The community development function within the Communities CLD team sits with the Community Support Unit. A CLD worker has been engaging with the Buckie community for a number of years and strong community anchor organisations have emerged.  Two of these, the Buckie Area Forum and Buckie Development Trust had CLD support.

Together they addressed a need for members of the Buckie community who have been experiencing hardship due to the cost of living crisis. This has been in the form of advice and support, accessing emergency food and fuel vouchers and the need to socialise as poverty impacts have caused isolation.

Addressing Community Need

Buckie Central East was identified as an area that offers most opportunity for improvement based on data from SIMD and other partners. It was therefore the focus for a Locality Plan supported by the CLD Team using a partnership approach. This links to the CLD competence of knowing and understanding the community as well as evaluation data.

Buckie Central East Community Monitoring Group launched their first Locality Plan in 2009. The plan was reviewed and the geographic boundaries extended in August 2022.  The community identified ‘cost of living’ as being one of their main priorities alongside the establishment of a Community Hub.  This project is a direct result of the wishes of the community which CLD have led in the delivery of. The volunteers have acted on evidence, which CLD have gathered and ensured their project is aligned to meet community need.  The volunteers have strived to ensure they understand their community and continue to listen and adapt their offer at The Hub.

Progress is reported quarterly to the CLD Strategic Partnership. A themed meeting on locality plans occurs every 6 months to discuss any issues and share practice with the partnership. A report is then tabled to the Community Planning Partnership.

Description

The CLD Team used CLD approaches including knowing a community, evaluate and inform practice, building and maintaining relationships, organise and managing resources as well as facilitation of community empowerment. This enabled an evidence based project to emerge using a holistic approach to poverty, understanding that it effects individuals differently and with a need to ensure an approach that enabled individuals to not feel stigmatised or embarrassed within their own community. The drivers at all times were the community volunteers.

The Buckie anchor organisations identified a need to provide a single meeting room supporting people through times of crisis and offering a warm place over winter. The lease of a central shop on the main street in Buckie was secured, supported by external funding: Rural Inspiring Communities, Cost of Living National Lottery and Community Mental Health & wellbeing. The CLD worker strongly supported the funding application side.

The Hub aims to offer help such as accessing information and support on anything from finance, housing, to family relationships and health. Signposting is key to advice about benefits, debt and housing, connecting people with local services to resolve problems they might face. CLD volunteers provide references to the local food bank and community larder; plus help connecting people with the local employability team.  

Partners offer drop in sessions which include Moray Pathways and Moray Wellbeing Hub who utilise the Hub to run drop-in mental health sessions. Moray Firth Credit Union are present one morning a week to support saving and affordable loans.  Staff from Public Health are available weekly and the Peoplehood Project are also regular users.

The opening of The Hub in November 2022 provided opportunities for the community to access support and advice in their locality therefore removing the need to travel a 38 mile round trip to Elgin (the main settlement in Moray).  It provides 'kent' faces that they can build trust with, where strangers become friends.

The Hub is completely run by local volunteers.  A small team meet on a weekly basis supported by the CLD workers to look at any matters arising and discuss forward planning.  This small team are entirely responsible for producing a rota of volunteers, scheduling partner visits, financial recording and budgeting and maintaining and improving the property.

A Support Agreement is in place with The Hub, which sets out the work in a specified period, such as a 3 month time period with CLD. This enables expectations to be managed and workload scheduled appropriately across the local volunteers and CLD workers including timetables and agreements with partner agencies.  A Support Agreement Review is carried out at the end of the specific period and the agreed contact scores the work between 1 and 6 as well as considering the National Outcomes and how the CLD intervention has helped. This document also gives the group the chance to comment on how support could be improved.

Impact

Community volunteers are coming forward who have not volunteered anywhere else before.  They welcome the chance to help and also see it as a socialising opportunity for themselves.  There are also some regular visitors to the Hub who enjoy coming in for a ‘news’ and a cup of coffee.

Anecdotal stories have been gathered from Hub volunteers.  There have been many successes: one man who visited received support to access additional benefits is now volunteering in The Hub and with other community projects. He said:

“life has completely changed since walking through the door that day, I’m much happier and relaxed.”

A Ukrainian woman, who volunteered in the Hub, used the skills she gained there to secure local employment.

It is unknown how long this project will be needed as the volunteers say, “no one knows when the cost of living crisis will end”.  Sourcing funding to meet running costs until the end of the 2024 lease is a constant challenge. External funding is short-term with lots of hoops to go through which puts pressure on volunteers.

Evidence of Impact

The number of visits and purpose of visit is being recorded.  To date the type of support required includes the following:

• referral to partner agencies
• distribution of warm goods, allocation of food / fuel vouchers
• visitors to use Wi-Fi and access IT
• provision of pre-owned school uniform and baby goods
• volunteer hours

The Chair also gathers anecdotal stories that are fed into the Fairer Moray Forum Action group to guide discussions. Case-studies are also shared in the “Inequalities in Moray” report so potential unmet need is considered.

This evidence is also being used to ensure that the skills of the volunteers are meeting the needs of the community appropriately and to ascertain whether there is still a need for this type of provision.   The data is used to source funding, provide feedback to funders and inform the Community Planning Partnership on the real needs.

Next Steps

A priority within the Locality Plan was to establish a Community Hub in the town.  Partners are working together to identify suitable premises and have commissioned a Scoping Report on the need for a Hub in Buckie to provide bigger premises.

Reflections

The main reason for the success is that it is completely community led and community run.  Whilst the community group is supported by a CLD worker with weekly meetings and sourcing funding the entire operation is run by the volunteers who are committed and engaged.  They know their community and have the flexibility to adapt their offer accordingly. Also by being independent, they are not subject to the processes that govern local authorities and therefore can move quickly to respond.

This project has been so successful due to the small core group of dedicated volunteers.  One CLD volunteer circulates a template for the week ahead and volunteers can sign up for a half day / whole day dependent on their availability – they are not being asked to sign up long term and that enables flexibility without over committing.

Weekly meetings have allowed the core group, alongside the CLD worker to discuss any potential problems, any issues that have arisen and forward plan.

Other information

worryingaboutmoney.co.uk/moray

Inequalities in Moray report 

Contact

Please contact Tracey Rae  or Karen Delaney for more information.