Our Community Navigators have been working with partners across the county to support communities as well as individuals.

Susie, our Chief Executive Officer was featured on Huntingdon Community Radio’s “Over to You” programme, outlining the support we provide to local people and inviting listeners to get involved.

Our Volunteering & Outreach Senior Coordinator met with Norfolk-based ‘Ask Lily’ to discuss more collaborative working for people living along the border with Cambridgeshire.   Ask Lily sit within the Kings Lynn & West Norfolk council and are commissioned to combat loneliness and social isolation in adults of all ages. They maintain an online directory of organisations, services and activities that help people live healthy, active and independent lives. Care Network services and volunteering opportunities will soon be featured and our team are already referring into Ask Lily.

Adult Learning and Skills, Cambridgeshire are working on a ‘Sharing Stories; Sharing Lives’ project to equip volunteers to facilitate older people to share and tell their (life)story. Care Network was invited to be involved in the first stage of the project: developing storytelling-based training and resources. Our teams contributed to the development of Stor-E tree question materials and training sessions. This will be a useful tool to help people explore their personal history and ambitions, offering the opportunity to connect with others and improve wellbeing

In Fenland, we are part of the new Wisbech and Surrounding Villages Charities Network and Whittlesey and March Food Poverty Network. We regularly attend partner meetings and our Community Development and Healthy Fenland teams continue to offer support to new community projects aimed at tackling poverty. As a Golden Age partner, we run stalls at community fairs aimed at the over 50s held across Fenland. Our Open Arms team joined us at the last fair at Wisbech St Mary to engage with members of the public around the subject of loneliness.

We took part in the recent Steel Bones Celebration Day at Isleham; this was attended by around 300 amputees and their families.  Lesley and Corrina provided information about our services to families enjoying samba music, sports, holistic treatments, hair braiding, inflatables and face painting in the sunshine.

Our teams were recently trained in Making Every Contact Count by Everyone Health. We had lots of lively discussion and practice focussed on helping people to make positive changes to improve their health and wellbeing.