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June 2013 |
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Hepatitis C |
Enterprise corner
LEFT: Phil Spalding. ABOVE: members of the Hep C Positive art therapy
group. MAIN GRAPHIC: Jamie Whittaker
and appeared to be hiding behind his scarf with just his eyes showing
beneath the brow of his woolly hat. He was a long-term drug user who,
apparently, had no real social life except his round of health and social care
appointments and a weekly card game in a pub.’ Grant was able to connect
with Spalding as a fellow drug user, and began his journey by asking him a
number of direct questions about the disease.
From being reluctant to join the group at first, he has connected with the
others, and is now confident enough to speak in front of them. After following his
course of treatment for hepatitis C, he is now clear of the virus, but he still
attends the group to offer support to those going through the same journey.
Hannah was another client whose involvement with the Hep C Positive
project helped her seek treatment. Diagnosed HIV positive at the age of 23,
she felt that she had no one she could talk to apart from her drugs worker,
who had referred her on to the group. At first she just sat in the circle and
cried, finding it difficult to explain how she was feeling or the pain she was
in, but in time she began to open up to others in the group and find the help
she needed.
‘Whilst she hasn’t been ready to confront some of her emotional issues
and most probably doesn’t fully understand them, our feelings are that as long
as she’s coming to us every Monday evening, it gives her a haven at least once
a week and keeps her safe for that time,’ says Spalding. ‘Whilst we have
opened the door for her, she’s the one that’s had to walk through it.’ Like Grant,
she also sought treatment and is working on her issues with the group’s help.
The future of the Hep C Positive project is bright, but Spalding is keen to
spread the work in Swindon further afield, and has been asked to look into
starting similar projects in other regions. 'The most consistent effort has to
be put into awareness and information,' he says. ‘I’d like to see more
referrals from people and areas that have yet to access the project,
encourage more people to come our group and continue raising awareness
wherever and whenever that may be.'
DDN
ENTERPRISE CORNER
OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS
, the TSBC team
and I, City of London Corporation staff and
high profile entrepreneur guests have all been
involved in the delivery of an inspiring self-
employment programme, which was 50 per
cent funded by our foundation. It has resulted
in eight new enterprises being formed and 15
City of London staff engaging in mentoring
and volunteering their time to the programme
– all of which has contributed to participating
adults already coming off benefits and creating
a job for themselves in a climate where jobs
are more difficult to find, particularly for those with convictions and other
barriers to employment.
The 20 residents (mainly female ex-offenders) from across Islington,
Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Camden and Westminster participated in this
programme, which was made up of ten weeks of core delivery and will end in
December 2013, following a year of mentoring and post-programme support.
The programme was unique and its success can also be attributed in
large part to the City of London staff from different departments, such as
housing, media and economic development, who were trained as mentors
and also co-delivered activities within the sessions.
On 14 May, the City of London Corporation, and its chief executive John
Barradell, hosted their annual employee volunteering reception, in which
charity partners and employees met up to celebrate and encourage
volunteering. During the event, he commended the work of TSBC and his
Economic Development Office as well as the corporation’s employees. As
part of their commitment to promoting corporate responsibility and
economic regeneration, the City of London Corporation gives all staff the
opportunity to take the two days (or equivalent) of volunteering leave
each year.
TSBC is calling on other local authorities to learn from this prime example
of employee engagement in the public sector, particularly those within
which it operates, including Islington, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Hounslow,
Barking and Dagenham, Newham, Haringey, and Melton Mowbray.
This programme showed the ‘tri-sector’ approach on the front line, with
real partnership working between entrepreneurs, public sector workers and
charities. In my February column, I wrote about how participants also
heard from award winning entrepreneurs like Seema Sharma – Channel 4’s
Slumdog Secret Millionaire
and local Tower Hamlets dentist.
Wendy Lunn, City of London Corporation’s employee volunteering
programme officer said, ‘The main focus of our programmes over the last
six months has been our flagship E=MC
2
programme. This programme has
involved 20 unemployed local residents taking part in workshops to help
boost their employability skills and to help those that wish to set up their
own business to develop their enterprise skills. The workshops engaged
more than 15 volunteers in sharing their expertise and helping the
participants to develop their skills.’
To enquire more about our work please contact me at
ceo@tsbccic.org.uk and follow me on Twitter @amarlodhia or @tsbclondon
– don’t forget to use the #tag DDNews when tweeting!
Amar Lodhia is chief executive of The Small Business Consultancy CIC (TSBC)
THREE-PRONGED
APPROACH
Partnership working
is showing promising results for London’s keen
entrepreneurs, says
Amar Lodhia