Blog Post Community Wellbeing Working together to tackle loneliness and isolation In February 2020, the Welsh Government published its first ever strategy to tackle loneliness and social isolation - “Connected Communities”. We have probably all experienced these feelings at some point in our lives, but when they become long-term and entrenched, they can have a huge impact on our physical and mental wellbeing. And 'although loneliness […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Loneliness June 12, 2023
Report Community Wellbeing Older adults and the pandemic: tackling loneliness through technology Loneliness and social isolation have significant impacts on older people’s health and wellbeing. This has been a priority issue for the Welsh Government since before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, social distancing measures increased the risk of loneliness and social isolation and accelerated the use of technology to facilitate social contact and connection. WCPP […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Local government Loneliness June 12, 2023
Blog Post Tackling Inequalities Tackling poverty and mental health together: a multi-agency approach The Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) has recommended four areas of focus for Welsh Government action on poverty and social exclusion. One of these is about mental load and mental health: “Addressing the emotional and psychological burden carried by people living in poverty and social exclusion through tackling stigma, (re)humanising ‘the system’ and treating […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Health inequalities Poverty and social exclusion December 2, 2022
Blog Post Community Wellbeing ‘Blending’ online and offline provision in community wellbeing services: what does it mean and why does it matter? Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, public and third sector organisations supporting community wellbeing have relied on a mixture of remote and face-to-face methods for delivering services and engaging with the people they support. These have been delivered in different combinations at different times, in response to a rapidly shifting landscape of restrictions on physical contact and […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Local government August 30, 2022
Report Community Wellbeing Multi-agency working and outcomes for children looked after ‘At risk’ children and families will frequently interact with multiple agencies and services. It has been a long-held aspiration that these bodies and the services that they provide are better coordinated and, moreover, centred on the people that they are seeking to help. With other work focusing on the factors that lead to children being […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Poverty and social exclusion September 22, 2021
Blog Post Community Wellbeing Volunteering and wellbeing in the pandemic: Learning from practice We’ve heard a lot about the valuable role of volunteering in supporting communities through the pandemic. But when we looked at the evidence base on how volunteering has supported wellbeing during the crisis, we found it mostly focuses on volunteers’ wellbeing, with much less on those being helped or on community wellbeing. And yet we […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Local government August 18, 2021
Report Community Wellbeing PhD Interns Collaboration and policy implementation at the local level in Wales The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union will have a considerable impact on the agricultural industry in Wales. Agricultural policy is a devolved matter, for which the Welsh Government is allocated an annual budget by the UK Government; prior to Brexit, this funding was delivered through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. In 2021-2022, Wales’ […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Local government June 30, 2021
Blog Post Community Wellbeing Volunteering lessons from the pandemic Amanda Carr, Director of Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS), reflects on how new research into volunteering and wellbeing during the pandemic matches up with her own experiences. I wanted to start by taking the opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Volunteers’ Week and to say a huge thank you to all those volunteers […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Local government June 7, 2021
Report Community Wellbeing Volunteering and wellbeing during the Coronavirus pandemic Volunteering has played a crucial role in supporting communities during the pandemic. Interest in volunteering saw a dramatic spike early in the pandemic, and volunteers have helped meet people’s emotional and physical needs during the crisis. There is widespread interest from policymakers and practitioners in maintaining this activity to contribute to a wellbeing-led recovery in […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Local government June 7, 2021
Report Community Wellbeing The role of communities and the use of technology in mitigating loneliness during the pandemic This report presents findings from WCPP research on the role of communities and the use of technology in mitigating loneliness during the Coronavirus pandemic. Tackling loneliness was a priority for Welsh Government and public services before the Coronavirus pandemic and has become a greater concern since. Lockdowns and social distancing policies introduced in response to […] Read more Topics: Community collaboration Local government May 26, 2021
