Since 2007 we have worked with partners in nearly 40 areas to help local people use their energies and talents to deliver social care and health support and services for other local people.
These community micro-enterprises and ventures provide much more choice for people needing care and support. Their services are usually co-designed and often co-produced. They help people live a good life, connected into and contributing to their community. Our local partners find that many small community solutions have a big impact.
Community enterprises and ventures across the areas where we have worked support over 10,000 people and provide 1720 jobs and 860 volunteering opportunities. We are working on a programme in Somerset to help ordinary local people set up community home based care and support services for older people. By working together these small services provide more variety, choice and capacity - particularly in rural areas.
In 15 months Community Catalysts has supported 42 local people to set up a new community enterprises and helped a further 48 community initiatives to become more sustainable and visible to health and care commissioners.
In the same 15 months Somerset has seen an increase of 200 people taking a direct payment. A big part of our work is connecting the public sector with community. We recently ran an event in Taunton that brought 30 of these community 'care' entrepreneurs together with commissioners and social workers. The event was a great success with 70 people talking to each other through a vast speed networking session.
Commissioners went away understanding what small community home care services can offer - particularly when they are brought together in this way. A second event is planned for a different region, Mendip, which will bring together 30 different entrepreneurs who have been supported through the programme with the relevant commissioners and social workers in that area.