September LWN Meeting – Hillside Clubhouse – 13/09/22
After a summer break, the third Local Wellbeing Network meeting in the North locality took place on Tuesday 13th September, hosted by lovely member Catherine Pymar, Executive Director at Hillside Clubhouse (N7 9GJ). A sincere thank you for welcoming us and a warm welcome back to all attendees. As usual, here is a write-up of the meeting including the details of all attendees, a brief summary of what was discussed and an update section for members to broadcast their latest events, offers and updates in the area.
The Local Wellbeing Network Coordinator, Charlton, welcomed attendees and offered a brief contextual summary of the Network project for new members and asked previous attendees to summarise their experience of the meetings. Fiona from Totally Flawed mentioned how by attending, she was able to interact with other community stakeholders in the North and raise awareness of her newly formed CIC, focusing on mental health and creative therapies. After this introduction, the group went round and introduced themselves, their organisation and their motivation for attending the network meeting. Details of this can be found below.
After the round of introductions, Network Coordinator from Octopus Communities, Tsigereda, took the group through an online Network Mapping Tool which can be used by all Islington-based services to highlight their organisational offer and connect with other services on a locality level and borough-wide. Users create their own profile after submitting information via the survey and can manage this in real-time, updating as and when required. Crucially, users can then connect with all the partner organisations they interact and collaborate with. More importantly still if a practitioner is sitting with a particular service user, they can go onto the map in real-time and see all of the service provisions applicable and available for that service user immediately and gain access to their contact information then and there. Tsigereda described the many advantages to this digital connectivity and invited all attendees to start using the map and submit their information. She welcomed any and all feedback on its usability and performance and asked for members to comment on any potential improvements or adjustments.
After a networking break, the group were joined by Imogen Resnick, part of the Fairness & Equality team at Islington Council. She came to describe the findings from the recent borough-wide survey which engaged over 1600 residents on their experience of inequalities. These findings have been consolidated into a presentation which you can access and dissect here: VCS Workshop Slides.
Before the end, the Local Wellbeing Network Coordinator reminded the group of the two main objectives for the future of the network:
1. Tangible Action (how to translate this energy and commitment into tangible outcomes for North locality residents)
2. The Sustainability of the Network (how to retain members, drive momentum and harness the insight and experience of attendees to keep the project running successfully)
These two points will form the initial underlying basis of the network meetings and will be critical questions for members to ask themselves and answer once the formation and introductions have taken place. This will be the topic of October’s meeting; the details of which will be released soon.
MEMBER UPDATES:
EcoCounts
‘Cost of Living & CO2 Workshop’ on 26th September at the Islington Climate Centre, on the first floor of the Angel Central shopping centre, next to Wagamama, Angel Central, 21 Parkfield Street, London N1 0PS. EcoCounts are hosting the workshop which will run 7-9PM as part of the Great Big Green Week and in the middle of the cost of living crisis, along with Think and Do, offering an introductory workshop on reducing your climate impact and saving on your bills. Find out more here: https://ecocounts.community/workshop-at-islington-climate-centre-with-climateers/
Healthwatch Islington
Monday 10th October, 11:30 – 12:30 – we are hosting an event on Childhood Immunisations. We will be joined by a specialist childhood vaccinations nurse from the Whittington and there will be time for questions. Those interested can register for the event here.
Monday 17th of October from 2 to 3.30pm we are hosting an online Digital Workshop looking at energy saving tips and advice. This session will be led by the Clarion Digital Skills Team who provide advice and guidance on a range of actions you can take to help you save money on your energy bills. You can register for this event here.
If you would like any additional information or support, please contact Local Wellbeing Networks Coordinator, Charlton at charlton.brown@vai.org.uk
