Blog piece by Jennie Cox, tentatively exploring whether the use of ‘mental health’ as a catch-all for the disruptions of human life may lead to problems which adversely impact on a person’s ability to navigate through the inevitable difficulties of living.

Jennie Cox (Senior Local Area Coordinator in York) and Christine Marmion (Project Manager of Ways to Wellbeing: the social prescribing service in the city) came together to address ‘the signposting question’ which they found their teams were frequently encountering.

Local Area Coordinators are on hand to help people build bridges between groups, identify funding, establish and sustain new groups, and support people to use their voice in order to co-design public services, as demonstrated by this example from the London Borough of Haringey.

In our recent report, ‘It’s Time for Local Area Coordination’, Neil Woodhead (Derby City Council’s Social Capital Development Manager) shared his insights from the last seven years of leading Local Area Coordination in Derby.  In this excerpt, Neil outlines the crucial role that relationships play in making Local Area Coordination work.

In this blog for co-production week, Nick Sinclair explores how Local Area Coordination is a great way to drive forward the principles of co-production, focusing on community involvement in the recruitment of Local Area Coordinators across our Network.

In March of this year, it was a real privilege to welcome a group of leaders from Singapore to visit some Local Area Coordination areas in Wales and England and to share both our learning, outcomes and contribution to reform of Local Area Coordination.

Nick talks about his job interview and the importance of language withing Local Area Coordination and Community Catalysts.

Nick and Sian explore NHS England’s commitment to the social prescribing model, as well as Community Catalysts hosting the Local Area Coordination Network, and other examples of collaborative working.

Nick, Director of the Local Area Coordination Network, tells Colin’s story which highlights the importance of exploring what someone’s vision for a good life is as a starting point for empowering change.

We have three ‘super stories’ to share about three ‘super people’ who have been connected to Local Area Coordination in the last year.

A Local Area Coordinator in York reflects on their experience seven weeks into their role.

29th June 2018 will always be a hugely significant date in the life of Community Catalysts, as it marks the day when we took responsibility for the Local Area Coordination Network and for the development and growth of Local Area Coordination in England and Wales.