Communities for Work: Case Study
Communities for Work (CfW) is a Welsh Government partnership Programme, between the Local Authority and Department for Work and Pensions, supported by the European Social Fund, to deliver employment support services in all 52 Communities First Clusters in Wales.
Here is Mr F's story on how Communities for Work has helped him:
Mr F has had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol for over ten years and this hugely affected many areas of his life, including housing, mental health and he had involvement with the police. Over the past twelve months Mr F has been placed in supported accommodation due to his positive engagement with services and has been receiving tenancy support, support for his alcohol use and attended counselling and his quality of life has improved immensely.
Mr F felt ready for further support therefore North Wales Police referred him to Communities for Work in Working Denbighshire, for one to one mentoring support to source training and volunteering opportunities to lead him closer to the labour market. Mr F was allocated an Employment Mentor and they have met on a regular basis to discuss Mr F’s current skill set and how they can be developed. Mr F used to be a tree surgeon for many years and he has many creative skills, he enjoys sketching and creating items from wood. Mr F’s aspirations for the future were discussed with his mentor and he would like to gain employment where he can be outdoors. Mr F has previously worked for many years and he has been clear that he would love to be able to gain employment again in the future. Mr F does not feel ready for employment at this present time due to still concentrating on living a healthier lifestyle, and improving his mental health. Therefore an action plan was developed to increase Mr F’s skills and experiences.
Mr F wanted to increase his IT skills as he felt behind in the technology based world so he was supported to attend the initial sessions of an IT course by his mentor as he was apprehensive. Since then Mr F has attended every week and has now completed a number of modules and is returning to the course in September to continue his learning. Mr F has stated he has “enjoyed this course a lot more than what he thought he would.” Other courses were identified for Mr F, to increase his skills for practical outdoor employment, such as Emergency First Aid in the Workplace, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health and he is waiting to attend Health and Safety in a Construction Environment course which enables him to take an assessment to gain a CSCS card. An outdoor volunteering opportunity was also sourced for Mr F. Denbighshire Countryside Services have a Nature for Health volunteering programme where they encourage citizens to get outdoors and volunteer in their local area to complete various tasks such as conservation and bench building. Mr F is now attending this regularly and has upped this from one day to two days due to the level of enjoyment he is getting out of it. This volunteering will increase Mr F’s confidence and social skills being in a group and also his practical skills.
In summary since Mr F has engaged with Communities for Work, he has attended numerous training courses and is volunteering regularly, so is continually improving his skills, getting him ready for sustainable employment again. Mr F’s involvement with the police has decreased dramatically which shows the positive progress Mr F has made. Mr F is feeling very optimistic about his progress and he is enjoying the fact his weeks are becoming busier with positive activities to increase his skills and improve his mental health. The mentoring with the Employment Mentor will continue and Mr F’s action plan will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure he continues to progress towards his future goal of employment.
Mr F said: “Since having support from Communities for Work I have attended many courses and I have been volunteering. They have helped me a lot and I am glad I engaged with the project.”
If you need any further information please contact Cerian Phoenix, Adult Employment Mentor, Communities for Work, Working Denbighshire via e-mail cerian.phoenix@denbighshire.gov.uk or 01824 706491.
Working in Partnership with Communities and Job Centre Plus
ADTRAC Denbighshire: Food and Mood Wellbeing Day
The Denbighshire ADTARC team and project participants took part in a food and mood wellbeing day as part of mental health awareness week earlier this year.
For mental health awareness week, they decided to deliver a food and mood wellbeing day based in the environment at the Hwb in Denbigh. This was to address issues that had arisen such as negative body image, not eating due to the cost of food, unhealthy diets and low mood. Five participants attended and they began by discussing how a healthy diet can positively impact on your mental health, and provided fact sheets to go along with this. They then went for a walk up to Denbigh Castle and completed a mindfulness session in the sun on a bank outside the castle.
Everyone gained a lot of new information on healthy eating and that you can still eat healthily on a budget.
The group then returned to the Hwb where they had the opportunity to taste healthy alternative snacks and cooked chicken fajitas. In addition to the dietary information and mindfulness, friendships were made and moods an optimism were lifted.
Everyone left with a goodie bag of food, factsheets (including a cost comparison sheet and menu/food diary notebook) and a reusable water bottle.
