Community enabling project (NToW13)
Background
Community Health International, a not for profit organisation in Somerset, hosted a one year pilot scheme to evaluate the success of the role of a community enabler.
Aims/Objectives
The aim of the project was to pilot the role of community enabler. This role bridged the gap between social care and health care allowing staff to work in a creative and person-centred way to promote self-management and community integration in people with long-term health conditions.
What happened?
Community enablers received a diverse training programme including:
- Health and safety, including risk assessment
- Time management
- Communication and presentation skills
- Healthy walks leadership
- The effects of medication
- Sensory awareness and mental health awareness
A list of competencies has been produced to build on this.
The project team engaged with people in a combination of one-to-one support sessions, group work, a café-style club and by working with other community organisations. Running alongside a parallel time-banking project, people were able to build a vibrant community that offered peer support and opportunities to reach out to others. Attendees included older people, people with mild learning difficulties, people with physical disabilities and people with mental health problems. Members of the local community also had the opportunity to attend and share their skills and time with others.
Outcomes
Although it was not possible to secure continued funding for the pilot, it still provided valuable lessons as a successful model of the community enabling role.
The café-style clubs in particular proved to be a cost-effective and successful way to provide a service and the café concept and community enabling role were later adopted by an integrated health centre in Devon. People using services went on to set up their own café club employing a former community enabler to support them in running it.
Impact on workforce development and how you can use the learning
- The combination of the community enabling project and the time banking scheme seemed to be key to the success of the scheme. Time banking enabled people to support each other in accessing community and leisure facilities, preventing reliance on workers.
- It was important that the scheme was focused outwards, both in enabling people to benefit from their natural surroundings and supporting them to connect with their community.
- The community enablers were encouraged to think creatively about the services that they could provide and respond to the needs of people. Regular meetings were used as a forum to foster this approach. The resulting flexibility encouraged staff to use the full range of their skills and prevented a 'one size fits all' service.
- During the course of the pilot a number of gaps were identified in local services and some needs could not be met by existing community resources. These include services for older adults who have memory problems and are unable to engage with statutory services, but lack appropriate support in daily living.
Additional material
NToW13 - competences for the role of cafe support worker
NToW13 - competences for role of community enabler
NToW13 - Competences for the role of community enabling assessor
NToW13 - Interview with the project manager
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