Doncaster Communities Live at Home Scheme
TfR CASE STUDY: DONCASTER COMMUNITIES LIVE AT HOME SCHEME
Project Background
Doncaster Communities Live at Home Scheme (DCLHS) is a voluntary organisation which offers support to people aged 60+ who, for a variety of reasons, are experiencing social isolation. The scheme was set up in 2000 within the constitution of Methodist Homes for the Aged. At present, DCLSH serves a large part of the Doncaster Metropolitan area, particularly central and northern regions.
The Scheme provides paid employment to Manager Carole Killgallon and Assistant Manager Alison Dawson. The Scheme also operates with over 20 volunteers who help as mentors, drivers, escorts, fundraisers and friendship group assistants.
Project Aims and Activities
The Scheme’s volunteering programme offers opportunities for social contact to adults of any age, training opportunities, work related skills and experience for people looking for paid employment. Services offered by the DCLSH team include:
Befriending services for the housebound
Telephone link line
Woodlands Friendship Club
Carr House Friendship Club
Trips out
To date, DCLHS has 74 members who benefit from its services.
How TfR Helped the Project
Carole was recruited in 2008, working in the 3rd sector for the first time. Carole’s initial six months were spent working towards a huge funding bid. This failed leaving Carole in a situation where the scheme had no money, no vision, no clear structure or outline of roles and responsibilities, low staff morale and no support mechanisms. It was at this stage that the Rev Arthur Harbuckle suggested that Carole contact TfR.
Carole said that when she met Shahida, Doncaster’s TfR adviser at that time, she thought that together they would look at funding searches. Instead, ‘Shahida sat and listened’. Gradually Carole started to understand that she knew what she had to do, but she didn’t know how to do it. Shahida spent time listening to the Management Committee by organising a ‘scoping workshop’ and over the next 6 months TfR helped build the scheme up to be in a far stronger and more confident position to be able to apply for funding. TfR’s package of support for DCLHS included:
• Helping adopt a constitution
• Identifying a vision with the Management Committee: ‘when they came away you could see on their faces that it could work’
• Helping establish an induction pack for the Management Committee
• Helping outline an organisational structure with suitable roles and responsibilities
• Providing mentoring support
What Results TfR Achieved
Carole has commented that ‘in all honesty, if TfR had not provided support, then I wouldn’t be here now – I felt guilty about failing to get the funding. But, through TfR the Scheme now has some wonderful volunteers; they helped me to understand how to project manage and know what questions to ask... TfR made this achievable.’
Carole added that DCLHS now needs funding to be able to build on what is in place; this may include partnership working alongside other organisations.
Would the Doncaster Live at Home Scheme approach TfR for support and advice again?
The answer to that, a resounding ‘yes’!
