TOUCHPOINT
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Mission Statement
TOUCHPOINT – A community hub solution revisiting & reimagining our community assets, services and connections. TouchPoint has been established to facilitate and encourage enhanced use of important community assets, build connections and share our knowledge, skills and experience for the greater benefit of the entire Stansted community. Our objective is to facilitate an array of connected community services which address issues around mental health and wellbeing, social isolation, digital exclusion, employability and economic recovery, as well as financial stress and debt management. The TouchPoint model is collaborative and is driven by a recognition of the value and efficiency in working with specialist partners when appropriate while also harnessing the skills and experience that already exist in our community to build a self-sustaining, “best of breed” offering. Our aim is to facilitate community connectedness. Our core values are to be Inclusive, non-judgemental, tolerant and respectful to all. The measurement of impact, outcomes and community feedback is embedded in all our services and partner agreements.
About This Cause
Even before the pandemic Stansted was identified as having amongst the highest levels of social and economic deprivation in Uttlesford. Stansted moreover has a significant dependency on the airport and related businesses for employment, and an important number of our community also work in the retail, hospitality, and services sectors. We know that large numbers of our community have already either lost their jobs or have suffered extended periods of reduced income through the furlough scheme. For many the sudden economic impact of the pandemic was an unexpected shock. There’s little doubt that along with economic anxiety, financial crisis, and food insecurity the wider impact on our community is already being felt very deeply. Social isolation, loneliness, and mental health and wellbeing distress across the generations in our community have been exacerbated and brought into sharp focus during the lockdowns. We recognise that as a community we need to be more creative and thoughtful about how we work together to support each other and generate greater benefit from our assets. THE TOUCHPOINT COMMUNITY HUB Using the buildings of The Stansted Day Centre & Crafton Green House are creating a Community Hub peopled by partner service providers and volunteers whose purpose is to embrace and serve the needs of all in Stansted. At its heart, the Hub hosts the TouchPoint Café. ● This is a safe, non-judgmental and inclusive meeting and human connection space. The Café is situated in the Community Centre and links to the newly created outside community garden as well as the other meeting rooms and spaces which form the estate. Our hope is that the cafe will open at least five or six days a week between 8.30am and 5pm. The cafe will play a key role in driving engagement and signposting people to the Community Hub services. ● The cafe is open to all but actively encourages and support involvement with specific interest groups. This includes a Dementia Cafe, a Bereavement Café, a Singing For All Group and “Meet up Mondays” to address social isolation as well as offering opportunities to those who are experiencing barriers to employment. ● The TouchPoint Cafe offers a meal provision service to all in our community at a low cost. Tea and Coffee are served free of charge and guests who are on benefits or who are experiencing financial hardship are not charged for their food and drink. We are extremely keen to engage with a higher number of people for whom cost would otherwise be a barrier to engagement. The Touchpoint Hub Around the TouchPoint Café we offer a growing, blended suite of services, both linked to post-pandemic recovery and geared to longer term community wellbeing. Many of these services will be offered from Crafton Green House, sited adjacent to the Day Centre. ● An Employability Service. This service includes support with CV writing, access to digital resources, job seeker support, and interview preparation. We will also host workshops for re-training and re-skilling. The aim as much as possible is to work with partner organisations such as Further Education colleges and employer groups, including Stansted Airport and Stansted Business Forum. Our chosen partner for digital, enterprise and employability skills is iDEA (Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award, www.idea.org.uk). iDEA runs UCAS-accredited, free of charge training programmes that are designed by employers. It also runs courses for people of all ages and all skill levels from entry-level digital awareness to writing code for Artificial Intelligence. ● Access to broader digital resources and training. National figures on digital exclusion are staggering: the latest ONS (Office for National Statistics) data states that 10% of UK adults are non-internet users. This, coupled with adult literacy levels, means that significant barriers exist for those escaping economic and emotional deprivation. We see the Community Hub as an opportunity to support residents with digital training and task support such as form filling, managing Universal Credit applications, and understanding benefit entitlements. We also envisage creating a “Zoom Room”, an opportunity for the digitally excluded to book chat sessions with distant relatives and loved ones. We also intend to partner with CVSU on their “Digital Buddies” scheme. Access to a Citizens's Advice adviser through a dedicated videolink is also currently offered. ● A Debt Management Advisory Service. This would be done in partnership with highly respected and established FCA registered charity REACH (www.reachhaverhill.org.uk). This service would offer a higher level of "hand holding" than the CAB and in many cases will involve the charity negotiating directly with creditors. We also see a very important role for CAB and are pleased to see that they are likely to install a touch-screen booth on the Crafton Green Estate. ● Mental health and emotional wellbeing support. Mental health and emotional wellbeing across the generations has become a major issue. More than one in 12 (8.7%) children aged between five and 16 years in Uttlesford has a diagnosed mental health disorder, and the number of adults with dementia is expected to increase by 79% to 1,920 by 2030. The TouchPoint Café would actively promote and host activities and organisations that can offer support. LetsTalkStansted (http://www.stanstedmentalhealth.org) is a highly visible local mental health and wellbeing group. We have agreed to work as partners and will use the TouchPoint Community Hub for meetings, events and drop-ins. Mind West Essex have also expressed interest in using the Hub to run Suicide Prevention programmes. ● Uttlesford Foodbank opened their Stansted food storage and delivery centre in Crafton Green House late in 2020. Our plan is for the foodbank to remain on site. We work closely with the Foodbank and we are an accepted referral agency for them. ● Council For Voluntary Service Uttlesford (CVSU) www.cvsu.org.uk will use the TouchPoint Hub as a key point of service delivery for all of their community support offerings. The Peabody Trust and Age UK have also started using the Hub as a drop-in. The Community Garden The pandemic has highlighted the importance of outside space in protecting and promoting a sense of mental wellbeing. The green space behind the buildings and around the Crafton Green site will be used to create a community garden. This will be designed to offer a place of calm and relaxation to all in our community but with particular emphasis on the needs of those who don’t have access to their own outside space. There will also be opportunities for people to volunteer and get involved with the care of the garden. We are mindful that Covid restrictions and national guidelines about the use of public indoor space continues to be fluid and unpredictable. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a considerable number of people remain anxious about entering public buildings. We believe that a well thought out community garden space with “park bench” seating as well as “café” tables and chairs will play an important role in helping to address issues around confidence and social isolation. Our partnership with local charity "Human Roots "https://www.humanrootscommunity.org.uk/ is an important element in our proposed Community Fridge Project. We have also become FoodShare Partners with our local Co-op and the community team at our local Waitrose in a nearby town have expressed strong interest in sharing their end of day food waste with us. The services outlined here are those we have identified as being of immediate value to our community. We do not see this list as exhaustive and are determined to be inclusive. We will actively encourage and promote interest groups that are aimed to appeal across generations and meet the widest possible needs across our entire community. About TouchPoint TouchPoint exists to facilitate connected, inclusive and non-judgmental community engagement and support for all within Stansted. We see an opportunity to harness our outstanding community assets, spirit and shared understanding that we are at our best when we work together to support each other for the benefit of all. We are a growing group of local residents with backgrounds in commerce, finance, employment, social welfare, and community governance. As a group we also share considerable experience in the voluntary sector. We are registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. We are working closely with the Parish Council and are inviting contributions from groups and individuals across our community.