Transcript Slide 1
A Church and Faith Group Conversation in South Ayrshire Context Voluntary Action South Ayrshire (VASA) organised an event in February 2014 for faith community representatives. The event was simply to promote a conversation between the faith community and third sector and between members of faith communities in relation to supporting broader community regeneration. Over 70 delegates from a range of faith groups (mainly church) attended the session The event also allowed the acknowledgement of the very significant work that faith groups are already undertaking. John Walker – Chair of Ayr Ark chaired the event The event also allowed Irene Oldfather from the Alliance, to highlight the In Good Faith report developed through JIT and the Alliance. ALLIANCE Director Irene Oldfather was in attendance to share learning from research conducted in partnership with the Joint Improvement Team (JIT), looking at how faith communities across Scotland had taken action to foster and promote wellbeing across vulnerable groups using a community assets based approach. The “In Good Faith” publication highlights a wealth of activity being undertaken by faith groups across Scotland to promote connectedness and to reach out to their local communities, a role which they are often uniquely well placed to carry out due to their longevity and deep roots within their local area. Marie Oliver – CEO of VASA outlined the ways in which faith groups can and do make a difference... Local Activity – informal volunteering, services or targeted groups but often working in a silo PASSION, CONCERN TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE TO OUR COMMUNITY Reshaping care for Older People • Growing older population versus reduction in services and resources • Research – social isolation concerns • Prevention rather than cure • Self management and responsibility – Active, well aging • Day Care Review • Substantial and Critical needs • Moderate and Low needs • Day Hospital Review • Self Directed Support • Reduction in resources (not a blame game) • Changes in attitude and expectations Working Together One Solution to Social Isolation References PVG Checks Expenses Vision 10 x 10 One to one befriending Referrals Sign posting Emergency Contact Ongoing training Coordinator Support The Way Forward • • • • Lets find out who is doing what Lets see what gaps there are Lets work together for our community Not just about older people – what about those with learning disabilities / mental health? • Lets hope by the end of today we can see a way forward • Lets break isolation and poverty and make life worth living! What we have done to date... • We held a Fundraising Workshop on 2nd April in response to the feedback from the inaugural meeting of the church-faith group event. • This event was attended by 75 people. • There were 8 funders present at this workshop. • Feedback was positive with 96% of responses suggesting that the event was excellent or good and the content as being beneficial to their organisation. • We will commit to holding a further fundraising workshop in this financial year. What we have done to date... • We created and published our first service directory on 28th March this coincided with our Strictly Seniors day designed to bring older people of all faiths together. • This has been well received by the users and will be published twice yearly. • This will be constantly reviewed and services will be added when we are made aware their existence. A church and faith forum • We commit to creating a forum for the church and faith community to meet. • This forum will be designed to aid partnership working and peer support and also agree a shared vision for South Ayrshire • This financial year we will facilitate three forum meetings and develop working groups etc. very much demand lead Our other plans... • Our training calendar has been published including training needs identified by church and faith groups. • This training will include: – Basic Food Hygiene – Dementia Awareness – Basic Health & Safety – Volunteer Development – First Aid – Using Social Media – Leadership Carry out a mapping exercise to find out how's doing what and identify gaps Hold 2nd Church and Faith group conference spring 2015 Pauline Edmiston of the Transformation Team in Glasgow (linked to Faith in Community Scotland) provided an insight into the range of community based work (particularly linked to addressing poverty) that faith groups in Glasgow are involved in Tackling Sectarianism Together Tackling Poverty Together Pastor Ian Gall from Riverside Church in Ayr described the work his church undertakes under the ‘Care and Share’ project particularly with people who are homeless and, increasingly, people with addiction issues Poem from Care and Share user A - means always have a blether with friends B - being in a place of safety C - is companionship D - is drug free E - is for everybody I meet I can learn from F - food is good and varies G - God is present here H - is for honesty and being honest with myself I - is for me and the independence I gain each day J - is for the joy of being sober in a place of sobriety K - for the kindness I find in others L - is for laughter and the love I feel in Care and Share M - is meeting others and sharing my thoughts and dreams ~ Tony Asset Based Community Development The event provided an opportunity for Community Development Workers to share the Asset Based methodology being used in some communities in South Ayrshire. This gave the chance to explore how faith groups might learn from and support this broader community building work. ABCD in a Church and Faith Context Perceived barriers faced by Churches and Faith Groups •The “Lingo” – Buzzwords, acronyms, terminology •Personal Agendas – need to look at bigger picture – avoid preciousness •Lack of knowledge •Perceived suspicion around ‘Faith’ – hidden agenda •Helplessness – can only do so much •Parochialism – competition between churches •Highly aware of confidentiality, data protection issues •Churches don’t know what each other are doing •Trust – often churches don’t trust outside parties •Theological barriers – and comfort zones •Frustration due to antiquated procedures and legal red tape. Slow to get things done. •People tend to think churches are out of touch with society Thank you so much, I felt the day was put together very thoughtfully and well. Good table facilitating, I got more out of it than I thought. Good work – Thanks for this 100% want to be involved in Church and Faith Group Forum 87% very keen to be involved with a more shared vision I have learned a great deal about what goes on in South Ayrshire. Meeting people and learning from them has been valuable to me. Wonderful Day – so informative