Community Development Worker post for the Community Innovations Partnership
Background information
Following a successful bid by Hampshire to the Government’s ‘Invest to Save’ fund, Community First New Forest along with the 11 other Councils for Voluntary Service, (CVSs) in Hampshire are recruiting Community Development Workers.
The posts will work in 3 area’s of the District to develop the capacity of the voluntary and community sector to support vulnerable older people in the community.
The Community Development Worker will be a member of Community First New Forest staff team, but will work with others across the County who are part of the Community Innovations Partnership.
In each area a local Community Innovations Team will work with older people who are becoming more vulnerable with the aim of reintegrating them within their communities to boost their well-being, slow their growing vulnerability, and reduce their need for expensive and distressing emergency interventions.
Through this it is anticipated that there will be a reduction in the need for emergency hospital day beds, visits to and from GPs, admissions to residential care and home care.
Each local Innovations Team will include a; nurse, social worker, support workers and the Community Development Worker. Through them, older people at risk will be identified, assessed and supported, existing voluntary and community organisations provided with additional support, gaps in provision identified and new resources developed and volunteers recruited as additional support.
In addition, there will be close working with the Older People’s Area Link, (OPaL) project which developed out of the health and wellbeing agenda and is designed to support vulnerable people in the community by recruiting existing volunteers to do a little extra.
They will also use their existing contacts in the community and knowledge to identify people in need of such support.
The success of the project will depend on the development of close partnerships between primary care practices, community nursing and rehabilitation services, adult local services, district councils, community and voluntary services and older people’s forums, all with the aim of promoting the independence and well-being of vulnerable older people. |
