Community Impact Haringey (CIH)

Community Impact Haringey (CIH)

Voluntary Sector Forum (VSF) Meeting

Time:2pm to 4pm, Monday 10th April 2017

Venue: Eco Hub, Lordship Rec, off Higham Road, London N17 6NU

Minutes

Chair: Geoffrey Ocen, CEO, Bridge Renewal Trust (GO)

Speakers:

Cllr Eugene Ayisi, Cabinet Member for the VCS (Cllr EA)

Christine Mosedale, Commissioning Manager, Haringey Council (CM)

Christina Andrew, Acting Strategic Lead Communities, Haringey Council (CA)

Becky Hatch, Head of Policy and Cabinet Support, Haringey Council (BH)

Hosting:

Glynis Kirkwood-Warren, General Manager, Lordship Hub, (GKW)

VCS Present:

Alice Patchett, Sanctuary Housing (AP)

Amy Hope, Centre 404 (AH)

Angela Mattis, PHASCA (AM)

Bob Dowd, C404

Brenda Drummond, MLB Solutions Ltd (BD)

Chris Bell, Homes for Haringey (CBe)

Dave Morris, Haringey Federation of Residents Associations (DM)

Grace Ayeni, Homes for Haringey (GA)

Janet Campbell, Haringey Thinking Space (JC)

Jo Wealleans, CIDA (JW)

Kingsley Bempah, Ark Resettlement (KB)

Leyla Laksari, Living Under One Sun (LL)

Lynn Hannah, Haringey CAB (LH)

Miranda Grell, Haringey Law Centre (MG)

Monica Ukandu, Public Health, Haringey Council (MU)

Ricardo Johnson, Rockstone (RJ)

Rockhaya Sylla, CARIS Haringey (RS)

Ruth Valerie, CARIS Haringey (RV)

SevNecati, ONI (SN)

Sona Mathani, Selby Trust (SM)

Timothy Modi, CIDA (TM)

Statutory Sector present:

Peter Ryan, DWP (PR)

Rodney Grant, DWP Community Outreach (RG)

Stuart Faragher, Haringey Council (SF)

Bridge Staff Present:Colin Bowen(CB), Phedorah Lisbie (PL), Jenny Carter (JC), Cameron Fitzwilliam-Grey (CFG)

Apologies: Gail Priddey (HAGA), Gloria Saffrey (CARIS), Phylis Fealy (DWP), Sarah Miller, Markfield

Item / Details and action points / Who / When by
1 / Welcome and introductions / Geoffrey Ocen, Chief Executive, Bridge Renewal Trust welcomed the meeting.
Glynis gave an introduction and welcomed everyone to the Lordship Hub.
2 / Cabinet Member / Comments from the Cabinet Member for the VCS
Cllr EA thanked GKW and the team for running the Hub, a community asset built and run by the community.
Cllr EA gave thanks to the Bridge for the support to the VCS. There is a realisation within the borough around the issues there are, especially around equality.
Within the year, Cllr EA had set a personal challenge to ensure the VCS is supported, eg. through Haringey Giving, harnessing the community organisations that exist as a community asset.
Cllr EA invited attendees to let him know if there is anything he could help with or any particular challenges they face.
3 / Update on Haringey Council activities and look ahead / Commissioning intentions for next 6 months and other Council updates
CM, Commissioning Manager gave an overview of the Council’s commissioning intentions, including:

• Appropriate Adults Service
• Carers’ Support Service
• Home Support, Supported Living and Semi-independent accommodation
• Positive behaviour support (PBS) in supported living
• Ermine Road and Haynes Hubs
• Day opportunities
• Adults and children’s advocacy
• Supported Housing

(See presentation)
Q (RV): is the Council planning to commission support for Syrian Families under vulnerable persons’ resettlement house
A (CM): Impression is keeping this in house, however a group is boing to be set up to look at VCS involvement
A (GO): We have to get properties ready and so far 2 have been identified and there is ongoing work to find new properties. If you know of any let us know.
Q (RV): The Council gets £20K per person over 5 years that is not for housing for each person.
MU was available to give a few public health updates during the break, due to time constraints.
CM invited all to get in touch if they have any additional questions.
4 / New Haringey Borough Plan / Discussion on proposed community engagement process
RH, Head of Policy and Cabinet Support gave a background on engagement with the review of the Corporate Plan (see presentation).
Questions
GO noted that BRT wanted to bring issues and discussions to future VSF and thematic forums, for example Housing and Growth.
Q (CBe): With the HDV how does the Council ensure they don’t leave communities behind and can get the real benefits.
A (RH): This a good point
A (Cllr EA): Spot on. We often talk about growth and bricks and mortar. The opportunity is for this group to help shape what this looks like. This hasn’t yet happened. Knowing your communities you serve there is an opportunity to influence it. Cllr EA would be keen to attend some of the forums to hear first hand what community organisations are saying.
A (RH): Yes, there is a lot of money and effort being placed on how we take forward that socio-economic strand.
Q (GKW): My part is this area and Lordship Hub. This is an innovative way of working with the Council Is that definitely key to the strategy? Are you going to be looking at innovative ways rather than the same ways?
A (BH): Yes and this is seek as an example of good practice
A (Cllr EA): In this space expect those who come up proposals for different ways to deliver against these; the Council will be on the case to deliver the outcomes. Cllr EA will lend political support in cases where this is evident.
Q(JW): Are you the rep of the VCS in the HDV?
A (Cllr EA): Within the Borough rather than sector.
Q (JW): How are VCS interests being represented if it is not designed in as one of the principles informing it? How is the interest of the VCS represented in how the investment is brought in? If this is not brought in to feed all of the sector, we will continue to exhaust ourselves.
Action:JW to write and submit the question to Bridge, to be circulated the question with the minutes along with any response.
LL: Emphasise the word ‘exhaustion’. The sector is always looking for outcomes and impact, longstanding sustainability. The centre of this park is community infrastructure and the smaller organisations who come up with passion and commitment are disappearing and big players are taking their place. More and more people have to work in a voluntary way, hence exhaustion.
There is very little coming from infrastructure builders to make this kind of infrastructure work.
The demand hasn’t gone, the services are diminishing. Need to figure out how we build different infrastructure within communities. We have lost HAVCO and a lot of concepts, small and large. We need to answer this question quickly.
A (MU): I am also noting these comments and can say that what has been raised has been echoed internally at the Council. A lot of these comments have been taken forward to the main bidder.
Action:MU to bring back responses to GO and CB for wider dissemination.
5 / VCS Updates / Opportunity for VCS to discuss and share information
DM: Very pleased to hear that the work in this park has been recognised for building community infrastructure and working with LBH to promote excellent partnership with Parks Service (6,000 local groups across the Council trying to work to get support for this non-statutory service).
Want to have this included on next VSF agenda to defend principle of this local public service. We are aware of the impact of the cuts, however the Council is turning to major corporate partners to shift a huge amount of assets and facilities.
There are huge regeneration and development pressures leading to threats for community asset, facilities etc.
Rather than see proposals come forward that we oppose, it would be better to work with the Council to get more of a shared view.
(Supported)
SM: The timing is important and the discussion needs to happen before the sign off on the HDV and should go somewhere.
Cllr EA : The discussion will be useful for a number of reasons. Sometimes you can’t remain politically pure and deliver what’s needed. Whatever the grips against the process, we will go through this.
The discussion is key. We want to know what drives the communities. I will not tell you that whatever you want will happen. Come 2020 we will have no income from Central Government. All our funding for VCS will come from Council tax and Business Rates. Beyond anything else the HDV will stimulate growth.
(TM): It is about Brick and mortar, like this excellent example of a real community building. There is a lot that the Council could leverage. (JM): There is a lot of intellectual property within the VCS that the Council could benefit from. Trust us more. Sometimes I can’t get down to the level required.
Cllr EA: There are no plans finalised on the HDV
CB noted there are additional avenues to fully explore around community infrastructure development, eg the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
Cllr EA:To build in the East of the borough the CIL is £15 per metre. The Tottenham Stadium has generated a large return.
LL: We are also losing investment around EU funding. We have to be mindful that the changes are not just about the commissioning process, it is happening throughout. Funding for infrastructure has been lost.
6 / Break / Break / Break
7 / Adult Safeguarding and Prevent Strategy in the VCS / Gain better understanding of the work of Haringey Adult Safeguarding Board
Geoffrey Ocen – Chief Executive, Bridge Renewal Trust
(See presentation)
Discussion on best practices, barriers and opportunities for safer working in VCS
CA, Acting Strategic Lead Communities, Haringey Council
CA works on prevent and hate crime.
CA asked if anyone know what the Prevent Strategy was
A (RG): preventing radicalisation, noticing signs /symptoms of people who may be radicalised and putting in place a strategy to deal with them.
Q (RG): To clarify, hate crime and extremism, what I the distinction? I see the two as very much the same. The end goal in many cases is the same.
A (CA): There is a lot of overlap. Extremism is a fundamental opposition to ‘British Values’ (Government) and talk of rule of law, tolerance.
Q (SM): The other boroughs like Newham, Hounslow, were monitoring projects and may still be running. Are you privy to the increase in attacks because of Islamophobia etc.? The VCS could play a role in ascertaining the extent of it and help get rid of it. Reports are infrequent but impact is shocking, eg. Synagogue attack, women with Hijab torn off in street.
A (CA): Biggest increase has been in Islamophobic hate crime. Tomorrow running up a training session about reporting sites. Would like people to attend will run more events.
Q (SM): If you film and upload we can watch it.
Q (RV): I have a real difficulty about this being under ‘prevent’. I would be uncomfortable having hate crime work we do branded as ‘prevent’.
A (CA): Due to media coverage, people’s minds are about terrorism, Islamophobia. In the Council these are not about terrorism.
It is about making sure people get good training and can go through normal safeguarding procedures.
LBH is starting to see the far right using the kind of sophisticated recruitment techniques as terrorists.
CA invited all to contact if they have any further questions.
Q (LL): The Council is focussing work with schools and there is a vulnerability with reporting and parents attending meetings re ‘prevent’. In the community it reminds us of 35 years ago and the only way to work on prevention was through community engagement, infrastructure, hubs of safety. It was not about teachers reporting on kids. More community orientated, neighbourhood-based work. What are your key findings?
A (CA): Area we have done most training is with Schools and we get most and good quality referrals from them with background /evidence.
Q (LL): In the past 5 years what infrastructure have you built to respond to this in the community? How many local people \ organisations have we trained. How many mentors have we trained and where are they?
A(CA): That is a really good question and I am trying to reach out to you and raise awareness to get those concerns across. Have only done 2 sessions with VCS and Government focus has been schools
Q (RG): The VCS are the hub and if you don’t look at the whole how far will you get.
A (CA): Yes and adults are out there, older people that older people cannot be accessed.
A (CA): One of the things MU is leading on is MECC and this is delivered by One You, face to face/ motivational interview. This includes health and wellbeing and is open to all residents and people who live/ work in the borough. There is also Mental Health first aid training delivered by mind.
A (LL): Those are great. A key component is who do you refer people to? We are a small organisation and we cannot take all the referrals. There are four key services: mental health, food, physical exercise and smoking cessation (aside from poverty traps and social isolation. We need better community infrastructure to respond to all these initiatives. We can’t afford to attend a 2 day course. We don’t have the resources to manage these in our communities. We need to support community hubs to harness local resident enthusiasm.
GO we can pick up on the wider discussion after
GKW: in our building a lot of organisations have set up because there is a need for them to be there, eg. housing/ mental health issues. The one thing about having a park is it is a leveller for people from all walks of life. There are people who are not accessing any of the services as they don’t need to. You should look at the open green spaces as everyone accesses these.
TM: The challenge is that people are eager to work on things. There are organisations with a lot more authority/ services who need to have a regular relationship with groups. The strategic partnership needs to be reviewed so that it is not about waiting 3 months and relationships can be developed quickly. The local authority is resourced enough on intelligence - that is not well shared with the sector. The data gathered should be shared to enable their stats look real; there are leverages where things can happen.
CA: We would like to get info out to groups.
GO: We know the quarterly meetings will not do this and this will start the networking going and introduce relevant councillors. You can pick up relevant relationships after. Anything that is shared we will take with our quarterly forum. We have to balance the time where the council is talking.
LL: I know that community development works in every society. We have lost that for many reasons. We are here because we believe in community. Half of us are from Haringey Council or the Bridge team. I come from a time when it was full of street workers etc. People can leverage self- respect and we need to give this back to communities. We used to have models that didn’t need lots of money. Community and we need to see the ‘I’ in it and if the Council wants to trust communities, build these community hubs. This is strengthening communities, don’t keep shutting places.
SM: Re invigorating these meetings. There is a lot of information held on Bridge side and this must go out to the sector. There is a lot of resource and the VCS is being messaged at so we can message on. You are trying to put in place infrastructure with themed groups. I can’t make all those, but you need to make these more discursive. A whole part is dying. Work with the people who are engaging. Tap into your community asset here strongly.
GO: This is also what we would like to do and you make a good point. We try to put information we do hold in our weekly bulletin. Communication is occurring and people are feeding into agendas. When we get to the thematic forums.
LL: Should you have an open blog where people can contribute? You can only do so much.
GO: Yes. We will take this away.
Structured discussion re Adult Safeguarding
Q1
GKW: I do but my volunteers don’t and some of my staff don’t.
??: Agree
GO: Is there any support or help to raise more awareness?
GKW: The training that is on offer is really intensive and I need to know what is the expectation that volunteers can recognise and pass information on without the long course and within their comfort zone.
GO: Yes. In Hackney ‘train the trainer’ has been tried?
Agreed
TM: - if you send out information out in advance, people will have more time to think about it.
GO: we will do this.
Q2
Anger, frustration, lack of opportunities, feeling discriminated against, put down; then someone says this is the way.
LL: Lack of youth service
DM: The way our country is run is based on violence and competition. The social model of disability is a good analogy. People see wars being waged by the government and want to know why wars aren’t being waged about what they want. They need to look more at the social model of disadvantage, making the environment good, positive and friendly.
CA – completely agree with this. Need to go the step before prevent in how we educate young people, introduce ideas of diversity, dealing with broader issues of intolerance.
TM think about the private sector and how they communicate. You need to have a strategy for them as they have different cultures and use different messaging.
CA: Yes this is something we are working on, particularly on Hate crime, eg. with chicken shops etc.
Are we going to have a live blog? Is there a possibility about having an important debate about Haringey for people to have an open conversation and build the community of consent around prevent.
GO: we no wat the problems are and need to move this to the next level. We have done a mapping and will be emailing you in the next week or so inviting you to edit and email
8 / Close / Summary, next steps, urgent messages, and date of the next meeting
Geoffrey Ocen – Chief Executive, Bridge Renewal Trust

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