INSIGHT REPORT: THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON BAME COMMUNITIES IN NORTH KIRKLEES

During the coronavirus pandemic, North Kirklees has suffered a very high number of deaths compared to the other areas of the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust. In some cases, two members of the same family have lost their lives to COVID-19, and the wider repercussions on physical and mental health have been numerous.

Between September and December 2020, People’s Voice Media, the Trust, and other local partners, with funding from NHS Charities Together, worked with a group of people from North Kirklees in order to gather stories of lived experience from affected BAME communities in the area, using the Community Reporting methodology. We trained these individuals as Community Reporters and, as part of this training, they have learned different storytelling techniques to enable them to share their own stories and capture stories from across their peer networks. Working with People’s Voice Media, they have curated these stories into a set of findings that we have laid out in an insight briefing which you can download below.

The report presents a picture of an area struggling under a disproportionate amount of bereavement and hardship where, as one storyteller puts it, “everyone is grieving at home on their own.”

COMMUNITY REPORTING IN ATHENS

Over the last three years, the People’s Voice Media team have been working on the CoSIE H2020 project. This piece of applied research has been exploring how public services across Europe and across different sectors can be co-created. There were pilot projects in Poland, Estonia, Spain, Hungary, The Netherlands, Italy, the UK, Sweden and Finland that ranged from setting-up entrepreneur hubs to enhancing personalisation in probation services and much more. As part of this work, we’ve been using Community Reporting and lived experience more generally to support the design, implementation and on-going evaluation of the pilots.

Following CoSIE’s nine pilot projects, the intention was to test out this learning in a test site in Athens. The Greek test site activities aim to use co-creation to enhance the engagement of individuals and families with low incomes, or who are unemployed, in a local allotment programme in Agios Dimitrios, a suburb of Athens. The gardens, launched in 2011, were designed to provide food for families/people involved, whilst at the same time enhancing environmental values, and reintroducing contact with nature in the city.

Over the last couple of months – and in-line with local restrictions -Community Reporting has been used within the community gardens to gain insight into the programme, spark dialogue between stakeholders, and allow reflection on the various different aspects of the programme. This has been delivered by our colleagues at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, who we first worked alongside as part of the INNOSI H2020 project a few years ago. Around 10 families have participated so far despite the difficulties the team have experienced due to COVID-19.

The stories they have told explore topics such as the benefits of growing their own produced and the ‘spirit’ of the allotment. The insights in the stories will be used to firstly drive the project forward and secondly look for key evaluation points and impact indicates.

We’ll be releasing the findings from these stories soon… so watch this space!

NEW PROJECT ALERT: MENTAL HEALTH SUSTAINABILITY

Both in Yorkshire and nationally we know that coronavirus has further exacerbated existing health inequalities. Local insight and work on earlier projects tells us the pandemic is having its greatest impact on more deprived and/or excluded communities in places such as Calderdale, Kirklees, Barnsley and Wakefield. Locally and nationally, there is also evidence to illustrate the disproportionate impact that coronavirus is having on our BAME communities. People’s Voice Media has already started some of this work thanks to community and charity funding in Calderdale and North Kirklees, but our new project, in partnership with Creative Minds and the Association of Mental Health Providers,  will target the most deprived areas in Barnsley Wakefield and South Kirklees.

The project, Mental Health Sustainability, is a focused piece of work to understand the specific needs of the people within these communities, to understand what health and wellbeing support is needed. The project will see us train a network of around 45 Community Reporters from those communities to gather the experiences of the people who live there, and their thoughts on creative activities which would support them.

From the experiences of communities we will then work with our partners to develop culturally sensitive creative projects to meet local needs.

Watch this space…

INSIGHT REPORT: COVID-19 AND HEALTH INEQUALITIES IN CALDERDALE

In Calderdale, coronavirus has further exacerbated existing health inequalities. Local insight and data has illustrated that a range of socio-economic factors that impact on people’s health and wellbeing have worsened during the pandemic. To understand these issues further, People’s Voice Media has been working with local organisations and people to use Community Reporting to gather people’s lived experiences of life during the pandemic and explore the impact of it on their wider health and wellbeing. 

Between September and December 2020, we have worked with a group of people from Central Halifax who are from the communities most affected by COVID-19, with a specific focus on engaging with different BAME communities in the area. We trained these individuals as Community Reporters and as part of this training, they have learned different storytelling techniques to enable them to share their own stories as audio and video recordings, and capture stories from across their peer networks. Working with People’s Voice Media, they have curated these stories into a core set of findings that are have been evidenced in an insight briefing. Key topics within the stories include systemic racism, faith and spirituality, outdoors and the environment, creativity, isolation, advocacy, support services, and the political and global impact. The insight briefing sets out the key findings derived from these stories and links this learning to a set of recommendations aimed at supporting the commissioning of health and wellbeing interventions for the area.

INSTITUTE OF COMMUNITY REPORTERS – ONLINE MEET-UP #3

Monday 8th March 2021 / 1pm to 2pm / Register here

Are you a Community Reporter, Social Licensee or a Partner? Join us for an online catch-up with other members of our UK and European network. We run 2 online catch-ups per year and they are a great way for members to keep up-to-date with what is happening in the Institute of Community Reporters (the ICR), learn new stuff and share expertise, find out about opportunities to get involved with, meet other members, network and much more.

It’s only an hour, so grab a brew and a biscuit, log on and find out what exciting stuff is happening across our network! 

1:00pm / Welcome and the ICR Update – Sarah Henderson (People’s Voice Media)

Find out the latest news from the ICR including previous and upcoming events and training opportunities for the network. 

1:15pm / Experiences of the pandemic within the BAME communities – South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (North Kirklees, Yorkshire)

Hear how Community Reporting was used by SWYP NHS Foundation Trust to better understand the experiences of BAME communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

1:30pm / The 3rd ICR Annual Conference – Sarah Henderson (People’s Voice Media)

We’ll be giving you all the details about our second conference in June 2021 and how you can be a part of it!

1:45pm / News, Opportunities and Questions from the ICR network 

Your chance to share what Community Reporting activities you’ve been up to, hear about any opportunities in the network and ask questions to the network or for help from other members.

2:00pm / End of Catch-Up and back to work! 😉 

*Save the date for the next ICR Online Catch-Up – Tuesday 21st September 2021, 2pm – 3pm (UK time)*