Monday 25th March 2013 5pm IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE FOR SEVEN STREETS PROJECT
Renewing the Seven Streets
A new approach to community development work is to be implemented in a neighbourhood of Central St Leonards as a means of improving community engagement and wellbeing. Gensing & Central St Leonards Community Forum has secured funding from The People’s Health Trust for an 18-month project focussed on the Seven Streets area – Pevensey Rd, Silchester Rd, Kenilworth Rd, Carisbrooke Rd, Stockleigh Rd, Rothsay Rd and Cardiff Rd.
The project will employ a part-time experienced CommunityDevelopment Worker who will recruit and train 14 Street Representatives and support them in each enrolling an affinity group of between five and ten adult residents interested in improving their community and neighbourhood. The project will support Street Reps and affinity groups inactivities that improve the representation of the neighbourhood to service providers (health, welfare, housing etc). It will also support the Street Reps and groups in developing a range of locally-generated self-help and advocacy activities. Through these activities it is hoped that the participants will develop new confidence and skills in dealing with service providers and speaking out about the issues they feel are important. The project also aims to improve all residents’ sense of connectedness within the neighbourhood and a new capacity to develop self-help and advocacy activities.
The Gensing & Central St Leonards Community Forum has established a Seven Streets Project Steering Group and one of its members Richard Hull told Hastings Online Times “This area got a knock when Local Space pulled out of its £2m regeneration scheme and this project is trying to pick up the community improvement aspects of that scheme. Fortunately there is now a new regeneration partnership between HBC and AmicusHorizon again focused on improving the physical infrastructure and management of the rented housing in Central St Leonards and this will complement our project very neatly.”
The project is funded through the Active Communities scheme of the People’s Health Trust which focuses on people living in the poorest neighbourhoods and Mr Hull said that ”The Trust should be congratulated on taking such a far-sighted view towards tackling the root causes of health inequalities”. Chair of Gensing & Central St Leonards Community Forum Sharon Farrell said “This is a powerful vindication and continuation of the excellent work GCSL has been doing in the community since 2002.”
For more information including details of the new Community Development Worker post see the GCSL web site:-
See also the Active Communities programme at The People’s Health Trust:-
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Editors:
For further information contact:-
Richard Hull 0776 433 1260
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