Rainbow Services are looking to recruit another enthusiastic member of
staff into our Community Builder Team. Working to reduce loneliness and
social isolation, this post will have a particular focus on people living with,
and carers of people living with Dementia.
We are looking for someone that has a passion for supporting people and
increasing dementia friendly, social activity.
The Essex Map is a FREE tool designed to bring our communities closer together by helping you to find the services, groups and activities available in your area.
It was created to promote the work of organisations and individuals who work hard to make our communities better, rather than just looking to make a profit.
To add your FREE listing on to The Essex Map please register here.
Already listed on The Essex Map
If your organisation is already listed on The Essex Map, please ensure the information on your listing is kept up to date.
You can do this by logging into your account OR if you see your organisation is currently listed you can ‘claim’ this listing as your own.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed life for everyone in the UK, but older people are amongst the hardest hit. Despite the challenges they are facing, organisations working with older people have been keeping vital services running, providing advice, support, opportunities, and practical help.
Since May 2020, we have made 277 grants totalling just over £3.3 million across five rounds of funding, supporting many different communities of older people and a wide range of work.
Find out more on how we’ve helped charities rebuild services for people in later life and the difference our grants have made to three organisations, here.
To apply for this position please download and complete the three-part application form at the bottom of this page and send it to hr@mindinwestessex.org.uk by the closing date of 10th August 2021. Interviews week commencing 16th August 2021
The key feature of our Suicide Awareness Hub is a free two part course that has two aims:
Prevent suicides
Give anyone the confidence and skills to be able to have supportive conversations with people who may be feeling suicidal, to know what to say (and what to avoid) and to help the person get the right support for them.
Generally we rarely talk about suicide, it’s often only when we hear about or know someone who has died do we talk about it. This lasts all too briefly and then the topic usually goes quiet.
There are some understandable worries people have about talking to someone who may be feeling suicidal that stop them having open conversations. Worries such as “If I ask them if they are feeling suicidal, that will put the idea into their minds, they will go and make an attempt and it’ll be my fault” (this isn’t true, if someone says yes, they will have been thinking about it before and you are not responsible for their actions) or “If I ask them and they say they are feeling suicidal I won’t know what to do next” (you will after attending our course).
Community360 is celebrating after taking delivery of a new community minibus. They have been helped to continue to operate a safe and responsive community transport service thanks to extra funding from the Essex County Council Covid Response
Fund.
Essex County Council has received funding from the Department of Health and Social Care to support the increased demand on voluntary and community sector services during the pandemic. £44,000 has been awarded to Community360 to fund
a new minibus as well as to help develop its valuable transport service to the community.
Tracy Rudling, CEO at Community360 said: “This vital funding support will enable us to continue to offer enhanced Community Transport services for our beneficiaries. So many people in our community struggle to get to places through lack of
accessible transport, this new minibus will have a huge impact on what we can offer
and will greatly enhance our ability to provide services for those disadvantaged in our area.” She added: “Voluntary and Community Services really stepped up during the pandemic to provide support to communities. We helped people to stay connected and provided first line, self-organised community support to those in need.
We also provided transport to Clinically Extremely Vulnerable people to vaccination appointments in Colchester and Maldon. Moving forward we want to continue and improve our transport offering and this crucial funding will really help us to do that.”
“We are very pleased to have been able to support Commuity360 with funding for a replacement van and other necessary equipment.” Said, Cllr McKinlay, Deputy Leader of ECC and Cabinet Member for Community, Equality, Partnership and
Performance. She added: “They have done a fantastic job, which has included providing transport to those who are particularly vulnerable and need to be more isolated when travelling. We are very grateful to the staff and volunteers for the valuable service
they provide.”
As well as offering help with shopping trips and medical appointments, their social excursions for Community Transport members will also now recommence to encourage people to re-engage socially, helping to combat loneliness. With more minibuses on the road, to help with social distancing, staff and volunteer drivers have also been issued with recognisable uniforms to increase passenger assurance and to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. C360 have also launched a new recruitment campaign and looking for volunteer transport drivers.
“Unfortunately, many of our drivers stepped down during the pandemic for various reasons, and some have returned to work from being furloughed.” Said Tracy. “Our volunteers play such an important role in being able to offer this service. Therefore, if you are considering volunteering or have some spare time, please come forward. It will be rewarding, fulfilling and give you a real sense of purpose.”
For more information on volunteering contact: https://www.community360.org.uk/services/volunteering/
Charities and councils have long worked together to provide local communities with the services they need to flourish. When communities were facing the worst of the pandemic, local organisations were able to mobilise to achieve better outcomes for the people who needed the most help. As the recovery process continues, it will be of paramount importance for the charity sector and local authorities to realise the true potential of working together to deliver public services such as health, social care and education.
A new fund for organisations at imminent risk of failure to support them until the end of the year, particular those who have not received Culture Recovery funding previously.
Who can apply: Organisations who were financially sustainable before Covid-19 but are now at imminent risk of failure and have exhausted all other options for increasing their resilience.
What you can apply for: Between £25,000 and £3 million (£1 million for for-profit organisations)
Key dates: Applications are subject to permission to apply being granted. Permission to apply requests will be accepted from 8 July 2021.
Application Open Date: 12pm (midday), 12 July 2021.
The latest we can accept a permission to apply request is 12pm (midday) on 30 Septemeber 2021.
Application Deadline: 12pm (midday), 14 October 2021.
In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)1 set out the impact of global temperature rise of 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels.
The report warns of increasingly extreme weather events with rising sea levels and melting glaciers; wildlife becoming threatened and at risk of extinction and our own health deteriorating; food becoming scarce and clean water running dry; tensions rising between people and increasing migration and environmental refugees as people flee inhospitable parts of the Earth.
(In order to complete this survey you must be 18+ and a parent/carer living within Essex).
Essex County Council is looking at how to improve support for working families who are just about managing and are feeling the pressures of juggling work and home life on a limited budget.
We know the pandemic has impacted on household finances for some, and we have already done research with families in Essex to better understand their experiences. We are now developing several ideas and initiatives which we think could be useful for working families.
One of these ideas is to help families save money on household costs. Household costs includes things like utility bills, TV/broadband, food shopping, clothing, travel and other costs related to the home and family.