Tag: community

camelon, coach, community, development, Our Place, resilience, Support, tamfourhill

No Wrong Path

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

There has been a lot of talk about exam results over the last week or so. You or your child may have been one of those affected this year – either positively or negatively. Whatever the situation, this is not the place to get into the rights or wrongs of what has happened.

Personally, I was rubbish at exams! I am originally from well south of the border, and was the second cohort to take on the GCSE’s which had a bit more coursework that counted to the final result, but was still quite exam heavy at the time. But what I have learned over the years is that as important as our time at school and those exam results are, they do not necessarily close any doors to a positive future. We should all make the most of any learning and development opportunities that come our way throughout our lives, especially at school but through our later years too. But we should also never think that we’re stuck on a particular path if it isn’t working out how we hoped. That’s also kind of been the theme of our #MondayMotivation images that we’ve been sharing each week.

Over the last couple of years, the social media hashtag #nowrongpath has grown momentum. This is when people share their journey to where they are now and prove the point that where you start out isn’t always where you end up. For some, they know where they want to go from an early age and make every effort to get there. But many others start out on a direction and either find it wasn’t for them or that life has opened their eyes to other opportunities. So, for this week’s blog, I thought it might be helpful to share my journey to where I am now, that will hopefully serve as encouragement for those who think they may be stuck or not sure where to go or what to do.

  • Left school with 3 GCSE’s;
  • Took and passed a 1 year Construction Course at college – planning on being an architect;
  • Re-sat 2 GCSE’s and passed 1;
  • Switched plan and started a 2 year Business and Finance Course;
  • Got offered, and accepted a job after the first year work experience placement on that course and began working in finance for the NHS;
  • After 3 years, I was made redundant and spent a short time working as a Kitchen Porter – doing the dishes in the staff canteen of a large Pharmaceutical Company;
  • Eventually got a part time job in finance at a University Student Union;
  • Also got another part time job at a Christian Bookshop which later became a full time job;
  • After another 3 years, I returned to finance to become a Regional Finance Assistant for a large Christian Charity;
  • Left 3 years later to go to Bible College;
  • 15 months later I moved to Scotland with my now wife;
  • Spent 4 months working as a Chef in a busy Restaurant;
  • Spent 18 months as Assistant Cafe Manager for a Charity run Community Cafe;
  • Was then involved in setting up a Charity run Furniture Re-Use Project and managed this for 6 years;
  • Spent 2.5 years as Managing Director of a Furniture ReUse and Community Support Charity;
  • Left to take on 2 Development Roles – one for a Community Development Trust to move them closer to having a Community and Sports facility, and the other for a large Christian Charity setting up Charity Shops and Furniture Projects;
  • Also established a consultancy business, helping people to turn their Ideas to Enterprise;
  • After just over 3 years, I left to work in a full time Development Role to convert a former Church to a Community Facility;
  • Just over 4 years later, I am now in this Community Coach role.

I started with some wild idea to be an architect, discovered I was better at finance stuff, did a bit of catering, then got involved in charity enterprise activities, learning about development and Social Enterprise as a result, discovered a passion for “Developing Projects that enable People and Communities to be Developed”, and ended up in what for me as I am just now, is the perfect role. I guarantee this would not have been the journey a careers person at my school would have set out or even been aware of the end destination. It’s not exactly a linear path!

So, whatever stage of life you are at, or if you’re trying to encourage a child of yours along the way, be encouraged that there is no wrong path on the journey of life. And if you have a passion for something burning inside you and either don’t think you could achieve it or haven’t got a clue where to start, then I would love to help you. Please get in touch and let’s see if together, we can get you on your next right path.

camelon, coach, community, development, lockdown, Our Place, tamfourhill

The power of Community

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Why are we here?! Okay, that’s a big question to start off this blog with. But let me pull that apart a bit. Why are you where you are? Why do you live in this community? Why do you get involved in the things you do? Or conversely, why do you choose not to get involved? What is it about this community that holds you here? Who is your community?

Sorry for all the questions but I think they are important ones to address as we work to develop things in this area. Arguably, community is the one of the most important things in life and can be the biggest tool for personal growth. Before I go on, have a look at this short video:

Okay, so I’m not asking you to walk around in groups of 6 holding a grapefruit! (For those who didn’t watch the video that will not make any sense! It might be worth popping back and having a quick watch!) The message of the video is about how different people groupings can work together to be a community with a common goal. No matter your age, race, religion, sex, or interests – it is absolutely possible to be in community together. If you are isolated (I’m talking generally – not through shielding), you only have one perspective on life – yours. It’s streamlined and very specific. By linking up with others, you can expand that perspective to introduce other passions, interests, fears, issues, gifts etc. When people mingle together they create something bigger plus you also get to see a new side of yourself based on feedback from others from what they see in you.

As we slowly begin to come out of lockdown, we will all have had a different level of experience over the last few months to bring with us into whatever the world is going to look like. Many will have spent more time than usual in the community. You may have taken more walks around the area – seen parts of the area in a different light or even for the first time. You may have seen different people – maybe even said hello to them. But that is all it takes to take a step into community – a smile or a simple greeting.

John and I will talk a lot about growing ‘community’ over the coming months. That can take many different forms and involve all types of people from all different backgrounds. But anything we get involved in will be for the express purpose of enhancing our community and all those who live within. In order for this to work, we all need to learn to love the community around us – warts and all – and allow ourselves the opportunities to grow. If we miss out on community – we miss out on encouragement and so much more.

Look at the world around you. Look for your community. Find the people. Invest in each other. Together, we can make Camelon and Tamfourhill even better.

When you think about it, there is one skill at the centre of any healthy community: the ability to see someone else deeply, to know another person profoundly, and to make them feel heard and understood.

David Brooks

Until next week…..

camelon, collaboration, community, litter, lockdown, Our Place, safety, tamfourhill

The Community Safety Road Ahead

bighosie

Hello and welcome to my third article for the Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill Community Safety blog. Time seems to be flying past at a very fast rate and hopefully we are getting closer to the Scottish Government restrictions being lifted and we are now entering a period of life which is more familiar to all of us. It has been frustrating for myself since coming into post at the start of May as I have been unable to meet people in person and I haven’t had the ability to get to know our  communities and the facilities and Groups which are thriving throughout Camelon and Tamfourhill. I would like to thank my colleague Dan Rous for his continued insight and local knowledge, and the support I have been receiving from Shona and Lynne at the Tamfourhill TRO. I was also glad to be formally introduced to the Kemlin Kin group this week and I look forward to working closely with this group as we develop the local community safety strategy. One benefit of the working from home approach has been the time and space that I have had to carry out research and prepare myself for the work ahead and look at other good practice examples from around Scotland in relation to community safety.

My initial task has been to implement a consultation process and my intention is for this to be a dynamic process and for it to be inclusive. I want to ensure that all the different interests and groups within the community have a voice and an input with identifying and confirming the local community safety priorities. This until now has only involved the survey which has been circulated and is available at https://tinyurl.com/ycbes5qw (Remember if you complete a survey by the 7th August you can win yourself a Tablet in the prize draw). Due to the lockdown,  I have as yet been unable to take the survey out in hard copy version so that people who don’t  use social media etc can also get an opportunity to complete a survey.  

In my previous blogs I have been publishing some of the preliminary findings and I have highlighted the most significant local issues which include: concerns about Substance misuse, various types of anti-social behaviour and the problems of littering, fly-tipping and dog fouling. Roads and traffic matters have also scored very highly, and it appears that specific locations have problems with speeding cars.  I have already been researching into anti-litter campaigns and I hope to link our own local initiatives in with the Keep Scotland Beautiful and their clean up Scotland campaign. Please look for opportunities to get involved with this campaign. It will be more than just cleaning up specific areas, although that will form a significant part of our activities, but in addition there will also be creative arts to get involved with, family based activity, a media and publicity campaign and the redevelopment of specific areas through encouraging greater bio diversity. I am using the working title of “Keep Camelon and Tamfourhill clean, tidy & green”

The survey is manly about identifying broad areas of importance and over the next few months the consultation will move into a more interactive and participative phase. I will be organising Focus Groups and also activity-based workshops for the younger members of our community. I have also been meeting on Zoom with other stakeholders and I have received a very positive response for the Community Police officers, the local Fire and Rescue Service, the Neighbourhood watch scheme, and services within Falkirk Council. It is absolutely essential that all our local groups are involved, and if they are willing, I will be keen to facilitate Focus groups with our Tenants and Resident Organisations, Community Hubs, Social Clubs, the Nailer Park groups and the Camelon Community Centre. I have also received an incredibly positive and encouraging commitment to the local strategy form the: Camelon Arts Project, The Conservation Volunteers, the Community Sports Hub, and the Cyrenians Navigators Project. Once I have been able to collate all the consultation materials and Focus Group feedback, I will be holding a community action planning day. The aim of this will be to work in partnership with all of these before-mentioned groups and agencies and other stakeholders to put together the local strategy and agree a programme of activities which will make a positive contribution to making Camelon and Tamfourhill a safer, happier and more attractive place to live.  

  

camelon, coach, collaboration, community, development, funding, Our Place, resilience, Support, tamfourhill

How you can make a difference

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Hi. Welcome to my second Community Coach blog. This week, to further highlight why my role exists, I’m going to talk about how I can help you or your organisation to make a positive difference in the area. Before I say more, please take 3 minutes to watch this TED talk from musician and entrepreneur, Derek Sivers.

I love this video because it shows how simple it can be to get a group of people together to work towards a common goal. Okay, the people in this video are just dancing on a hillside (nothing wrong in that of course!) but as the speaker points out, it teaches us some important lessons about how groups of people work. This can really help us as we look to bring more positive change to Camelon and Tamfourhill. So, which type of person described in the video are you? Or which would you like to be but don’t know where to start? Let’s explore further.

Leader
The person running the group or cause – the maverick – the lone nut – the one with the vision – the one who can’t sit back and do nothing – the one who’s often frustrated at the lack of action – the one needing others to get involved but not knowing where to find them.

Is this you? Are you running something that’s going pretty well but needs a fresh injection of life? Are you plodding away with something that’s been going a while but just seem to go over the same ground all the time? Are you trying to get something started but can’t get others to join you? Or do you simply have a dream of something that could be, but don’t know where to start?

How can I help you to make your dream a reality? What do you need? People – funding – general guidance – a venue – visibility – training? I can help you with all of this so just get in touch.

First Follower
Often just one person joining in on the journey can make life easier. Are you that person? You saw in the video how just one person joining in slowly started a flood of helpers. Is there a cause that you want to get involved with and you’ve either seen/heard of someone wanting to do something about it but don’t know how to make the first move? Or are you passionate about something like the leader above, but would rather not be the one to lead it? Maybe you want to be that first follower but don’t think you’ve got the necessary skills or abilities to do so. I can help! You may be the key that unlocks the potential of someone’s dream!

The Crowd
Are you waiting for the momentum to get going on something before you jump on board? Will you jump once you’ve seen positive results? That’s all fair enough but you need to be ready to jump at some point! What do you need to help you do that? Self-confidence – skills based training – more information – networking skills – signposting? Again, I can help! Don’t be the one who sits back and just lets others jump forwards to help. The only barrier to you getting involved and being included in order to bring positive change, is you!

Why bother?
Its a fair point. You may have lived here for a huge part of your life and just see the same old things happening with the same results. You may be new into the area and finding it difficult to integrate or worried even that what you suggest has been tried before and failed – but has anyone asked why it failed?! Or you may be somewhere in the middle but still don’t know what to do, where to go, or even why to do it.

As people, we are made to live and work with others in a positive community where we can thrive. We are social beings that have evolved to exist within communities. American politician Paul Ryan said “every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.” To grow and develop, we need to create a working team around us that is not necessarily all in agreement all the time, but that will work together for a common goal. Stephanie Caldow says in her article ’10 Traits That Make a Good Community’ that: “Involvement in a positive and encouraging community has a tangible impact on individual self-awareness and fulfilment. Positive experiences with communities allow individuals to feel more connected to their environment and the people in it. This form of connection also provides a support system for people when they are in need of encouragement or sympathy. Strong feelings of connection to the group also work to combat any mental illness that can arise from alienation in the form of anxiety and depression. Positive community experiences provide members with a sense of belonging and the feeling of being able to express themselves without feeling judged. Communities that excel at promoting this feeling of belonging encourage members to speak up about their ideas and opinions, which, in turn, leads to members considering their positions from a deeper perspective.” *

I see so much great stuff that is being done already but there is still so much more that can be done. Some ideas start well and then fall down very quickly or just drag along – often because people don’t get involved, but also because people do get involved and are not fully embraced or included by the leaders or even by the first followers, so they drift away again. Let’s work together to continue making Camelon and Tamfourhill a thriving, positive and encouraging community for all people that live here and not just those that are visible.

Summary
I’ll leave you with some quotes from the video that started this piece off, but before I do, let me reiterate that I am here to coach you – to work with you. This is not like previous support activity when people do everything for you but equally you will not be left to struggle on your own. Let me work with you to support, train, encourage, guide or whatever! And so to these final words from Derek Sivers, taken from his video above:

“If you are the type [of person] that is standing alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals so it’s clearly about the [cause], not you.”

“Leadership is over glorified. Yes [someone has to be] first and they’ll get all the credit, but it was really the first follower that transformed the lone nut into a leader.”

“If you really care about starting [something], have the courage to follow and show others how to follow. And when you find the lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first one to stand up and join in.”

* Stephanie Caldow quote taken from https://positivepsychology.com/10-traits-positive-community/

camelon, coach, community, development, lockdown, resilience, safety, Support, tamfourhill

Community Coach Update

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Hi everyone – Dan Rous here – Community Coach for this area.

Here we are 2 months into post and what a 2 months it’s been. I’ve begun to connect with groups in the area that I know about or who have come to me for support, but I know there are many groups out there that I could be working with.

So, if I haven’t contacted you yet, please don’t be offended. Just drop me a line and let’s begin the conversation. Whether you are really well established or starting out; whether you think you qualify for help or not – I am here for you. Contact details are on the flyer and on our contact page.

A lot of my time so far has been spent in various zoom meetings, gathering information that will be of benefit to groups as they look to get started after lockdown. I’ve emailed various bits of information to people directly, but will use this blog to widen the reach of the information.

For this week’s blog, I’ll focus on information that may be of help for those that have a building that is accessed by the public.

Preparing for re opening
Slides from an information session led by the Social Enterprise Network Scotland’s Tourism and Hospitality Forum.

Getting your business back to work
A handout prepared for Third Sector groups but with generic business info from Anderson Strathern.

Scenario Planning
A useful document prepared by Midlothian Third Sector Interface to help with planning for all possible scenarios in this current time.

Social Distancing Policy
An example policy shared with permission from Community Focus Scotland

Finally, here is a summary report from a recent week of network sessions discussing what was needed to help get Third Sector organisations back up and running. It was collated from the discussions and sent to Local Authorities and the Scottish Government to inform their planning. Whilst there is little by the way of direct information, reading this may help you realise that you’re not the only one thinking a certain thing!

That’s all for now. I’ll be back next Thursday with more updates, information and encouragement.