Walsall
Posted on Mon 30 January 2012
Lesson leaned in brief: with the right strategy, you can get groups that have been historically isolated to work together.
About
Fair Share Trust Walsall is a compact area called the Alumwell. Geographically it is about 45% of the Pleck ward and bordered by the M6 and other major routes. Whilst there are 4 schools (none has an active PTA) and the largest hospital in the area, there has been very little voluntary activity in the area.
Even after 8 years of concentrated effort through Fair Share Trust funding and support, getting people to ‘help themselves’ is still difficult and the few that do come forward do not have the experience or confidence to make things happen.
There are 3 religious organisations that have community based activities situated in Alumwell: 2 are Christian and one Muslim, and to date there has been very little contact between them. Yet, they all could offer facilities that would give sustainability and support to the community as a whole.
The Community Amenities Survey carried out by the Fair Share Trust Panel identified the potential each of these organisations could give the community and the appointment of an independent consultant with the remit to identify their needs and areas of co-operation has now resulted in the organisations working together for the benefit of the community as a whole.
After 8 years of being told by residents that they would not support organisations other than their own, the appointment of a dynamic consultant has within 3 months not only got them talking but considering positive joint working.
The real lesson learned from this exercise is in the selection of the consultant carrying out the work, the individual is a real ‘people person’ with a wide experience of life both inside the voluntary sector and in a commercial environment. The ability to listen to all parties before offering advice, solutions and ideas and being able and the patience to get people around the table has broken down barriers.
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