After a welcome from Chair David Monk at the Platform Cafe, Loughborough Junction, Collaborative members braved the elements to tour LJ Works and Loughborough Farm for its final gathering of 2019. This was the third time the Collaborative had breakfasted at the farm and community cafe.

Loughborough Farm volunteer and architect Tom Dobson took members on a journey from the Farm’s opening in 2013, to it helping Lambeth Council win a Mayor of London’s £1.64m GLA grant to build LJ Works. The farm (a Loughborough Junction Action Group project) is part of a steering group of local organisations, managed by Meanwhile Space, which are helping to shape the project that will create local opportunities, including for people to test food and textile ideas.

Karen thanked and noted support from Lambeth NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, Chair Adrian McLachlan and local GP surgeries in the original bid to highlight the farm’s wellbeing work and the importance of providing outdoor social space for those without gardens, including on Loughborough Estate. The farm doesn’t get anything from the GLA pot (and farm/cafe funding shortages were highlighted at the breakfast).

Members heard that in six years, over its twice weekly growing sessions and events, the farm has clocked up 12,500 volunteer hours, worth nearly £132,000 at the London Living Wage. Thanks to volunteer Sue for sharing her thoughts and to local resident Stephanie for attending.

Back to the Platform Cafe for breakfast and updates.

Peer Support

Mathieu Smith, Solidarity in a Crisis Manager

• Solidarity in a Crisis have rebranded – see new postcards and posters below

• We are finalising the Job Description for the peer support workers and also family support worker roles in the living well hubs and we are looking to interview mid January

• Peer Support workers will be back in the Evening Sanctuary at Mosaic in January

In addition we acknowledged the comments left on the Collaborative website and agreed to hold a Peer Support strategy development workshop in the New Year. Karen reported that the next Lambeth Peer Network Meeting is 13 January, 2020, 11am – and we would welcome attendance of that contributor.

Lee Elliot, Evening Sanctuary

There were 21 referrals in November, 2 less than in October. Just like last month most of them came from SLaM (South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust) and GP surgeries. We had 161 attendances in total and our busiest nights were Sundays. Throughout the month 7 of our amazing volunteers delivered a collective total of 94.5 hours of support.

Earlier in the month we had a fairly bad flood in the kitchen, which affected the way the Sanctuary was run. We were unable to use the kitchen as usual to prepare our meals. Staff, members, and volunteers showed great patience and understanding, and pulled together to make the best of a difficult situation.

Staff and members also came together in November for our AGM. Members helped to deliver some of our statistics, good news stories, and testimonials from the previous year. One of our members even read out a poem he had written.

Alice Glover updated on the SLaM Service User and Carer Advisory Group – see notes below

Stef Abrar, Public Health (Mental Health and Wellbeing) updated on training around suicide prevention. Contact her on SAbrar@lambeth.gov.uk if you want to know more or be involved with this strategy.

Info on a free half day training on January 28 at Lambeth Town Hall, 1 – 4.30pm for reps. To book please use the eventbrite link here.

Following the training there will be an opportunity to ask questions about the role.

Outcomes – following November breakfast meeting

Proposals to take forward the outcomes work is being progressed via the Living Well Network Alliance with the aim of commencing proposed lab workshop approach in the New Year.

Neil Robertson reported on the Living Well Network Alliance – Living Well Centres – the formal launch took place on 5 December, 120 plus people attended, with very positive feedback.

Collaborative – 10 year birthday

The Collaborative will be 10 years old in March 2020; we are proposing to hold an event to celebrate all of our work and use it to support our coproduction work going forward.

Thanks to Sarah Corlett for photographs and all who helped to keep the coffee flowing at the Platform Cafe December breakfast, we do under estimate the hard work of the team at our Abbevilles’ regular venue, where the next meeting will be held on Thursday 9 January, 8-10am.

Click here for SLaM’s Service User and Carer Advisory Group’s notes

Click here and here for rebranded Solidarity in a Crisis postcards and posters or contact Mathieu – MSmith@certitude.london

Loughborough Farm sessions are Tuesday and Saturdays – 1-3pm – to sign up to mailing list or more info – loughboroughfarm@gmail.com

Platform Cafe is usually open Wed – Fri, 12.30-3pm – the space can be hired for meetings, supper clubs, etc. email ljcommunitycafe@gmail.com