History

HEALTHY LIVING NETWORK INTRODUCTION

The Manor & Castle Healthy Living Network has brought together an exciting partnership of diverse agencies and community organisations that have excellent records of working alongside local people from the disadvantaged communities of Manor & Castle wards in South East Sheffield.

The organisations ( known as partners ) have come together with the common aim to enpower the communities to improve their social, physical, environmental and emotional health.

The objectives will enpower local people to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to make informed choices, access local resources and take action for themselves on their concerns and interests so local solutions to local problems.

The dynamic range of projects offered within the Healthy Living Network offer local people a range of educational options, for example, the creation of local traineeships, structured and accredited voluntary schemes, peer education and mentoring, short courses, work experience, access to further education, advice and information services and group work.

The Healthy Living Network has created a pool of local knowledge and skills around key issues such as healthy eating and nutritional advice, services for elderly people, access to affordable healthy food, services to drug users, better access to community transport, services and support for young people, access to benefits and support for people who suffer from low level mental illness.

The wards of Manor & Castle are areas of high deprivation and unemployment with a population of 26000. The Healthy Living Network aims to improve the health and well being of the people and raise their expectations to a higher level.

RESEARCH

Research on the project was carried out in Sheffield between June 1998 & February 1999.

Four local people in the Manor & Castle area were recruited to carry out a community consultation. Initially they completed an intensive two week community research training course.

This course covered : principles of community research, appropriate research methods, questionnaire design, effective interview techniques, discussion of findings and their significance.

Following completion of the training, the knowledge, skills and understanding gained were successfully put into practice in the Manor & Castle area.

THE CONSULTATION PROCESS

People were contacted and consulted in three ways :

1. At meetings of their group or organisation.
    
2. Informally, in the street, outside shops, waiting to collect children outside school.
    
3. Through questionnaires left at over 70 sites in the area.
    
   • Just over 700 people were involved in the consultation.
   • 318 were school pupils and 385 were adults.
   • 10% of those who took part were members of ethnic minority communities.

Four key questions were asked :

1. What affects your health?
    
2. How can you improve your health?
    
3. How could you benefit from a Healthy Living Centre?
    
4. Where should a Healthy Living Centre be located?

The findings of this research were as follows (with the most popular reason shown first):

What affects your health?

• Air pollution
• Smoking
• Stress / depression
• Poor diet
• Disability
• Drugs / alcohol
• Unemployment / lack of money
• Illness
• Poor physical environment
• Lack of exercise / overweight
• Poor housing
• Social life / relationships
• Poor working conditions

How can you improve your health?

• More exercise
• Healthy eating
• Cleaner / safer environment
• Stop smoking / with support
• Less stress / rest and relaxation
• Job and / or more money
• Socialising / involved in activities
• Lose weight
• Advice / support groups
• Better medical services & advice
• Better housing conditions
• Support for less drink and drugs
• Develop healthier lifestyle.

How could you benefit from a Healthy Living Centre?

• Counselling, support and advice
• Exercise and sport
• Social activities
• Educational activities (informal and fun)
• Help to develop improved diet ( and how to cook it )
• Healthy living education
• Support to stop smoking, drinking, drug taking
• Child care & children’s activities
• Better access to medical services
• Rest and relaxation
• Help to lose weight
• Community transport
• Job seeking support

RESULTS

Following the findings it was identified that :

1. The Manor & Castle area is large and that local people wanted the Centre activity focus to be very local.
    
2. Transportation links across the area were poor.
    
3.  There were a significant number of groups and organisations in the area, the HLC should build on and bring resources to support the existing work.
    
4. Also a number of existing local buildings with spare capacity.
    
5. Therefore any initiative should be a NETWORK OF ACTIVITY instead of a single centre.

THE KEY FEATURES OF THE MODEL FOR THE HEALTHY LIVING NETWORK

From all the information obtained in the research local people felt that the Healthy Living Network should cover the following :

1. ‘Good health’ to be seen in its widest sense.
    
2. The Network to be designed and managed by people living and working in the area.
    
3. The Network to value, build on and support existing facilities, organisations and groups within the community.
    
4. The Network to be flexible and have the capacity to respond to any need for change.
    
5. Designed to be sustainable.
    
6. To encourage partnership working and networking.
    
7. Encourage local training and employment for local people.
    
8. Help local people to take responsibility for making a positive impact.
    
9. Tackling health inequalities.
    
10. To develop a neighbourhood network of organisations and services that will address the health needs of local people.
     
11. To establish a team of local health development workers.
     
12. To improve access to health-related activities and services.
     
13. To provide local training and employment opportunities.
     
14. To raise awareness of health issues by developing partnerships with local people and other local organisations.

TIMETABLE

MARCH 2001
It was decided that 13 local organisations would prepare individual business plans detailing their funding requirements. These were submitted under Manor & Castle Healthy Living Network to the New Opportunities Fund funded by the Lottery.

SEPTEMBER 2001
Following this a second submission was made to the New Opportunities Fund incorporating a revised bid.

AUGUST 2002
The revised bid was successful in receiving funding but was subject to a number of conditions mainly involving revised finances, business plans and work plans.

APRIL 2003
The Manor & Castle Healthy Living Network was launched on Friday 4 April 2003 at St Aidans Church. A presentation was made by Richard Caborn (Member of Parliament and Sports Minister).