We’re now 3 months into Well Together, which is a new programme of grants and support for community-led health and wellbeing activities funded by the NHS Integrated Care Board. We’re working in 10 priority areas across Oxfordshire, investing in activities and projects for all ages. Read on to find out what we’ve been up to so far!
In our first couple of months, we’ve been busy getting the word out about the programme. We’re meeting with groups across the wards, working closely with local partners and networks, and hosting drop-in information sessions in communities.
The Well Together drop-ins are informal opportunities for groups and residents to find out more about Well Together. These sessions have been a chance for anyone interested to meet the team, ask questions, and share their ideas whilst enjoying tea and biscuits! It’s been great to meet with different people and groups within each community, and we’ve been so pleased to see around 100 attendees across our first 5 sessions. The drop-ins have also enabled groups to meet others working in the area and explore potential partnerships too.
With a strong uptake and over , the team are now focusing on supporting the first groups to develop their proposals. We’ll be working with groups to define the specific activities they are able to deliver to support health and wellbeing in their communities, whilst helping them connect with partners and collaborators. We’ll be putting together tailored funding plans for each ward, factoring in priorities in the different areas and building on existing work and research such as the Community Insight Profiles.
Through Well Together we’re focusing on creating a hyperlocal approach, with activities that cover a broad range of health inequalities and demographic groups in each ward. Example activities include cooking classes to support healthy eating, classes to help people find exercise they enjoy, support groups for parents and babies, initiatives to support mental health and wellbeing, activities enabling connection and reducing isolation, campaigns to promote attendance of health checks, and support groups around addiction.
We’ll be releasing the first 20% of our funding in Spring 2024 and aim to award remaining funds by November 2024 to give groups a minimum of one year to deliver their activities. The specific funding deadlines will vary for each ward, depending on the volume of applications, and existing grant schemes in the priority areas.
Interested in applying for Well Together? Our team are on hand to provide support throughout the programme. If you want to meet us to discuss your questions or ideas before completing an application, we’re very happy to help! Please reach out to us via [email protected]