Shropshire: Working Together Group - Growing a network of support through a community café and social enterprise

Summary

Working Together is a registered charity which was started by a group of parents and carers of children with learning disabilities in Ludow, Shropshire. They started the organisation in 2002 in order to increase leisure, training and employment opportunities for their children in this rural area. The group runs a community café in Ludlow, as a focus for the activities.

However, the group has a long-term vision too – which they call Flying Tortoises. The eventual aim is to create permanent housing, work and social solutions. Members, parents and carers devised a plan to cater for all the needs they identified, by developing an ‘eco care’ community. Thanks to Shropshire Council they have just completed a detailed feasibility study on the proposed community. The next step is to reshape themselves so harness the necessary skills, capabilities and resources to make their dream become a reality. The plan is to ask anyone who can, to contribute time, energy, funds or skills so that they can all play a part in building the community.

Achievements so far – the café and new opportunities

At the beginning it was felt that a community café providing a base in the centre of Ludlow would be a good place to start, and it has been really successful. The café is well-used and has become a big asset to the local community. It is staffed by a mixture of volunteers and paid staff including local residents and learning disabled group members. For those who work there it provides a valuable work opportunity and social interaction but for the wider community it contributes to the retail and economic activity of the area as well as being a lovely place to go an have a cup of tea.

The café was only the start – the group wanted to increase opportunities in the wider community too, so they started working with other local people and organisations to achieve that. They now run jointly with the Youth Service a Tuesday evening youth club at the local youth centre, cooking sessions at the café, a weekly craft session, and regular Sports and fitness sessions. The week starts with a T’ai Chi session at the local Community Resouces centre, first thing on Monday morning. They have support from other voluntary/community organisations, the local authority, the Mayor and county councillors, and the local MP, local citizen supporters, the Rotary Club and other charitable bodies, and small grant-giving trusts. Working Together’s part-time paid worker, Richard Geuter, describes the organisation’s success in building a ‘barn-raising’ element among the local community, a support network of goodwill that is mutually beneficial.

One of their achievements has been to get an accessible sports and fitness session started at LudlowCollege. In return for using the facilities, the group provides volunteering opportunities for A’level students at the fitness session. Many of the students do far more than the 10 hours that they are required to do as part of their course - a mark of its success in building bridges in the Ludow community.

As a registered charity, the running costs of the café, office base and activities are low – approximately £48,000 in 2009. This was obtained through a mixture of small pots of grants funding, and profit from the café itself.

The longer-term

The group’s plan to develop some land and build an ‘eco care community’ is a long-term aim. They called themselves the Flying Tortoises to reflect the Chinese view that tortoises are sacred because of their innate wisdom and protective instinct and also as a reminder that the ‘slow and steady’ tortoise wins the race. They know that it isn’t going to happen overnight as it needs to develop from modest beginnings. They believe that it is achievable in manageable stages but will require appropriate help at every stage.

They commissioned a feasibility study which identified the space required and the costs, which are over £7 million. The development would be a mixture of housing units and possibly holiday homes, that would enable the learning disabled members to become more independent while staying in close proximity to their existing families and support networks.

It was considered from the start that the new community could only be successful if it was perceived by all as a real asset to the locality in which it was situated. This meant having to consider thoroughly how such a community could bring benefits to all.

Impact

Richard Geuter says, ‘If we were to close, the lives of our core members would be a lot poorer in terms of meaningful things to do, work and social opportunities. They would have fewer friends, and miss their roles, the self-esteem and identity that most of them have acquired through their regular contact with all people involved and our range of activities. They do feel valued and appreciated and have a true sense of belonging. Working Together is centred around them, their needs and their wishes. The new community will build on this.’

Barriers to success

Working together has identified the following barriers that they believe are common to many small agencies:

  • meeting all legal requirements and administrativeneeds
  • running our organisation and café with few staff or financial resources
  • too little time and energy to devote to development
  • need for core financial assistance.

They also have other constraints:

  • They have been going for 10 years and many of the helpers are getting older or have support needs themselves
  • Earning potential for the café is constrained by the people who run it – mostly volunteers and learning disabled helpers – not professional staff. This has a bearing on the rate at which they can develop.
  • Local people have shown a great willingness to help but the organisation needs skills that could make a real difference such as legal, business, and administrative skills
  • Personalities and differences in people’s views and expectations, and changes to support systems.

Evidence and evaluation

They evaluate their core services on a regular basis through the meetings of trustees, members’ groups and various sub-groups. The consensus is that the café is labour intensive and takes up much time and resources and prevents them from developing the bigger picture at a faster rate. On the other hand it provides excellent work and social opportunities for members. They need more resources in order to gather up more ’barn raisers’, individuals and organisations and maintain the momentum.

Contact details

Richard Geuter, Working Together

Telephone: 01584 874 419