As part of a wider package of funding to help charities tackle winter loneliness, the government have announced two new funds to help support community radio stations.
A total of £500,000 will be distributed via two existing radio funds: the Community Radio Fund (CRF) and the Audio Content Fund (ACF). The CRF will provide £200,000 emergency funding to help not-for-profit stations meet the core costs of continuing to provide their services, and the ACF will receive £300,000 to support the creation of content that will make listeners feel less lonely and connect the vulnerable with their communities this winter.
Community Radio Fund
The Community Radio Fund helps to fund the core costs of running Ofcom-licensed community radio stations.
Grants can only be made to community radio licensees in the UK, who are broadcasting under a community radio licence.
The window for applications closes at 5pm on 14 January 2021, with the awarding panel meeting in February 2021 to consider the applications.
The Audio Content Fund is a scheme to provide funding for the creation of original radio production in the UK.
The Fund is responsible for distributing a grant of up to £3 million which will be used by independent production companies to produce distinctive, public service radio content for broadcast on commercial and community radio. The fund aims to support programming that is traditionally more difficult to support on a commercial basis (such as documentaries, comedy, drama, events).
There are currently two funding rounds open:
Winter Loneliness Round – 18 January deadline (content must be broadcast by 31 March 2021)
Standard Round 6 – 25 January deadline (content must be broadcast within one year)
BHIB Charities Insurance have created a FREE ‘Community Centre Reopening Checklist’ and a ‘General Workplace Risk Assessment’ which we hope you will find useful. We have detailed them both below with links to download them for free.
COVID-19 – Community Centre Recovery/Reopening Health, Safety & Fire Checklist/Risk Assessment
This checklist aims to list some of the key issues that charities and voluntary organisations should consider prior to reopening their community centres. It should facilitate charities in reviewing your internal policies, risk assessments and safe systems of work to make sure they are still relevant, as well as ensure the charity has considered how staff and volunteers will return to work safely.
This generic Risk Assessment aims to support community centres to get their services back up and running. It is not likely to cover all scenarios and each charity and voluntary organisation should consider their own unique circumstances. Much more specific assessments may look quite different although many of the principles will still be relevant.
Research conducted by Third Sector shows that 90 per cent of respondents have taken on extra work as the sector tackles the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than nine out of 10 charity workers say they have felt stress, overwhelm or burnout over the past year, research conducted by Third Sector shows.
The survey of more than 350 charity workers also found that 90 per cent of respondents said they had taken on extra hours or more work during the period.
The survey found that 94.3 per cent, the majority of whom held managerial positions, said they had experienced stress, overwhelm or burnout over the past year.
Asked to identify the main causes of those feelings, 80.6 per cent identified the Covid-19 crisis, while almost two-thirds said it was poor work-life balance.
Funding concerns was identified as a reason for stress by 40 per cent of participants, while poor organisational culture was chosen by 38.4 per cent.
Slightly more than one-quarter said job insecurity was a cause of stress (respondents could choose more than one answer).
Responding to another question, almost three-quarters of participants said they had felt pressured to take on more work to achieve their organisation’s aims; 21.3 per said they had not.
The remainder answered “other” or said it was not applicable to them.
More than four-fifths of respondents said they were more likely to put themselves in situations that led to stress, burnout or feelings of mental exhaustion if their charity’s cause area or service users were going through a crisis.
While the majority of respondents said they were comfortable discussing stress, burnout or mental health concerns with their line manager, almost a third said they were uncomfortable with this.
The latest edition of Third Sector contains an in-depth article on the subject of mental health and wellbeing, which can be found here.
The leaders of almost 20 mental health organisations have said supporting the health of frontline workers, including those in the voluntary sector, “must be a national priority”.
In an open letter to people working in health, care and formal and informal education, the chief executives of charities including Mind, Samaritans, Rethink Mental Illness and Young Minds acknowledge the pressures faced by frontline workers in the UK.
“We are grateful for your courage, resilience and humanity in the face of ever-changing circumstances and relentlessly difficult choices,” the letter says.
“We also acknowledge the pressures on your mental and physical wellbeing. Supporting you must be a national priority over the coming months.”
It says that while the leaders of some organisations have prioritised the wellbeing of their staff, “this has not been a universal experience”.
It goes on to say that it is vital that excellent mental health support is available in all organisations, and it wants workers to be aware of the help that is available through a service called Our Frontline, which offers one-to-one support by call or text for all health, care, emergency, education and key workers.
“This is a heartfelt message of recognition and solidarity with you and your families,” the letter says.
“It is important to take the wellbeing of key workers seriously, both now and for a long time to come. We will work tirelessly to ensure your mental health is at the heart of the recovery.”
Our Frontline can be reached between 7am and 11pm on 0800 069 6222 for people in England, or 116 123 from anywhere else in the UK.
People can also text FRONTLINE to 85258 at any time.
This week’s episode of the Third Sector podcast looks at how charities can support their employees in the current circumstances.
In the latest weekly episode of the Third Sector Podcast, editor Emily Burt and features and analysis writer Rebecca Cooney look at what voluntary organisations can do to mitigate the impact of the third lockdown on their workers and volunteers.
While we might be relieved to see the back of 2020, realistically there’s still a long road ahead of us in battling the pandemic, especially as we settle into being in a national lockdown for the third time.
There has been confirmation that mental health staff are included as ‘frontline’ workers and will be in the first category of those receiving the covid-19 vaccine. The guidance from JCVI (Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation’s) explicitly highlights:
“Staff who have frequent face-to-face contact with patients and who are directly involved in patient care in either secondary or primary care, mental health, urgent or emergency care and community settings [should have priority access to the vaccine].
It is expected that Trusts will complete covid-19 vaccination of all frontline health and social care workers as quickly as possible. Trusts will focus on achieving maximum uptake, with the expectations to have made significant progress by the first week of February and to provide vaccinations 7 days a week.
By mid-January NHS Trusts (including acute, mental health, community and ambulance trusts) will be established as “hospital hubs” with a responsibility for COVID-19 vaccine delivery to all individuals within JCVI cohort 2b as set out in the updated Public Health England Green Book 2. JCVI recommend that within this group, you should give priority to frontline staff “at high risk of acquiring infection, at high individual risk of developing serious disease, or at risk of transmitting infection to multiple vulnerable persons or other staff in a healthcare environment”.
This includes but is not limited to:
• staff working on the vaccination programme
• staff who have frequent face-to-face contact with patients and who are directly involved in patient care in either secondary or primary care, mental health, urgent and emergency care and community settings
• those working in independent, voluntary and non-standard healthcare settings such as hospices, and community-based mental health or addiction services
• laboratory, pathology and mortuary staff
• those working for a sub-contracted provider of facilities services such as portering or cleaning
• temporary, locum or ‘bank’ staff, including those working in the COVID-19 vaccination programme, students, trainees and volunteers who are working with patients
• frontline social care workers directly working with vulnerable people who need care and support irrespective of where they work (for example in hospital, people’s own homes, day centres, or supported housing); or who they are employed by (for example local government, NHS, independent sector or third sector).
Look out for information from your local authority on when and where you can get your vaccine.
The Sanctuary is for people who are experiencing a mental health crisis but do not require hospital admission. We are open from 5pm – midnight, 365 days a year.
How to Access Support
Call 111, select option 2
Your needs will be assessed and could be that you are referred to the Sanctuary. You details will be forwarded to the sanctuary team and they will make contact with you as soon as possible. You will be provided with an empathic ear for you to talk freely.
You will be provided with information around coping strategies and how to access the help you need.
We can only accept people who have been referred into the service, there is no drop-in.
During lockdown we are offering mainly video and telephone support, however if this is not possible a visit to the sanctuary can be arranged.
Have you got a message you want to get out to the Essex Community? Do you have services that will help to support people in these difficult times? Look no further.
Simon at Essex Coronavirus Action will promote relevant and appropriate services through the ECA Facebook page. If you have anything you feel will be a benefit or any opportunities you may have. share them with Simon via email [email protected] and cc in Kirsty – [email protected].uk
Essex County Council are integrating a new trauma informed therapeutic training programme as a way of renewing their commitment to securing the best outcomes for children in care.
The training will be available to anyone who may come into contact with a child in care – giving them a ‘trauma lens’ to better understand their experiences and how they can support them. Essex County Council have adapted quickly to the challenges of Covid-19 with the training sessions being switched to online delivery.
The programme has been developed due to the overwhelming evidence that the outcomes for children who have suffered trauma are much better if they live with families and are parented in a trauma informed way.
Fostering can be transformational for children who have experienced a traumatic upbringing but it can be just as life changing for the foster carers themselves.
We are continuing to work with Anglian Water to distribute grants from between £5,000 and £20,000 to local projects which are having a positive impact on communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anglian Water operates at the heart of the community, and its employees live locally too, so they are committed to making this region a great place to live and work.
The pandemic has shown that community has never been more important, and that’s why Anglian Water created this Fund.
The funding programme is now open to receive applications from community organisations working in the Anglian Water supply area in Essex, that are supporting vulnerable, isolated and older people during this time.