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Exciting new community micro-enterprise project in Kent

22 February 2022 · Categories: Communities Care

Community Catalysts is working with the County Council and other local partners on the Kent community micro-enterprise project which runs from February 2022 for just over 2 years.

Community Catalysts will build on local peoples strengths, supporting them to start up their own community micro-enterprises that help older and disabled people in the area.  Never more than now have people needed opportunities to generate their own income and deliver the much-needed support in our communities.  We look to help local people unleash their creativity and passion to support more people in the community.

The project aims to work with local people who want to develop small enterprises and ventures offering a wide range of help and support for older and disabled people at home and in the community.

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 Kent and looking to diversify or extend what they offer – helping local people to help other local people.

We are very excited to be working with Community Catalysts as part of our ‘Making a difference every day’ approach in Kent. Along with people we support, our staff and partner organisations, we want to develop new and innovative ways that help people in Kent to lead a full life – living in the places they call home and within their communities as long as possible, with greater choice about how, where and when they receive care and support.

Helen Gillivan Senior Accountable Officer ‘Making a difference every day’ Adult Social Care

To help realise this vision, we will work across Kent through 4 locally employed “Catalysts”  to increase the number and range of community micro-enterprises that look to support older and disabled people.  We will also work with existing businesses that wish to diversify and provide help and support in the community.

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 in partnership to improve the way that health and care works for people in Kent.

Recruitment for the Catalysts is taking place over February and March. Please see here for details of the positions. For further information please contact Helen Allen on 07912842552 or helen.allen@communitycatalysts.co.uk

The way we work will enable us to really understand what people want and need to remain independent. Our social work teams and Community Catalysts are working together to share this essential information so that our residents can directly shape the care and support services available to them in their communities. We also see this as an exciting opportunity to grow the social care workforce and increase economic activity and resilience across Kent.

Our aim is to build on conversations with our community leaders and organisations, identify shared opportunities and develop communities that are resilient and well-placed to support the people living in them.

Helen Gillivan Senior Accountable Officer ‘Making a difference every day’ Adult Social Care

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