A pioneering joined-up approach to improving people’s lives and public services is to be expanded in Great Yarmouth. Business in the Community (BITC) is one of a number of partners that will be working on the project over five years, which is supported by a £3m grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
The Neighbourhoods that Work project builds upon a successful integrated way of working with communities, developed over the last decade by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and partners, which has gained national recognition.
The £3m project is initially funded to run for five years: helping communities to develop their ideas for improving people’s quality of life, helping existing services to work better together to support vulnerable people, and helping people into training, volunteering and work.
Led by the borough council and delivered with the help of local partners, it is hoped that the model will provide a blueprint for similar initiatives in other parts of the UK and in other areas of work. One aim of the project is to increase capacity in communities, enabling them to become more resilient in the face of changing social, economic and environmental conditions.
Cllr Penny Carpenter, the borough council’s cabinet member for communities, said: “The Neighbourhoods that Work Project will help the borough council, partners and communities themselves to further improve even more people’s lives. Traditionally, various areas of work which are actually inter-related have been funded and delivered in relative isolation because they are wrongly seen as separate, whereas Great Yarmouth is pioneering a broader joined-up approach to improving life chances for residents.”
Business in the Community will play a critical role by engaging employers on the project. Employers will help people gain and sustain jobs; assist with capacity building of communities and play a stronger role in creating local solutions for those in most need.
Commenting on the launch Paul Winter, CEO Ipswich Building Society and Chair of the BITC Regional Advisory Board said: “We’re delighted to be building on Business in the Community’s work in Great Yarmouth to further support people into employment and training. Employers who support the programme will not only benefit the local community but also their own business by gaining an insight to the local market.”
Employers who think that they, or their staff, could help enhance the local economy of Great Yarmouth through this project should contact Mike Brophy on 07739 092426.
For further information on the project and partners involved visit Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s website.