PCVS working with PCC in supporting communities to tackle Health inequalities

The Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services (PCVS) is pleased to announce a partnership with Peterborough City council to deliver a Community Health and Wellbeing Grant scheme through funding from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board. This will involve providing community groups with grants of up to £10,000 to delivery health projects for up to a year in duration.

The health of people in Peterborough is generally worse than the England average, with Peterborough being one of the 20% most deprived districts/unitary authorities in England. 18.8% of children live in low-income families, and life expectancy for both men and women is lower than the England average. Peterborough has high rates of child and adult obesity, smoking prevalence, cardiovascular disease and cancer when compared to England averages. In addition, Peterborough has a rapidly growing population, increasing by 9.2% between 2011 and 2019, with migration being a prominent factor. This reflects the diversity of ethnicity and culture across the city, with 17.3% non-UK nationals and only 82.5% of the population identifying as white and 18.1% of the local population are over 65 years old.

PCVS supports over 500 member organisations in a variety of administrative, governance, and developmental ways through working with local partners, and will do even more through the funding and training opportunities within the Health Network. Likewise, Peterborough City Council has been running a range of projects, work streams, and roles focused on community engagement with underserved communities, which have the aim of increased access to health provision and tackle health inequalities.

PCVS and Peterborough City Council have brokered a partnership to deliver a health project using funding from the ICS. This partnership involves supporting local community groups to run bespoke projects to positively improve mental health and / or wellbeing within the community working with existing networks. These projects will focus on either piloting new activities/ initiatives, or developing a health and wellbeing component within existing activities. Between £4k and £10k is available for up to 10 groups throughout 2023, with the overall goal to enable local community groups to bid for one-off grants to support the development of local projects that support priority health outcomes.

Thanks to partnerships with Healthy You Peterborough and Living Sport, community group leaders will be trained in Mental Health First Aid, signposting, and how to improve awareness of healthy lifestyles among their members. In addition, the groups will benefit from mutual support, expert advice, and professional community health and wellbeing training, with much of this being provided in house by PCVS.

To make preparations for the project, Stuart Haw PCVS Community Health Manager stated, “We are excited to be providing further funds for community groups to address health inequalities through joining our Health Network. Groups who join will not only benefit from the financial resources received to run health and well-being activities but will also be empowered to continue even after the funding has been spent. We are grateful and supportive of the Integrated Care System’s approach of choosing Peterborough City Council and PCVS to deliver this important health project.”

“Community organisations are integral to sustainable positive improvements to the health and wellbeing of our communities. Therefore, it is very important to work from the ground up and empower hyperlocal organisations to address the needs that they understand most keenly due to their local relationships and networks. In recognition of this, community commissioning is increasingly an approach that the Integrated Care System is using, precisely because of the level of access and insight VCS organisations have and the long term benefits of these skills being developed and retained within the community. I am eager to see what kind of impact the funded projects will have within the city.” Esther Baffa-Isaacs, Cohesion and Social Mobility Manager, Peterborough City Council

Community groups can apply to receive the ICS funds as part of the Health Network from December 05, with applications closing at the end of February 2023.

Please visit the PCVS website to access the application form: https://www.pcvs.co.uk/projects-and-services/health-network/

Email communities@pcvs.co.uk for more information or if you need health to apply.