START The Heart of Your Community Alister Shaw

START The Heart of Your Community Alister Shaw – CPRUK and Big Local rep April Ellis – START Coordinator for Westfield Big Local

CORE Principles of START – The Heart of Your Community People are the most important part of any community The best communities are created when people connect and work together, using what they have to support each other The best communities are ones where everyone is valued and knows they are valuable for who they are and how they can take part The best communities are where people know they belong, and there is a real sense of belonging The best communities welcome new people to make their community even stronger The best communities have a strong heart that keeps the community ALIVE!

START - The Heart of Westfield is a way of discovering the Skills, Talents, Abilities, Resources and Time that we already have as a community, and then connecting people so we can use what we've got to make our community the very best it can be for everyone who lives and works here.

START – ONE STEP AT A TIME Step 1 START Training – Learning the START approach based on experience from how it was successfully developed and used in other communities, then design and test a START approach suited to your context. Step 2 START Promoting – Launch a campaign to publicise and promote ‘START – The Heart of Westfield’ (E. g. Logo Competition, Poster Competition, Free Prize Draw introducing START, Leaflet Drop) Step 3 START Listening – (using START Conversation) One to one conversations with local people using the START questions to discover and note the SKILLS, TALENTS, ABILITIES, RESOURCES and TIME that individuals have, as well as their personal interests.

START – ONE STEP AT A TIME Step 4 START Recording – All the information collected must be stored in a secure and GDPR compliant START database, with strict rules as to how information can be accessed and used, and by whom, to connect Westfield Community. Step 5 START Westfield CAN (Community Action Network) – A group of local people (volunteer residents and front-line staff from local agencies) who together START Listening to other residents and support the process. Step 6 START Connecting – identifying opportunities to link up people of similar interests, and apply START assets to meet the needs of the local community

START – ONE STEP AT A TIME Step 7 START Time Banking – Putting a value on the time people give and offer rewards by way of a skills exchange. (E. g. Haircuts, Grass Cut, Gardening, Plumbing, Car Washing, Help with Shopping, Computer Support etc. ) Step 8 START Evaluating – Reviewing, Monitoring and Reporting the activities, impact and outcomes resulting from START - The Heart of Westfield Step 9 START Sharing – Networking and Learning locally, regionally and nationally to share the process, lessons and successes with other areas

The START Conversation is face to face and personal It covers a range of topics… Interests and Hobbies Helping in your community Paid work Experience Caring of Helping Friends / Neighbours and uncovers astounding results 517 Individuals helping/volunteering in community 1252 Hours spent PER WEEK helping in community Skilled Work 160 individuals acting as a carer Professional Qualifications 2616 hours spent PER WEEK being a carer Computer Use 794 of 980 post 16 and under use a mobile phone Business Owners Top 10 Interest across the community Driving Licence and Vehicle access Top 10 Ambitions across the community Aspirations Top 10 paid work experience Willingness to share your experience, Range of skilled and qualified individuals interests, belongings with others and so much more you wouldn’t expect

How can this information be used to START the Heart of our Communities? There are so many ways this approach can mobilise people to get involved and contribute to their community, but on their terms. Some examples… Ø Where’s ‘Woolly’ Wally (Tackling Isolation and Loneliness) Ø Community Garden (Environ. Mental Regeneration) Ø Rehousing Scheme Gas Plumber (Hand Up Support) Ø Community Fun Days themed on main community interests Ø Time Banking – community skills exchange Most importantly the START approach can be replicated and used in any community

Any questions or for more information feel free to contact Alister. Shaw@CPRuk. net +44 (0)77680008527 CPRUK – Giving Life Back to Your Community

What have you tried in your Big Local Area and how effective was it? 1) 2) FULL HALF-FULL EMPTY 3) Write on a post-it the name of your Big Local Area and how you have tried to get people actively involved in your community. Stick each one on the bottle you think most appropriate, depending how effective you think it has been in getting people involved. Talk to each other about what you would like to do differently?