Healthy Living in Kent making a difference - Gravesham Borough ...

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ForewordI am very pleased to have been asked to write the foreword to thisdocument and to be able to demonstrate publicly my gratitude andsupport for the work undertaken by my colleagues working inHealthy Living Centres across Kent.We know that the circumstances in which people live are a major influence ontheir health and well-being; many health inequalities are the result of povertyand deprivation and poorer people are more likely to die earlier and suffer moreill health and chronic disease. It is increasingly important that we continue toengage with all of our local communities to deliver meaningful initiatives toassist in reducing health inequalities.Healthy Living Centres, together with community resource centres and a widerange of other community development initiatives, offer us the opportunity toensure that our public health goals continue to be delivered in partnership withcolleagues from all statutory and voluntary agencies. Crucially, it also ensuresthat local communities are actively engaged in the process of healthregeneration within their local areas.You will be able to see from this publication the enormous diversity of workundertaken with people of all ages. This work might be in relation to sexualhealth and teenage pregnancy, smoking and alcohol or physical activity andnutrition. There are also a huge number of initiatives designed to contribute tothe mental and physical well-being of local people through reducing thenegative effect of some of the wider social determinants of health.Healthy Living Centres are a key element in delivering our public healthpriorities across the county and continue to demonstrate the rewards ofpartnership working.Meradin Peachey, Director of Public Health for KentWorking with CommunitiesThe Healthy Living Centres and other community projects featured in this brochureencourage people to live well. They are flexible and responsive to community needs; theystrengthen and support local residents by providing non-stigmatising activities and servicesin a safe, non-judgemental environment; they are accessible to everyone regardless of age,status, race, beliefs or abilities.They aim to:■■■■■increase participation and cohesion;build up trust within communities;help combat crime by facilitating family support and diversionary activities for young people;provide opportunities for training and learning;improve access to health and other public services.Good health and well-being are encouraged via healthy eating and healthy lifestyle choices,and also by building confidence through:■■■■■volunteering opportunities;learning basic IT and literacy skills;tackling debt issues;improving life skills;bereavement support, and■ help in relationships or joining a community group.Resources are often focused on lone and youngparents, low income families and people experiencingexclusion or educational disadvantage.Centres provide a wide variety of community supportinformation and advice, working in partnership withCitizens Advice Bureaux, Job Centre Plus, PoliceCommunity Support Officers and local councillorsurgeries. Drop-ins for sexual health advice(including free condoms/emergencycontraception and chlamydia screening), DIAL,MINK, CAB, KCA, Carers Voice, Special NeedsAdvice/Activities Service and Gingerbreadare also run.

Centres also offer a valuable space for local networks and supportgroups to host events including:■■■■■■■■■Opportunities for older people;After school and homework clubs; parent and toddler sessions;Health Visitor/baby clinics;Parenting classes;Junior and senior youth clubs;Drop-in sessions for young unemployed people;Education and training;Keep-fit, relaxation and self-defence classes;Free computer/internet drop-in sessions for all ages and abilities.■ Diabetes, stroke and mental health support groupsThere are also summer family fun days andevents, coach trips, parties, discos, barbecues,summer play schemes and outings.The centres contribute to lasting changes to the lives ofresidents, helping them overcome the problems that oftenprevent them from enjoying healthy lifestyles and playing a fullpart in economic, social and community activities, and bygenerally improving their quality of life.Teenage PregnancyTeenage pregnancy continues to hit the headlines both nationally and locally. In Kent there are 28 wardsacross the county with a teenage pregnancy rate of more than 75 per 1,000 teenage girls. The centresacross Kent run regular 4YP (For Young People) clinics staffed by trained nurses in partnership with localPrimary Care Trusts (PCTs). The young people that use these services have access to advice on emergencycontraception, condoms, ongoing contraceptive advice and referrals for termination and other sexualhealth services (where appropriate). Holding these clinics in the Centres has proved invaluable for SchoolNurses who have found that young people are often more willing to come for advice in these moreconfidential community settings than they are in school where they risk being seen.The service is supported by trained centre staff who are also able to give out condoms on the days whenthe clinics are not running. There are strong links between this work and the role of youth workers,secondary schools and youth clubs. This has led to an increase in the numbers attending 4YP clinics.The centres are also working with teenage parents in their areas. Work with YoungMen and Dads is also seen as a key part of the Kent Teenage Pregnancy strategy.And so the centres across Kent are working hard to start up “Dads”groupsin partnership with other local agencies.The centres also play an active role in the Kent wide TeenagePregnancy Local Implementation Groups (LIGs). Thisensures that the centres are stakeholders in the KentTeenage Pregnancy strategy as well as being able tofeed their community perspectivesinto the LIGs.4 Healthy Living in Kent making a difference5

Food, diet and nutritionAll the centres’programmes in Kent focus on food: either through their community cafes or specificcommunity cooking programmes dealing with nutrition, diet and exercise. These initiatives come in manyforms and include comprehensive programmes designed to educate and change attitudes to food.Food plays an important part in our lives. Although people say that they know what they should be eating,they often lack the skills and confidence to take raw materials and turn them into food. This is why almostall of the projects featured here spend a lot of their time organising and encouraging participation incommunity cooking activities. Apart from the social aspects of this, the real benefits come as participantsexperiment with new foods and begin to make changes to their diets.All the centres have some form of café. Some of them are run as a social enterprise, othersare separate from the programme that hosts them and are run as independent businesses.Some of the centres have taken the extra step and support projects that are actuallygrowing food which is then used in the community cooking initiatives. In this way the ideaof where food comes from can be included. Young people especially have a growingawareness of the concept of “food miles”. Some of them have taken the idea of growingfood in their schools and there are now fledgling growing projects in many schoolsthroughout Kent.Getting people interested in what they eat, how it gets to theirtables and what it tastes like when they eat it, is a sure-fireway of getting people to alter their diet to include healthieroptions; even those who find food difficult start to developan interest and enthusiasm for healthy eating.ExerciseThe government is keen to ensure that all children take at least five hoursphysical activity a week in school. Adults are also encouraged to take atleast half an hour’s meaningful activity on a minimum of five consecutivedays. Encouraging people to take more exercise and physical activityfeatures in the centres’programmes.The centres’programmes have activities for a range of age groups.Some focus on young people, others have programmes specificallytargeted at older people. All of the programmes acknowledge theimportance of sustaining the interest of the participants in thelong term.The sorts of programmes on offer include:■■■■■WalkingGardeningGym activitiesDanceFootball and other sports such as swimming, and■ Opportunities to learn new games, try out new activities andmake new friends in the process.The key to all these activities is that the participants enjoy what theyare doing, realise how it has changed their lives and continue to takepart. Providing such a variety of opportunities to people increaseslevels of personal physical activity, reduces or helps to maintainweight and has beneficial effects on mental health and personalwell-being.Many of the healthy living programmes also include theprovision of nutrition, diet and lifestyle advice.6 Healthy Living in Kent making a difference7

Mental health and well-beingAlmost everything the centres do has a positive impact on mental health and well-being. Some ofour initiatives aim to help individuals cope better with their problems. The centres provide affordable,accessible counselling services for people living in deprived communities, including an active listeningservice for young people. This service is staffed by qualified counsellors who offer intensive one-toonesupport.Other initiatives aim to provide a safe place for people to meet and support others in a similar situation.The centres provide facilities for a very diverse range of support groups including mental health groups,young parents groups and ethnic minority family groups. These groups often support people at criticalmoments in their lives, helping individuals to cope with stressful situations and giving information aboutother help available.The centres also use community development techniques to increase the ability of people in ourcommunities to take action on priorities defined as important by the communities themselves. This workhas a direct bearing on the mental health of those taking part. People also get involved in communityactivities such as theatre groups, cinemas, community transport and volunteering. Participants reportbetter mental health. Some centres also provide training services to help professionals identify earlysigns of mental health problems and offer appropriate support.Learning and employmentThe centres support people who find it difficult to access traditionaleducational provision, as well as helping those seeking work. Our approachis to provide a safe learning environment which focuses on the whole person.The IT courses and internet cafes are very popular. People are offered a gentleintroduction to IT, often delivered by voluntary organisations such as 1stByte. The drop-in sessions andinternet cafes give people a chance to develop their skills at their own pace. Some people are interested inthis without any specific vocational aim. Silver Surfer courses give people aged over 50 the chance to findout about email, internet shopping, family history websites and other interesting topics.As well as IT courses, the centres provide learning opportunities which give people a chance to enjoynon-vocational learning. Courses offered include: carpentry, craft design, DJ, music and dance workshops.Once people are hooked on learning they often want to move on to accredited vocational courses. Linkswith local colleges mean that people can be helped to progress to other courses when they are ready.The centres’approach with job seekers is to offer customised support to help them to develop new skillsand build confidence. Considerable success has been demonstrated with men aged over 40, womenreturning to the labour market, and those needing additional support with mental health needs.Working with Lunchtakers, a social enterprise, the centres work intensively on issues such as preparinga CV and providing work placements to build confidence. A significant number of people have movedinto both paid employment and voluntary work.8 Healthy Living in Kent making a difference9

SmokingThe centres are working in partnership with NHS services across Kent to develop some excellent smokingcessation initiatives. The centres are able to link their users with the work that Health Promotion does andare able to provide a ready cohort, saving time, money and resources that would otherwise need to bespent on identifying appropriate candidates.Smoking cessation drop-ins are run on a weekly basis often with a sessional worker being shared acrosstwo or more centres. Forging close links with local GP surgeries has also contributed to the high numbersof people who have accessed these services through the centres. The centres have also been able toexpand their provision to include a nicotine replacement prescription service. One to one support isavailable, as well as broader information on how to quit smoking.One centre has employed a specialist smoking cessation worker since 2006, with a remit to developspecific initiatives through existing community contacts. This serves to further increase the numbersattending courses or engaging in smoking cessation therapy. This has included working with localbusinesses to engage with smokers in the workplace and to tailor smoking cessation interventionsfor them.Evidence from courses run so far shows thatinterventions run in the centres have excellent quitrates compared to courses run in other settings.The Faversham Community Caféand Resource CentreFaversham Community Café and Resource Centre opened in May 2002 following an award from theNew Opportunities Fund. The Cafe is ideally located in Faversham Town Centre and is well supportedby the local community.The community is represented on the centre’s management committee and there are many activevolunteers who support it and help with its running. One of the café’s key successes is the way it works withorganisations such as Canterbury College, Family Welfare Association, Swale Council for Voluntary Services,Swale Borough Council, and Amicus-Horizon Housing Association to ensure that services are delivered thatmeet local needs.The café provides a range of healthy drinks and snacks, both to people taking part in activities within theCentre and also to people who drop-in. It is staffed by volunteers and is a space for people to come andmeet, and for them to obtain advice and guidance. Many organisations use the Café as a venue to deliverservices and meet their clients. The centre also has a well supported IT training room.The Café is also involved in a wide range of community activities including a local after school club andplayschemes during the school holidays.For more information, please telephone 01795 590089.10 Healthy Living in Kent making a difference11

The GR@ND, GravesendThe GR@ND opened in May 2002 after an award from the New Opportunities Fund in 2001. The GR@ND isboth somewhere where things happen in the centre of Gravesend and a base for our work in thecommunity. The health regeneration partnership that funds and guides the programme is Health ActionGravesham. This is a multi-agency collaboration which since 1997 has worked to improve the health andwell-being of the people of Gravesham.At the GR@ND we provide a weekly young people’s contraception clinic staffed by nurses from West KentPrimary Care Trust, weekly Active Listening sessions for young people as well as advice, guidance andsupport sessions from youth workers. We also have a café, free internet access to those who are unwaged, aCV updating service in partnership with Job Centre Plus and we frequently run Back to Work courses.Much of the work we do happens away from the centre where we focus on a number ofhealth-related topics:■■■■exercise for young and old;community cooking;food production;exercise diet and nutrition sessions for eight-14 year olds;■ information on drugs, alcohol and smoking cessation,including one-to-one advice.We also provide diversionary activities for young peopleand link in with the Charlton Athletic CommunityProgramme, the Kent Teenage Pregnancy Partnershipand the Dartford and Gravesham Domestic AbuseForum. We see in excess of 18,000 people each year,and we only count people once: return visits arecalculated separately.For more information pleasego to our website:www.thegrand.org.ukPark Wood Plus Healthy LivingCentre, MaidstoneThe origin of the Park Wood Plus project goes back to 1993, when a multi-agency alliance was first set upby health visitors in Park Wood to improve general health and well-being. In 2002 this group put together asuccessful bid to the New Opportunities Fund and the Park Wood Plus Healthy Living Centre opened itsdoors in July 2003.Situated in a Maidstone community of about 4,500 residents, the centre hasalways aimed to create a safe and healthy environment for everyone to enjoy.It provides a focal point for community development activities and is anaccessible resource centre for the people of Park Wood and beyond.The community is actively involved in the planning, delivery and evaluationof the services and activities that the centre provides and there is residentrepresentation on the board of trustees.The centre has over 36,000 visits and serves 11,000 meals a year in its community café which is staffedlargely by volunteers. Within the centre there are regular drop-ins run by:■■■■■Maidstone Housing TrustCitizens’Advice BureauJob Centre PlusThe “Shepway Flyers”mental health support groupThe “Sugar-Free”Diabetes support group■ The Kenwood Trust Drug and Alcohol Abuse Support SchemeThe centre also offers a free counselling service, free computer classes, free open access internet and freecookery courses.Healthy eating courses, exercise courses and play schemes are regularly run in other community venues.For more information please call the centre on: 01622 691177 or visit our website at:www.parkwoodplus.org.uk12Healthy Living in Kent making a difference13

Sevenoaks Healthy Lifestyles ProjectSevenoaks District is generally regarded as a prosperous area, but this perception can mask poverty,vulnerability, rural isolation and consequent social exclusion. In 2000, the Sevenoaks Healthy LifestylesProject was set up initially in Swanley,funded by the Big Lottery Fun, to improve the lives of residents and topromote healthier living. Since then, ongoing partnership working between Sevenoaks District Council,Sencio Community Leisure, West Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT), town and parish councils West Kent PrimaryCare Trust and the voluntary sector has ensured that effective community services have continued to bedelivered in the local area. This has included targeted work with young people, older people, people withmental health problems and young parents; and initiatives such as:■■■■Outreach lifestyle advice sessionsDance projects for both young and oldHealth walksTooth-brushing projects for pre-school children■ Silver surfer computer coursesEvaluations have shown that more than 4000 residents have directlybenefited from initiatives as part of the project in Swanley and Edenbridge(part funded by West Kent PCT) in the last three years. The project hasalso encouraged at least 700 people per year to take more exercise.The successful Sevenoaks Healthy Lifestyles Project continues to developinto other rural areas where work is also needed to reduce healthinequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of residents.This project continues to play a vital role in the shared visionof the council’s Sustainable CommunityAction Plan, “Making It Happen Together.”For more information please contactthe Community Development Team on 01732227000 or visit our website at:www.sevenoaks.gov.ukSheppey MattersSheppey Matters is a local health charity responsible for Sheppey Healthy Living Centre (Sheppey HLC) anda range of outreach projects. Sheppey Matters was set up in 1995 by local residents concerned about poorhealth on the Isle of Sheppey. The group grew in confidence and in 2001 was awarded a grant from theNew Opportunities Fund to transform an existing leisure centre into a healthy living centre with a GPsurgery and a range of multi-purpose rooms. Sheppey HLC opened its doors in February 2003.We deliver a very wide range of services in partnership with the community with annual attendance of15,000 people. Each week there are more than 30 different activities on offer, including the services youwould expect to see in a leisure centre, such as gym workouts and dance classes .We also offer supportgroups, counselling services, youth projects, sexual health clinics, activities for older people and parentingclasses.Local partners increasingly turn to Sheppey Matters to deliver projects on their behalf. When SwaleBorough Council needed a partner to develop a new cinema in Sheerness, they knew we would involvelocal people, access funds and deliver the project on time and on budget. Screen on Sheppey - our newcommunity cinema – started in November 2006 and is proving to be a big attraction. We were also askedto develop Sheppey Wheels – a new minibus project – which addresses poor transport on the eastern endof Sheppey. This project started in October 2006 and already has more than 130 individual members takingpart in various trips.For more information please telephone 01795 583547 or visit our website: www.sheppeyhlc.org.uk14 Healthy Living in Kent making a difference15