The Community Development Podcast (@CommDevtPodcast)

Ep.26 - Breaking the link between poverty and ethnicity in Wales

Back in February 2016 Joseph Rowntree Foundation published the report Breaking the Links Between Ethnicity and Poverty in Wales by Duncan Holtham (from the People and Work Unit), Anna Nicholl and Chris Johnes: https://www.housingnet.co.uk/pdf/JRF-Breaking_the_links_between_Poverty_and_Ethnicity_in_Wales.pdf At the time I was developing podcasts for the Communities First workforce in Wales as learning resources, and Duncan joined him to record a brief overview of the report’s findings to help inform the workforce of issues around ethnicity. Complementing this, two Communities First workers outlined some of the practical ways in which they involve people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities: - Allan Herbert, then working for South Riverside Community Development Centre in Riverside in Cardiff - Peter Beynon, then working for Swansea City Council in and around the city centre Given the recent #BlackLivesMatter campaign, the economic impact of the covid-19 pandemic, and the disproportionate mortality rates to the virus experienced by BAME populations, the findings are a sober reminder of the work to do in Wales, and elsewhere, to tackle discrimination and inequality and the particularly corrosive impact they have where they intersect. Each participant has given their consent for the episode to be made available again. Follow on: http://peopleandwork.org.uk/en/home/ Support The Community Development \Podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheCDPodcast

Ep.25 - Community Development and Covid 19 (part 2)

In the second part of a series looking at how Community Development is adapting to and tackling issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, I chat first with Chris Johnes from Building Communities Trust (BCT) in Wales about how they are helping to bring to government’s attention the stories from communities about how the pandemic is affecting people. Russell then chats with two people involved with one of BCT’s 13 areas across Wales, St Mellons in the east of Cardiff: Helen Griffiths from Hope St Mellons and David Clague a local pastor. They talk about some of the things that they’ve been involved in locally to help ease the isolation, loneliness and poor mental health that the lockdown has caused including distributing activity packs to children, starting a community diary and, in partnership with The Message Trust, inviting Father Christmas to visit St Mellons on his sleigh! You can also follow Hope St Mellons on Twitter. Follow: Bethania Church FB: Bethania-Church-819245558136000 Rumney Coronavirus Support Group FB: https://www.volunteercardiff.co.uk/rumney-coronavirus-support-group/ twitter.com/hopestmellons twitter.com/MessageTrust Support The Community Development Podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheCDPodcast

Ep.24 - Community Development & Covid-19 (pt. 1) – “The time for normal rules goes out the window”

During lockdown I reached out to the Community Development fraternity across the world to invite it to share its experiences of supporting communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Part 1 of this Community Development and Covid-19 series visits Bangor in north Wales and Winnipeg in Canada and reveals community development responses to the pandemic from contrasting scales: the local and the strategic. In Maesgeirchen, Bangor, grassroots community-led action has been focusing on meeting people’s essential needs. We hear from the local elected member, Dylan, and the co-ordinator from a local substance abuse charity, James, who are providing additional capacity to the tremendous community effort. Finally, we hear how Jess Silvester from MaesNi, the local steering group for the Invest Local initiative in Maesgeirchen (often known colloquially as “MaesG”), has been co-ordinating efforts, despite enforced isolation. ____________________ In Winnipeg, Manitoba Michael Barkman from The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet), provides examples of community and social enterprise responses to the pandemic in his province. Michael’s work in Manitoba is shaped and driven by a desire and need to de-colonise Canadian society, and from this perspective he provides a sober reminder that though Covid-19 might be indiscriminate in who it infects, its impact is experienced unequally along quite stark racial, gender, age, class and socio-economic lines. He talks about how, despite the (hyper)local responses happening on the ground, his strategic role as a policy co-ordinator is requiring him to capture these stories of grassroots capacity, inequality, and resilience; continue to advocate for communities; and to push back against some of the dis-enabling provincial government responses to the pandemic in Manitoba. Follow: www.bct.wales/invest-local-areas/maesgeirchen/ twitter.com/bctwales twitter.com/barkmanmichael

Ep.23 - Social Prescribing - a Scottish perspective

In this episode I am joined by Sharon Sweeney, from the University of Dundee’s student finance team who has recently finished a Masters degree, as part of which Sharon completed a dissertation on the role of social prescribing in patient primary care in Scotland. Sharon provides a simple ‘primer’ of what social prescribing is and what sort of activities it undertakes, with a particular focus on how it is being deployed in Scotland and her home city of Dundee. They also discuss the extent to which social prescribing can, and needs to, move beyond supporting individual needs and aspirations and can draw on community development to take collective forms of action to tackle health inequalities. Recorded during Covid-19 lockdown in the UK, they consider what might social prescribers’ experiential learning and reflection be seeking to capture during the pandemic. Follow: twitter.com/sharon1033 twitter.com/CLDStandards Sharon suggests this further reading should people wish to know more: Braddeley, B, Somalingham, S, Cooper, M (2015) Social Prescribing in general practice InnovAit, 06, 1-3. Cawston, P, Social Prescribing in very deprived areas, British Journal of General Practice, May 2011, p.350. NHS Tayside Connect to Local Support, https://www.nhstayside.scot.nhs.uk/OurServicesA-Z/ALISS/index.htm. Whitelaw, S et al (2016) Developing and implementing a social prescribing initiative in primary care, Primary Health Care Research and Development, 201; 19:112-121. Support The Community Development Podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheCDPodcast

Ep.22 - Community Youth Work with Mark McFeeters & Lauren McAreavey

In this podcast I chat via skype to Mark McFeeters, lecturer on Ulster University’s Community Youth Work degree, and Lauren McAreavey, a third year undergraduate on the course. Among other things they discuss: - how youth work is distinct from other forms of work/contact with young people - the importance of reflection in youth work - the value external placements bring to the academic training and learning for trainee youth workers Mark also explains the motive behind setting up the excellent Critical Voice NI website (twitter.com/criticalvoiceni) which is a virtual space promoting and developing youth work research, writing and thinking for Northern Ireland. The community and youth work sectors in the UK and Ireland need more sites like it. Support The Community Development Podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheCDPodcast