Derbyshire Trusted Befriending Network Tackling Isolation & Loneliness in Derbyshire

1. Derbyshire Trusted Befriending Network Tackling Isolation & Loneliness in Derbyshire Richard Murrell, DTBN Co-ordinator and Networks & Partnerships Manger, South Derbyshire CVS

2. Background The DTBN – a potted history • The DTBN ‘project’ started its life 2012. • It came about because it was acknowledged that Befriending Services across the county might benefit from the support of a central, co-ordinating team. • Following a tender process, South Derbyshire CVS was awarded the contract. • Funding came from Derbyshire County Council Adult Care.

3. Steering Group • To keep the project focused and meet its target, a Steering Group was established. • At least50% of members must be present for the meeting to be quorate • Over the years a range of representatives have been Members, including from one from DCC - current membership is 4 people: Peter Frakes (Chair), a Volunteer Centre Manager, the Chief Executive of Age UK Derbyshire & Derbyshire and the Services Manager at Alzheimer's Society.

4. Membership • There wouldn’t be a Network without its Members. • Since 2012 there have been more than 40 Members in total. • Current Membership – organisations on our mailing list who receive the DTBN weekly ebulletin – stands at 35. • Membership includes organisations that have the DTBN Quality Mark and others that offer support to isolated or lonely service users/clients/people!

5. Co-ordinated DTBN Member support The key support that the co-ordination team has provided over the years has been to: • Send out a weekly ebulletin that provides members with information on policy, announcements, publications, useful website, training, funding, events, etc. • Organise and run a DTBN Members meeting every quarter where Members get: an update on how the project is running: the opportunity to network with other Members; specific training and; once a year, attend a themed Workshop, e.g. Communications (TIDE Event).

6. Co-ordinated DTBN Member support • Support organisations to gain accreditation for the service that they provide – a ‘Quality Mark’. Originally 3 levels but since 2016 1 level with more robust process. • Compile a Directory of Befriending Service in Derbyshire. • Maintenance of a dedicated website for Members. • Bespoke information on specific issues relating to Befriending, e.g. DBS checks. • Referrals from DCC’s First Contact programme. • Co-ordinate collective data gathering, e.g. mapping and research*.

7. Independent Commissioned Research The Value and Impact of Befriending in Derbyshire report found that the Derbyshire Trusted Befriending Network consists of 28 organisations who provide befriending services: • to over 1,100 people – with an additional 1,600 waiting for support at any given time. • supported by 765 volunteers giving 70,000 hours support/yr. • worth £672,000 per year (Real Living Wage). • offering extremely good value for money: delivering over £7,000,000 of value against costs of around £800,000 – a return of almost 9:1 for each pound spent.

8. The report found that there were not only benefits for befriendees (service users) but also for their families/carers and for volunteer befrienders. The benefits for befriendees (service users) of receiving support through a befriending scheme are significant, and include: • a reduction in isolation (reported by 86% of people); • an increased feeling of being part of the community (86%); increased independence (57%); • an increased ability to socialise (70%) and; • improved physical and mental health (49% and 73% respectively).

9. Co-ordinated DTBN Member support Provision of training for Members and for partners, including Befriending Champions sessions: 3 elements… • Training for attendees to gain skills and knowledge to be the ‘eyes and ears’ of their local community and know how to support lonely or isolated people. • Opportunity for individuals/groups/organisations to apply for a BC Microgrant set up or develop initiatives/ projects that address isolation and/or loneliness. • Opportunity to attend Alzheimer’s Society ‘Dementia Friends Information Session’ to be more aware of Dementia.

10. The current picture Up to today: • A total of18 befriending services in Derbyshire are now either DTBN Quality Mark accredited or are working towards accreditation, OR have MBF APS accreditation or are working towards accreditation. 3organisations are currently gaining accreditation. • more than 1,700 DCC First Contact referrals received since January 2016.

11. A total of 44 Befriending Champions Microgrants have been given out since January 2017. More than £33,000 of funds given out - linked with other funding this equates to more than £55,000 given out to projects. • A total of 171 Befriending Champions trained since September 2016 – more than 200 trained since the project began.

12. So what happens next? In year April 2018 to March 2019 1. Refresh the Network’s role and purpose: • Work with Network Members to review and refresh the Derbyshire Trusted Befriending Network. purpose, name, brand, role and membership • Explore options for resourcing the Network longer term. This will involve discussion with Members about how its ownership and co-ordination might be shared. • Organise, promote and deliver legacy event (TIDE).

13. TIDE Jan 2018 DTBN Task Group set up • Where: Assembly Rooms in Chesterfield • When: Wednesday 11th July 2018 • What: Purpose of the event was to: • raise awareness of the issue of isolation/loneliness and to share the interesting findings of the recent • to engage with a wide range of public and voluntary sector groups/organisations/ individuals, who either commission or have responsibility for delivering services, to develop an action plan on how we all work together to tackle isolation and loneliness in Derbyshire going forward.

14. TIDE • The format for the day was: a keynote speaker (Shelagh); local speakers; a panel and; afternoon workshops (looking at Issues, Obstacles and Solutions) • Who:We invited DTBN Members, CVSs/VCs, MPs, Councillors, Senior DCC officers, CCG staff, Health and Wellbeing, and other relevant organisations: 64 individuals attended • How: The DTBN co-ordination Team led on and delivered the event, with support and input from both the DTBN Steering Group and the DTBN Members, and from specific people/organisations on the day.   • A promotional poster was also produced.

15. Round Table (looking at Issues/Obstacles/Solutions): led by…Yvonne Cohen, Age UK Derby & Derbyshire; Louise Scott, South Derbyshire CVS; Dave Radford, Volunteer Centre Chesterfield and NE Derbyshire: Juliet Short, Voluntary & Community Services Peaks & Dales; Jane Yeomans, Derbyshire Carers; Peter Stone (replacing Helen O’Connor, Alzheimer’s Society on the day) • Issues/Obstacles/Solutions – What have we learnt? • ‘Make a PLEDGE’ to tackle isolation and loneliness

17. Main Issues: • Rurality & large areas • Services in silos • Everyone has potential to become isolated (including carers, old and young) • Complex needs - Dementia and mental health • Bereavement a big problem • Eligibility of service user • Some services only run in specific areas • Funding cuts.

18. Main Obstacles: • Not easy (for carers) to get out – even harder in rural areas • Financial impacts – on individuals, on carers • Recruiting volunteers • Stigma • No transport • Time limited support from other services • Data protection • Amount of referrals – demand on services • Trying to find sufficient funding.

19. Main Solutions: • Use currently funded provision, such as local Befriending Service, vSPA • Work to improve partnerships • Merging of schemes/Co-ordination of different services • Reduce provision to be able to offer ‘something’ (e.g. telephone befriending instead of 1:1 or group support) • Use DTBN to bring power of SROI to Impact Assessment and sustainability plans • Make befriending a statutory responsibility (NHS/Council)? • Need to look at the wider community and how it can work • Develop skills support sessions • Peer-to-peer support/carer-to-carer support • Group support.

20. So what next? • Use the outputs from TIDE to: • Strengthen individual bids for funding – showing that there is a great demand across the County and each service plays its part to address loneliness and isolation • Strengthen joint bids for funding – showing that there is a great demand across the County and a collaborative approach will provide economies of scale and a consistent approach • Investigate opportunities to merge services – in order to reduce overhead costs/provide economies of scale

21. The Future of the Network Current DTBN Legacy/Exit Strategy (until 31st March 2019) Using underspend and agreed by DCC • Refreshing the Network’s role and purpose • Development of the DTBN Quality Mark • Providing a first point of contact, linking those needing befriending support quickly and effectively with those who can provide it • Supporting grassroots social action to tackle loneliness and isolation

22. The Future of the Network • Refreshing the Network’s role and purpose • Work with network members to review and refresh the Derbyshire Trusted Befriending Network purpose, name, brand (which currently incorporates DCC’s logo), role and membership. • Explore options for resourcing the network longer term. This will involve discussion with members about how its ownership and coordination might be shared. • Organise, promote and deliver legacy event.

23. The Future of the Network • Development of the DTBN Quality Mark • Review and adapt the existing quality standard and pilot it with a small group of providers who have received funding for group befriending activity through the microgrants programme. • Explore strategies for income generation to deliver the quality mark in future, such as charging for accreditation or selling the package outside Derbyshire.

24. The Future of the Network • Providing a first point of contact, linking those needing befriending support quickly and effectively with those who can provide it • Upgrade DTBN website capability (optimise mobile/tablet interface) as well as improve the interface for befriending service information • Continue to receive and process First Contact referrals.

25. The Future of the Network • Supporting grassroots social action to tackle loneliness and isolation • Monitor, evaluate and report on activities that have been funded and we also want to share learning. • Put together a Toolkit of ideas, successes, learning and case studies to help others tackling similar issues. • Engage with existing Befriending Champions to explore how we can support them going forward, as they represent a valuable network of informal grassroots activists. • Explore developing the Befriending Champion role - offering a ‘train the trainer’ package for individuals to deliver sessions themselves to their own peer groups, networks, services or local communities.

26. The Future of the Network But in the meantime…Building Connections Fund Bid for £98K to tackle loneliness & isolation in Derbyshire by: • Reaching more people across Derbyshire who are lonely and isolated, and helping them to access appropriate local support through our networks/partners • Providing specialist training that will enable services and their volunteers to extend their provision and offer effective support to new groups of people for example people with dementia, mental health conditions and at end of life (and any other specialist gaps identified by members).

27. The Future of the Network Building Connections Fund contd… • Expanding the network to include more varied organisations / services that tackle loneliness and isolation, to learn from each other and quality assure what they do • Raising awareness of social isolation and its impact, recruiting more volunteers and encouraging informal social action

28. The Future of the Network Evaluation of the Co-ordination – more independent research… • The Network is seen to be delivering vital services which are making a very positive difference to the work of members. Members value all services provided by the Network because they provide an essential range of support functions to help them operate their services efficiently and effectively as well as ensuring that befriending across the county has a collective voice.

29. The Future of the Network Questions to our Members… • What would be the impact on your service if the DTBN co-ordination function disappeared and • What would your organisation be able to commit to in order for a ‘Network’ to continue in the future should the DTBN co-ordination function disappear on 1st April 2019. This will be influenced by whether services will be funded in the future – at the moment Derbyshire CCGs are consulting on proposals to cut funding to Befriending Services: https://cvssaveourservices.wordpress.com

30. The Future of the Network A possible solution to keep the coordination function going • Local funding for 1-2 years to provide a basic level of support to Members – this is currently being explored. • ?

31. Still lots more to do to address Isolation and Loneliness Jo Cox Commission… “it is not just Government that needs to act. We also believe there is a role for… Community and voluntary groups”* * Combatting loneliness one conversation at a time: A call to Action – page 3

32. DTBN Team contact details • Richard Murrell – Trusted Befriending Network Co-ordinator for Derbyshire, Tel: 01283 219761 or email: richm@sdcvs.org.uk/ befriending@sdcvs.org.uk