The Community Network is delighted to announce that our important collaborative work will continue as part of a new National partnership to tackle health inequalities in coastal communities.
The Weston-super-Mare Community Network for Health Inequities is joining community-led teams in two other coastal communities – Hastings and Blackpool – as part of a new £2.4 million project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Our Community Network first came together in December 2022 at the Campus, Worle. Over 9 months the network grew in numbers and strength, making time for important face-to face cross-sector relationship building, alongside working hard over 9 months to deliver outputs to support better linkages across sectors in end-of-life care, bereavement support, social isolation and loss. Some of our achievements as a network include a data dashboard and directory of community resources, a digital map of community assets using Understory technology, facilitating training events, and hosting Good Grief Weston festival.
The new Partnership, titled ‘Coastal Community & Creative Health’, will extend the work of the Weston-super-Mare Community Network and build new connections with other coastal communities in Hastings and Blackpool who experience similar challenges in coastal community health. All three coastal communities have already been working with creative partners as one way to tackle health inequities and bring a wealth of experience and expertise to share.
Who is funding the new partnership?
The £2.4 million award is one of a number of partnerships being funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the AHRC-led Mobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities programme, which aims to improve health through access to culture, nature and community.
Who is leading the new partnership?
Lucy Selman and Barbara Mezes will co-lead the three-year national partnership, together with partners in each of the three coastal towns.
Dr Barbara Mezes, is Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, and Dr Lucy Selman, is Associate Professor from the Centre for Academic Primary Care and Palliative and End of Life Care Research Group at the University of Bristol and a Weston-super-Mare resident. They both separately led Stage 2 funded projects.
What’s new? Continuing to work with local partners but expanding our priority areas
The new project will continue to bring together the NHS, local authorities, researchers, voluntary and community organisations and residents to tackle health inequalities. However, the new partnership will focus in particular on three mental health priority areas in coastal towns:
- young people’s mental health,
- substance misuse,
- and life-limiting illness and bereavement
The Partnership will generate evidence and resources to improve mental health in these focus areas by enhancing and widening access to creative community assets; enhancing the skills and knowledge of people working with these communities; and creating a model of collaborative working across sectors and with community members, to help tackle health inequalities using creative community assets. Co-production with local people with lived experience will run throughout the project.
What people are saying about the new partnership:
Sue Stone, Research and Development Manager with Voluntary Action North Somerset, said, “As a partner in the original network, this programme has proved to be invaluable for our understanding of people’s needs around bereavement and providing essential support for our residents. We were pleased to be included in the successful joint bid and are now ready to see the new programme evolve, allowing us to share our learning experience and develop new ideas with our counterparts in Blackpool and Hastings, especially around children and young people’s mental health”.
Alison Bancroft, from The Other Place and Race Equality North Somerset (RENS) said, “Working with a partnership of community-led, front-line organisations that focus on issues of equality, we’re only too aware of the scale of need in our community – and the disparities that exist. There is an urgent need for cross-sector, multi-disciplinary projects such as this, which connect academic enquiry and lived experience, and we’re delighted that this project is continuing and expanding. We’re very grateful to all involved for the opportunity to participate and are very much looking forward to working with team members, particularly those from other coastal communities, to share experiences and build a deeper understanding of the issues involved”.
Fiona Matthews, Creative Director of Super Culture and a partner in the network since 2022 said, “We are honoured to be part of this new programme, which is a brilliant opportunity to build on the many creative and community-based connections that were sparked in 2023 through Weston’s inaugural Good Grief Weston Festival and the instigation of the community network.
“At Super Culture we are great believers in the transformative power of both creativity and community, and the additional national scope of this next phase presents exciting opportunities to test new ways of working and share experiences, skills and knowledge. It will also build a compelling evidence base for dynamic and interdisciplinary social models that can support better health outcomes.”
Dr Lucy Selman said: “Coastal communities suffer some of the worst health outcomes in the country, and significant inequities throughout the life course. We are delighted to collaborate with Dr Barbara Mezes and colleagues nationally to expand our work in serious illness and bereavement to benefit other coastal communities, and to widen our focus to include young people’s mental health and wellbeing and substance misuse – key areas of concern in our communities. We are hugely grateful to UKRI and the AHRC for supporting this project.”
Dr Barbara Mezes said: “I am excited to collaborate with Dr Selman and a very strong team, and grateful for the opportunity. Coastal communities face many challenges, including poverty, but they have many community assets, such as cultural organisations, community centres, and charities working tirelessly to support the wellbeing of local residents. This funding will allow us to work with community partners to better integrate creative community assets into health and social care systems by bolstering cross-sector local and national partnerships. We will generate the evidence base to inform local actions and a national strategy to tackle inequalities, address mental health needs, and improve the wellbeing of people living in our coastal communities.”
AHRC Health Inequalities Programme Director Helen Chatterjee said:
“These funded projects seek to improve the length and quality of our lives by making use of the rich cultural, artistic, nature and social resources that already exist within our communities. In this way, we can shape a healthier, happier Britain.”
Find out more
For a full list of funded projects, see: https://www.ukri.org/news/projects-to-help-communities-reduce-health-inequalities/.
9th July 2024: Hold the date!
Please join us for our next coastal community network meeting in Weston which will be held at The Campus on Tuesday 9th July, 9.30am to 12.30pm (optional free lunch served at 12.30pm so you can continue networking across sectors).
Invitations with a booking link will be emailed later in May to those on the community network email listing.
If you are new to the network, are a member of the public with lived experience of one of our priority focus areas or a from social and health care sector/ the voluntary sector/ an independent artist/creative please email a.malpass@bristol.ac.uk to be added to the mailing list or to ask further questions. Everyone is welcome!