Recovery Grant Scheme – Sotterley Rural Project (Clinks Care Farm Ltd)

Clinks Care Farm Ltd. is a successful care farm and rural social enterpriselocated on the border of Suffolk and Norfolk. It was established in July 2009and started care farming in May 2010. It has become an established care farm which promotes mental health wellbeing and physical health combining the care of the land with the care of people. Since the start, Clinks Care Farm created an innovative partnership between farmer, service users and health & social care providers in the locality.

Over the years, Clinks Care Farm has developed positive links and partnerships with various statutory, private and thirds sector organisations operating in the rural Waveney Valley area incl. Lowestoft, Beccles, Bungay, Halesworth and its surrounding villages. Clinks Care Farm aims to improve community cohesion and inclusion; providing chances, futures and opportunities for disadvantaged people and delivers a person centred approach by working on individual ability, motivation, interestsand goals.

We deliver these aspirations through allowing ‘farm helpers’ to participate in a variety of outdoor activitiesinvolving growing vegetables, caring for the farm animals, general estate management, use of small and farm machinery, sale of produce at farmers markets, management of exiting environmental schemes and developing cooking skills. These activities will help farm helpers developing motivational skills, sense of individual achievements and responsibility, engaging with the pubic and cooperation between project members.

Sotterley Rural Resource Centre

Clinks Care Farm Ltd. secured a long term lease of the Walled Kitchen Garden at the Sotterley Estate which not only includes access to the walled garden but also support buildings incl. kitchen, toilets, meeting room and office space plus a workshop and storage shed. The Sotterley Rural Project will support people in their recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and by doing so we work with individuals improving their physical health, social skills, life- and work skills. At Clinks Care Farm we don’t judge people and we strongly belief in giving people a second chance through coaching, positive role modeling and providing a safe environment.

Clinks Care Farm Ltd. received referrals from local GP surgeries and community mental health teams who sometimes had an additional substance misuse issue often as self medication to block out bad experiences and/or feelings. For the recovery grant scheme project, we aim to recruit volunteers that have experienced similar conditions. This will provide extra peer support and positive role modeling.

Research in the UK and overseas plus throughour own care farming experiences have underlined the benefits for people when they work in a natural environment, participating in a variety of meaningful outdoor activities on a working farm. We also found that a lesser ‘controlled’ environment does allow people to work on themselves, identifying and reflecting the next steps in their troubled lives and to improve their resilience and concentration levels.

The Sotterley Rural Project will provide placements for one day a week for up to 6 peoplefrom early April 2018 till end of September 2018 (24 weeks). The project members will be supported by staff, and volunteers from Clinks Care Farm with an additional mentor provided by Turning Point based in Lowestoft. Turning Point will be the main referral agency with potential additional referrals from local mental health services, GP’s and Jobcentre Plus. The Sotterley Rural Project will have access to the Walled Kitchen Garden (growing produce and rearing farm animals), 22 acres private garden and 680 acres of native woodlands. Activities will be planned, supervised with practical training sessions and carried out in large or smaller groups. Also, cooking simple meals will be part of the project to show that cooking can be fun and well within budget.

Later in the programme, the project members will be encouraged to sell the produce grown in the Walled Kitchen Garden at the Beccles Farmers Markets (Heliport) on Saturday 04 and Saturday 18 August 2018. This is part of the inclusive nature of the project, to tackle stigma around substance misuse and mental health plus raising funds for the following year’s growing season. Finally, we plan to host a ‘pop up’ restaurant with a known and experienced chef and the project members at the Sotterley Estate. We will be targeting the wide and influential networks of the owners of the Sotterley Estate selling tickets for a 3 meal course. The funds raised will be the start for the follow up project starting in April 2019.

Intake strategy;

We will make contact and promote the scheme with the appropriate support services and referral agencies, use our generic referral form for the referral agency to complete which includes contact details from the agency, the service user details, listing interests and risks. The Sotterley Rural Project will be open to candidates who have positively engaged with their recovery and accessing support services available to them.

Transport to and from the Sotterley Rural Project will be discussed with the referral agency and individual depending on home addresses travelling from, needs assessment and assistance from project staff and volunteers.

Monitoring;

We will ask the participant to complete a self monitoring assessment sheet during supervisions in week 1, week 12 and a final assessment form in week 24. We will analyse and discuss the outcomes with the service user and referral agency at the end of the programme.

Exit strategy;

At an early stage we will be having informal discussions to capture the interests and to identify goals and aspirations of the individual which will help us to plan for a safe and secure exit. Through our annual rural business breakfast seminars, we have extended our network of supporting local employers and businesses to 60. This has been a very successful vehicle for us to move well motivated and trained people on into better things in life; work experience, volunteering or employment.

Budget;

  • Placement costs for group of 6 people max. - £250.00 per day for 24 weeks = £6,000.00

Total project costs £6,000.00

Recovery Grant Scheme for the Sotterley Rural Project – November 2017 – Clinks Care Farm