Community Hubs: What they are and why they matter
If you follow us on any of our social media platforms (and if you don’t, there are links to help you do so at the bottom of this blog) then you’ll have seen that over the last few months we’ve started to talk about our community hubs. I recently undertook a tour of the different hubs to see how each differs in style, yet complement each other to achieve a common goal.
We operate four hubs on a weekly basis: a wellbeing hub on a Monday; a creative hub on a Tuesday; a drop-in hub on a Wednesday and a social hub on a Friday. Each one meets in a local church hall or community space, and is open to anyone with a connection to Restore (past or present) who wants or needs the support on offer. Current residents are required to attend at least one hub per week as part of their engagement commitments. Our volunteers and community hub coordinator, Lenny, works hard to keep the hubs running smoothly, equipped with any items that are needed, and (of course!) fully stocked with tea and biscuits.
Wellbeing Monday
My visit to the Monday hub coincided with a visit from Chocolate and Co, a social enterprise café based in The Groves, which offers employment and training opportunities to people in recovery from addiction. Several of our residents have been involved with Choc and Co and we love the model they have established of supporting people in recovery and equipping them with skills to improve their employability and self-confidence. Staff from Choc and Co talked to residents about how they can get involved, and they provided us all with really delicious hot chocolate, too! (My visit to the Monday hub on that particular week was entirely coincidental. Honest…)
What struck me was the relaxed, laid back atmosphere the hub creates. Groups of people gathered around small tables, chatting and enjoying one another’s company. It reminded me of the vibe you get in a pub on a Friday evening, when friends and colleagues gather for a social drink, a chat and to celebrate making it through another working week. Of course, for people in recovery the pub is no longer an option, which often leads to a loss of this form of social connection. Our wellbeing hub offers that opportunity to connect with like-minded people in a safe environment. Now that we have mental health nurse Matt on board, we’re also going to be able to offer one-on-one support sessions with him at the wellbeing hub, so that residents who are struggling with their mental health can receive support, advice and signposting to other organisations or professionals who can help in their recovery.
Creativity Tuesday
My visit to the Tuesday hub coincided with a clay modelling and painting activity. Several residents were sat around one long table. There was no specific brief of what to make with the clay, so everyone had allowed their imagination to roam, and the table was strewn with models ranging from snails, dinosaurs and horses to an unnervingly realistic severed finger! (I would imagine the resident who made the latter could confidently apply for a job in the prosthetics and special effects department on Holby City, because the level of detail and realism was quite remarkable.) We sat in a group making small talk with one another whilst we worked on our own creations. About half way through the session I noticed a resident arrive who has struggled with social situations and anxiety around large groups of people, especially people he doesn’t know. His housing support worker encouraged him to come and sit at the table and join in. He was sat next to Penny, one of our trustees, who had also come along to the hub for a visit that week. It was a great encouragement to see this resident engage in conversation with Penny; a person who he’d never met before, but because his mind was focussed on the clay, he was able to sit and chat calmly with her. If you are tempted to perceive the creative and social hubs as merely an opportunity to have a bit a fun, then I would urge you to reconsider: as I witnessed, there is underlying value in these activities beyond the act itself, and at Restore we never underestimate the importance of utilising these moments to help residents learn something about themselves. Penny had this to say as she reflected on her visit:
The Creative Hub really did feel like a hive of activity! It was great to hear words of encouragement spoken as creations emerged from lumps of clay. There was visible joy in connecting with old friends (as well as making new ones).
Drop-in Wednesday
I attended the Wednesday drop-in on a week when Hilary was helping a group of residents to make banana bread (I’m genuinely not only visiting the hubs for the sweet treats!). The nature of the building we use for the Wednesday drop-in lends itself well to people breaking off into smaller groups to do different things, so in addition to the ‘kitchen’ crowd, there was a group of residents playing a board game, and some one-to-one conversations going on between a resident and their support worker. I sat with a recently moved-on resident who was keen to make progress on a jigsaw he has been working on over the course of a few weeks, which is stored on a rollaway mat in-between sessions. As we searched for the next pieces to place, he chatted to me about how much he values the connections he has at the hubs, and how he tries to get to as many as he can through the week. He works variable hours but prioritises the hubs on his days off because he enjoys them so much. For him, they are an integral part of his social network; which is why it’s so important that former residents still feel welcome in the hub spaces. We firmly believe that community is a key part of someone avoiding a regression to homelessness, and the sense of community that our hubs provide is thus essential to former residents successfully moving forwards.
Social Friday
Fridays are usually the most well-attended hub of the week, due in part to the fact that there is a hot lunch provided immediately before it. We also often run some form of training alongside it, which people can attend then stay for the remainder of the hub: these sessions can include a CAP money course, or tenancy training for residents who are on the waiting list for a council property. The week I visited was less-well attended than usual, but we still had 5-6 residents make use of the space at some point during the afternoon (compared to around 15 people on a normal week). The activities at social hub are designed to get people doing things together, so we have a dart board, a games console and a pool table. Support worker Ben aptly describes it as “pub games without the pub,” as it replicates the atmosphere and camaraderie you would find in your local, without the alcohol. I found myself taking on the role of ‘barmaid’ (again without the alcohol) as I made milkshakes and coffees for residents as they arrived, and even had a request for a chai latte (although, full disclosure, that was from a member of staff)! It was a good place from which to observe what was happening, whilst having brief interactions with residents as they came to collect their chosen beverage.
The glue that holds it all together
Each of the hubs, as I hope you can see from my brief tour, has its own flavour and style, but also a strong identity as a Restore hosted space. The key to that is, of course, Lenny, our Volunteer and Community Hub Co-ordinator, whose role is critical; not only in making each hub happen, but ensuring that the activities on offer are varied enough to provide something for everyone. It’s clear from the way they interact with her how much respect the residents have for Lenny, and whilst her role is not the same as the housing support workers, her being on hand to manage and run the hubs frees the support team up to offer the one-to-one meetings that residents need to have in order to fulfil their engagement obligations and make progress on their journey out of homelessness.
As lovely as my week ‘absent from keyboard’ was, it was also enlightening to see just how valuable residents find the hub spaces as a place to connect and find encouragement. Having these regularly scheduled points can provide an anchor and structure to the week, which is often vital to someone struggling with low mood or depression. Something like attending a hub can genuinely be a person’s reason to get out of bed in the morning. It is the pairing of one-on-one, person centred sessions in tandem with these community hubs that ensures Restore residents receive the holistic support that we are proud to offer. Furthermore, that former residents feel able to come along to peer-support and engage with hub activities means that the support does not end when an individual is signed off by our team. As we grow as an organisation, we hope that building community is foundational to what we do.