and Engagement Team can be found here:
More information on service user involvement in Hampshire can be found her e:
Name / Organisation / Contact DetailsEd Walton / Hampshire County Council /
Sayem Kabir / Hampshire County Council /
Tony McCarthy / Hampshire County Council /
Madina Kamara-Aspin / Hampshire County Council /
Anna Potten / Hampshire Independent Equalities Forum /
Radhia Tarafder / Hampshire Independent Equalities Forum /
Roger Fenn / Spectrum Centre for Independent Living /
Rachel Harrison / Disabled People’s Voice Hampshire /
Ross H Smith / Independent Consultant /
Rachel Reid / Princess Royal Trust for Carers - Hampshire /
Kris Mayer / Parent Voice /
Matt Healey / Fareham and Gosport Youth Support Service /
Hayley Dean / Carers Together /
Becky Servis / Hampshire Supported Employment Service /
Mike Hill / Office of Police and Crime Commissioner /
Tricia Garrett / Eastleigh and Southern Parishes Older People’s Forum /
Sheryll Mondey / Hitting the Cold Spots Project /
Claire Salerno / Groundwork South /
Jean Adams / Age Concern New Forest /
Annie Noble / Hampshire Wellbeing Services /
Clara Sanjar / Winchester Area Community Action /
Lynn White / SCARF New Forest /
Zanell Neethling / Winchester Area Access for All &
Voices Unique /
Keith Hatter / Winchester Area Access for All /
Doug Furlong / Abbeyfield Society /
Neil Thompson / Abbeyfield Society /
Matthew Charters / Chaos Support /
Carl Manners / The Café Project, Basingstoke /
Lise Marron / Capable Creatures /
Name / Organisation / Contact Details
Brian Catchpoole / Aerobility /
Zenny Valentine / Anglo-Filipino Society /
Michelle Bonnell / Mencap Active Citizens Eastleigh/Romsey /
John Sweetland / Gosport Street Pastors /
Nick Birtley / West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group /
Iain Speed / All-Inclusive CIC /
Chris Nichols / Home Library Service /
Cathleen Nutburn / The Stable Family Home Trust /
Erica Arnold / First Steps /
Chris Hall / Parability /
Stephen Press / Stepacross CIC /
Ross Borman / Stepacross CIC /
Karen Brackstone / Community Independence Teams /
Vicky Mould / Azalea Counselling /
Katie Loates / Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service /
Becky Hillier / Andover Mind /
Leah Little / Family Church, Gosport and Bridgemary /
Alexandria Broe / Positive Action /
Lady Victoria Benjamin / Fareham and Gosport IAG /
Sharon Manzur / Enham Trust / Rainbow Centre /
Scott Lindfield / Andover and District Mencap /
Megan Leicester / Andover and District Mencap /
Cllr Darshan Mann / Asian Welfare and Cultural Association /
Malcom Little / British Red Cross /
Michala Dominey / Hampshire Parent/Carer Network /
Emma Gilham / Adult Services, Occupational Therapy Team, North East /
Dean Carter / Havant Active Recovery Community /
Yvonne Winstanley / The Rainbow Centre – Enham Trust /
Yvonne Atkinson / Solent NHS Trust /
Name / Organisation / Contact Details
John Evans / Hampshire Centre for Independent Living /
Samantha Hussey / Basingstoke & District Disability Forum /
Madeline Close / Healthwatch Hampshire /
Julian Kent / Chatterbox /
Amy Finlay / Pathway Care Training /
Kamal Purja / Eastleigh Gurkha Nepalese Association /
Umesh Rana / Eastleigh Gurkha Nepalese Association /