On Friday afternoon I met Cally Boardman, who since mid-December
has been working as the Local Area Co-ordinator in our area.
Cally is one of only two such co-ordinators in the county,
(the other is Imogen Sherwood who is based in Sudbury) and she is responsible
for a swathe of villages to the north of the town, including some in the
Cosford Division, including Cockfield, Lavenham, Monks Eleigh Thorpe Morieux,
and Preston. All the Waldingfield Ward villages are also included. I was
able to give Cally some contacts and ideas which I hope will help her in her new role.
Local Area Co-ordination is currently being run as a pilot in Suffolk,
although it is more developed elsewhere (information here.).
The programme aims to support people to improve their lives by making connections
with their local community. Although the
co-ordinators have links with, and can introduce people to, the usual agencies (social
workers, NHS, police etc) they are not affiliated with any formal particular
structure and the aim is not really to create new clients for them. Rather it is hoped to reduce demand on local
services by helping people to link with other residents and community
organisations.
An example of how the scheme works can be illustrated by the
lonely person who continually visits the Doctor’s surgery, even though they
have nothing medically wrong with them.
They go because they are lonely and seek human contact. In
other places where the scheme has been running such unnecessary visits to the
health centre have been significantly reduced.
A cynic might say that this is simply the county council
trying to deflect demand at a time of cuts.
Well, to some degree this might be the outcome, but surely it is better
both for individuals and for the community at large if people can achieve a
better life by connecting with their neighbours and supporting local
organisations.
In any event I look forward to seeing the results of Cally’s
efforts.
If you are aware of someone who needs support to connect
with the community, or are part of a community organisation that can help, Cally
can be reached at
No comments:
Post a Comment