Exciting new community enterprise project in Central Bedfordshire

6 April 2018 · Categories: Communities Care

Community Catalysts are excited to start a new partnership with Central Bedfordshire Council.

The ambition of the Council is for residents of Central Bedfordshire to live in their own home, enjoy good health, be safe, independent and play a full and active part in the community. The Care Act 2014 gives the Council a duty to improve the general health and wellbeing of local residents.  It also requires the Council to encourage the availability of not only a range of providers, but a variety of different service options so that people are able to exercise real choice when selecting the service/s they wish to use.

Older couple laughingTo help realise this vision Community Catalysts is working with the Council and other local partners on the Central Bedfordshire Community Micro-enterprise Project which runs from January 2018 for 2 years. The project takes learning from Community Catalysts’ highly successful project in Somerset and aims to work with local people who want to develop small enterprises and ventures offering highly personal homecare to older and disabled people in their area.

Micro providers in working at a neighbourhood level will be better placed to directly negotiate a response to the social care needs of local people, drawing on their knowledge of the neighbourhood and local community to optimise delivery of care and support.

Work will start in the Ivel Valley where increasing the number and range of homecare options available to local people is seen as real priority. Enterprises in other parts of Central Bedfordshire that fit well with local priorities can also be supported.

As well as helping people to set up new enterprises Community Catalysts will also be able to advise small groups and organisations already established in Central Bedfordshire and looking to diversify or extend what they offer.

We will try hard to build on things that already work well and to value and nurture people, groups and organisations with strong local knowledge and expertise. The project aims to capture learning and actively use this to affect local system and culture change – working hard to improve the way that health and care works for everyone in the county.

I am delighted to welcome Community Catalysts to Central Bedfordshire and look forward to the impact the neighbourhood-based services they develop will make in supporting the more vulnerable members of our communities. – Julie Ogley, Director of Social Care, Housing and Health

For more information contact local lead Alistair Bucknall alistair.bucknall@communitycatalysts.co.uk

 

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