Why would you want to work as an Engagement Officer as part of our vibrant Community Hub team? Here’s why….
· To truly make a difference to people’s lives
· To use your listening skills and empathetic nature to respond to individuals needs
· To feel like you belong to a forward thinking company with passion
· You want a job with real purpose
This role is based in Colchester and the main duties include; providing assistance to visitors to access information and activities to support their health & wellbeing, liaise with external organisations who may wish to hire our rooms, lead and assist with the planning and implementation of events, use databases to record and report on outcomes as well as recruiting, inducting and supervising volunteers (this list is not exhaustive).
You will build relationships with those you come into contact with and listen to how we can best support their needs.
You will bring:
· A passion for helping people
· Experience of working with people with complex needs (we would welcome candidates with a mental health working background)
· A “can do” attitude
· Strong communication skills
· Empathy and emotional resilience
· Ability to work in a team environment
· Flexibility with working hours and location
· Proven knowledge of IT systems/databases
This role would suit someone who has the resilience to deal with complex and sometimes challenging situations.
What you can expect:
· A base in Colchester but there needs to be flexibility
· 28 days holiday (including bank holidays)
· An extra day’s holiday for your birthday (after passing probation)
· Five extra days holiday (pro-rata) after five years’ service
· Up to three days volunteering per year (after passing probation)
· Development opportunities
· Full training and a robust induction
· Staff Buddy Scheme
· Social and Wellbeing programme
Benefits
28 days holiday (pro rata for part time) including bank holidays
Extra day off for your birthday (after passing probation)
Five extra days holiday (pro-rata) after five years’ service
Up to three days volunteering per year (after passing probation)
Development opportunities
Staff Buddy Scheme
Social and Wellbeing programme
Notes
Please upload your CV and a covering letter to the BreatheHR portal. Your covering letter must evidence specific essential criteria from the Person Specification. You can view the full Job Description and Person Specification on our vacancies page on our website for further information.
You will not be considered if a covering letter with the evidence requested is not provided.
Please note we cannot provide feedback on unsuccessful applications.
All county residents, including those with disabilities, their families and those who care for them, are asked to give their views on Essex County Council’s future Disability Strategy.
It is important people living with disabilities, their families and carers, and all residents of the county can feed into the development of the Disability Strategy.
A consultation on the future Disability Strategy has now been launched and your views can be given online here.
The consultation will last for 12 weeks, closing on Thursday 23 February.
Cllr John Spence, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, said: “The aim of this strategy is to be clear about our ambitions, and outline a set of commitments to the citizens of Essex who have a disability, that aligns with our aspiration for everyone to live a meaningful life.
“That means we need to know what is important to you so we can work in collaboration with partners to help you achieve it.”
“Your views are important to us. We would like to hear from you to make sure we have correctly understood the opportunities and challenges you face.”
The government has introduced a £150 Council Tax rebate. If you live in an eligible property and you pay your council tax by direct debit, your local council will generally make the payment directly to your bank account. Payments started in April 2022. If you live in an eligible property and you do not pay your council tax by direct debit, contact your local council.
You could be eligible for a Council Tax Reduction if you’re on a low income or claim benefits. You can apply if you own your home, rent, are unemployed or working.
If you are facing hardship, you can get help with your essential household costs. You can also get advice and support from Citizens Advice and other voluntary and community organisations.
Essex Highways have put together a list of money saving tips for travelling around Essex on public transport. This includes park and ride discounts, concessionary bus passes and saver bus tickets.
As the leading local mental health charity, Mid and North East Essex Mind understands what is needed when it comes to providing mental health training. Our goal is to provide local businesses, community groups and charitable organisations with the knowledge they need to better support employees facing mental health challenges and how to best manage these in the workplace.
Courses we offer:
Mental Health Awareness Training
Managing Mental Heath in the Workplace Training
Suicide Awareness Training
For prices and to discuss your training requirements please call 01206 764600 or email [email protected].
The Community Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces Fund is a small local grants programme funded by Essex County Council and is being delivered on their behalf by the Essex Association of Local Councils.
The £100,000 fund is for grants of up to £1,000 to support the provision of Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces and activities for local communities in Essex. These can be the creation of new spaces and activities or to support existing ones.
This fund excludes projects that deliver their work outside the administrative area of Essex County Council (Thurrock and Southend). The Community Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces Fund is administered by the EALC on behalf of Essex County Council.
Fund Priorities
For the purposes of this fund, Winter Warmth and Welcome Spaces are to be warm, free to access to all, safe and supportive spaces that Essex residents can visit during the winter.
They offer somewhere to:
Keep warm
Look after your physical and mental health
Get access to activities, support and advice
Projects should be delivered and all funds spent by 31 March 2023.
Successful applicants must work with Essex County Council to ensure that their project is connected into the local cost-of-living offers of support being developed in their areas to enable project beneficiaries to have greater awareness and access to support available to them. This will include agreement to sharing their contact details with relevant third parties such as District Councils, health partners and other public sector bodies to facilitate this.
Who can apply?
Registered charities
Unincorporated clubs or associations and small community groups
Community interest companies
Parish and Town Councils (Please note that Parish and Town Councils MUST provide a minimum of 50% matched funding contribution of the total project cost. If a Parish or Town Council is unable to provide a minimum of 50% contribution then they must clearly state any exceptional circumstances for the Panel to consider)
How to apply?
Please read through the guidance notes carefully for the scheme’s eligibility and criteria details.
Applications will be assessed on a weekly rolling basis until the funding is allocated so please submit at your earliest convenience as the grants will be allocated on a first come first served basis
You will then be informed whether your application for funding has been successful or not.
Successful applicants can re-apply for funding once they can demonstrate that their grant has been spent, that there is additional need and demand for the project and can demonstrate the benefits of their project using the evaluation template. This is contingent upon funding still being available in the fund at the time of re-applying.
The Essex Association wish to formally thank Essex County Council for the support provided to the EALC, Parish & Town Councils, villages and communities across Essex.
If you would like to apply for a BBC Radio 4 or BBC One Lifeline Appeal, please email the BBC Charity Appeals Unit telling us:
Name of your charity
Your Charity Registration number (you must be registered with the UK Charity Commission to be eligible)
Name of charity contact (email + phone no.) i.e. the person who is going to fill out the application form
These applications are assessed by external assessor and by the BBC’s Appeals Advisory Committee. It takes around a year to complete the process of having a broadcast appeal.
Deadlines for submitting an application
Application Deadline
Transmission Dates
5 December 2022 by 23.59
5 Nov 2023 – 28 Jan 2024
6 March 2023 by 23.59
4 Feb 2024 – 28 Apr 2024
15 May 2023 by 23.59
5 May 2024 – 28 July 2024
4 September 2023 by 23.59
4 Aug 2024 – 27 Oct 2024
The Appeals Advisory Committee meets quarterly to discuss and approve applications. You should be informed of their decision approximately 3 months after the application deadline. Please note you mustmeet the criteria in order to be eligible for an appeal.
Do you meet the criteria?
You are a UK charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
3 years have passed since you had a BBC broadcast appeal
Your work has UK-wide or international scope and/or significance
You can provide two sets of audited or independently examined accounts
You have up to date management accounts within a 3 month period
You have waited 2 years since your last unsuccessful application
Following on from the decision by the Charity Commission to change the threshold for charities needing audited accounts from £500,000 to £1 million, we have reviewed and changed the criteria so charities with independently examined accounts are now eligible.
As of 22 September 2015, all applications for BBC broadcast appeals are required to submit a completed 18 month cashflow. A template and example cashflow documents can be downloaded below:
Restoration or repair of buildings, new building or extension work
Religious organisations that are seeking to proselytise or whose beneficiaries are of a particular faith
Fund or charities which exist to maintain or establish physical memorials
Benefits provided by trade or professional organisations’ benevolent fund which are unavailable to the general public
Activities where donations would replace funding or services normally provided by central government and local authorities
Local charities that operate within limited geographical areas
Charities that are members of the Disasters Emergency Committee
Can the BBC donate merchandise or prizes for a charity auction?
The BBC receives many requests for raffle and auction prizes from a range of good causes. Unfortunately we are unable to help as it would be difficult for us to favour one charitable cause over another and would bring into question fair trading.
With increased domestic fuel costs and unprecedented volatility in the energy market, people on low incomes, including pensioners, people with disabilities and families, face profound challenges keeping their homes warm, dry and conducive to health.
As a frontline worker, you may feel powerless to respond. Still, the need to respond is greater than ever, especially because, as more people move into “fuel poverty”, the number of those who are most profoundly fuel-poor also increases. Government policy and individual action should, in the face of overwhelming need, respond to those worst affected.
Nudging the people you help, towards making changes in how they use energy, engaging in opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of their homes AND making sure they can access the high-quality, intensive energy advice the Citizens Advice service in Essex offers are all ways of responding to these needs.
Our services seek to tackle some of the underlying causes of fuel poverty – not just “hard to heat” homes but also low incomes, issues with benefits and debt.
In this FREE, 90 minute course, delivered by Citizens Advice energy experts, you’ll learn:
What is fuel poverty
What are the causes and effects
Who is most vulnerable
Practical steps your service user can take
Grants and schemes available to improve energy efficiency
The vital role income maximisation plays and how we help including a run down of government support measures
Other ways Citizens Advice can help and how to refer
The role of emerging voluntary and public sector responses such as “Warm Spaces.”
CHARITIES in north and mid Essex are being encouraged to apply for a lifeline grant which could see them secure essential funding.
The Saffron Building Society has officially launched its Saffron Community Fund in partnership with the Essex Community Foundation.
The initiative is designed to help small non-profit organisations in the county survive the cost-of-living crisis, which is resulting in less donations to charities.
Successful applicants could receive hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds from the building society, which has branches in Colchester and Halstead.
The grants are accessible to charities, community projects and volunteer groups, with each application being considered individually to ensure funding is fairly distributed.
Claire Hunnable, community business partner, said: “Our fund is an essential source of funding for the smaller charities and community groups around our branches.
“Every year we are amazed by the diversity of the applications and are always delighted to be introduced to groups we may never normally have been aware of.
“I also have the pleasure of meeting the people behind the projects and to see the amazing work that is happening all around our communities.
“We are pleased to say applications are officially open, but you must be quick as the deadline for the first entries for 2023 close on December 9.”
To find out more information visit saffronbs.co.uk.
Thank you for your interest in this project. If you are reading this information sheet it means you have been invited to participate in the joint Mind in West Essex and Essex Partnership University Trust diversity inclusion project targeting 18-25 year olds. Before you decide whether to take part, please read the following information carefully. You may email the researchers if you have any questions or would like more information, contact details are provided at the end of this document.
Purpose of the research
Everyone should have an equal opportunity at accessing mental health services when needed, yet many people continue to face significant barriers with accessing support. By engaging with diverse and marginalised groups in West Essex and understanding their personal experiences, it is hoped that this survey will inform, educate and bring awareness about the barriers people face when accessing mental health services.
Can I take part?
To take part in this survey you need to
Be aged between 18-25,
Live in the West Essex area,
Have an experience or understanding of mental health difficulties,
Self- identify as part of a marginalised group (this might be related to ethnicity, gender, sexuality)
Do I have to take part?
Participation is voluntary so it is up to you to decide if you would like to complete the survey. If you agree to participate, we will then ask you to sign a consent form. If you later decide that you no longer wish to participate, you may withdraw at any time without giving a reason and with no consequences.
These grants are aimed at local groups and not-for-profit organisations who share our vision for place shaping and creating positive futures.
We will support schemes which develop new ways to reach and include Saffron Tenants and the wider community.
We are looking for schemes and projects which will:
encourage community engagement and cohesion
promote and enable training and education-based activity
reduce social isolation in all age groups
promote Saffron community rooms
increase engagement in activities with underrepresented groups
We will prioritise schemes and projects which
make the most of existing provision
include those who are hard to reach
encourager new participants and address social isolation
address gaps in local provision
make the best use of other local services, partnerships and networks
enhance life chances
If you have any suggestions or projects for the Foundation, our Grant Window for 2022 is now open and we can begin to consider application from our communities. The deadline for applications to reach us is the 31st August 2022. You can email the below application form back to us at [email protected]