Summer is here and there are even more activities to keep kids and teens busy throughout - better yet most of the events are absolutely FREE. So whether it's an online photography workshop or music production lessons, there's something for everyone.

Art Pavilion, Cable Street Surgery, East London Mosque, Granby Hall & Westfield remain open for appointments & walk-ins, with selected pharmacies also open for booked appointments – full details of all sites here:

Two vaccination clinics on Saturday 17 July

10.00am to 4.00pm - George Green’s School, 1st dose, Pfizer
100 Manchester Road, Isle of Dogs, E14 3DW
Walk-in or call 020 7364 3030 to book in advance

9.00am to 5.00pm - Barkantine Practice, 1st dose, Pfizer
121 Westferry Road, E14 8JH
Walk-in, call 020 7364 3030 to book in advance

Saturday 24 July / 10.00am to 4.00pm - Stepney Green Maths and Computing College
1st dose, Pfizer
Ben Johnson Road, E1 4SD
Walk-in or call 020 7364 3030 to book in advance

19, 20, 26 July / 6.00 to 7.30pm 

One Housing in partnership with Tower Hamlets Homes, Swan Housing and East End Homes are delivering 6 workshops on Knife crime prevention & awareness for parents.

The workshops are targeted at parents of young people who may be at risk of becoming involved in knife crime. The sessions will help to increase your awareness and understanding of knife crime, as well as helping you to support your child to make the right choices.

All of the sessions will be taking place on Zoom, so you can join from the comfort of your own home.

Thursday 22 July / 11.00am to 1.00pm / Via Teams

Tower Hamlets Council is offering the opportunity to manage one or more of its community hubs to VCS and other not-for-profit organisations.

Tower Hamlets council has refurbished and opened five Community Hubs. These are designed to be multi-purpose spaces that can be booked and used for a range of different community based activities, events and meetings.

The selection process for the managing organisations is now open and the council is inviting organisations to submit proposals for managing one or more of the community hubs. Full details of each of the hubs can be found in the property particulars published on the council’s property lettings page Property Lettings.

The council has arranged a virtual session for prospective leaseholders to discuss the proposed community hubs and answer questions. This virtual session will be held on Teams.

For more information or if you would like an invitation to this meeting, please email victor.oshinowo@towerhamlets.gov.uk or david.freeman@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

Tower Hamlets Island Community Network (THICN), is a new grassroots consortium supporting young people facing multiple/complex disadvantages in the borough.

Funded by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), THICN is one of a number of grass-roots neighbourhood partnerships funded as part of the MyEnds programme.

THICN is lead by Osmani Trust, in partnership with Spotlight and Streets of Growth, who are all specialists in transforming the life trajectories of young people who have become marginalised by severe local poverty, unemployment and crime – particularly those from BAME communities who are disproportionately affected by these issues.

The Woman's Trust offer support groups for women who have or are experiencing domestic abuse in East London. Support groups are facilitated by a group worker and are a safe space for women can explore their experiences and realise they are not alone. The groups run for 8 weeks and are free.

Women can self refer to the groups or be referred by organisations with their consent, simply by calling 020 7034 0303.

All support groups currently take place over Zoom so you would need to confirm you have a safe, confidential space to attend. 

You can find guidance on COVID-19 in your chosen language from the tiles below and share them within your community. This also includes support services available in community languages:

• Translated COVID-19 guidance
• Health and Wellbeing
• Employment and Welfare
• Help for Parents
• Domestic Violence and Abuse
• Housing and Homelessness
• Visas and Immigration
• Learn English
• Additional Resources

Wednesday 21 July / 14:00 to 15:30pm

This is an online practical workshop. We recommend you join the session from a computer or tablet that allows you to participate in the activities.

When the pandemic started many organisations had to jump into virtual options to continue delivering their work and communicate with their users. Now with the easing of the restrictions and with the learnings of the past year, organisations are getting ready and considering a blended model, office - home.

In this session we will explore what do you need to have in place, is it for everybody? How to implement a blended model? This workshop will explore: Organisational Culture, premises, equipment, systems, skills, GDPR, Policies

At Tower Hamlets CVS we want your organisation to thrive and Digital has become an important part of your organisation capabilities.

We are introducing monthly surgeries where you can speak with a member of staff about your digital needs.

Among the topics are:

• Equipment
• CRM (Client Relationship Manager)
• Training programmes
• Digital and tech solutions for your operations
• Publicity: Website and social media
• Other topics (please let us know what your query is about)
  

Wednesday 21 July / 12.00 to 2.00pm

The new Tower Hamlets Women’s Network invites you to become a member and join them for the first quarterly meeting on Wednesday 21 July. This will be an online event hosted by Account3, Alternative Arts and The People Speak, via zoom.

Membership is open to women who are local residents and women who are members of local women’s groups, community, arts and cultural organisations.

The Tower Hamlets Women’s Network is being co-ordinated by Alternative Arts and Account3. The aim is to raise the profile of women in the borough, share ideas, explore current issues and build a strong and supportive network as a resource for all local women, providing inspiration for creating a more equal society for the benefit of the whole community.

Tuesday 27 July / Thursday 29 July

You will receive free training to develop your skills and confidence to help those that are living with life limiting conditions, are at the end of life or are elderly can be experiencing loneliness and isolation.

You can do this by offering companionship, emotional support, running a group activity or by helping people to increase their connections.

If you are interested please contact the CN team on 07508134095 or cn@stjh.org.uk

If wellbeing is the goal of society, to inform our policies and be the basis for making everyday decisions on how to spend our time and money, it is necessary to understand the full breadth of what drives our wellbeing, and how these drivers interact with each other.

In this week's Centre blog, Nancy Hey talks about the latest project, Covid:WIRED, a new and unique online dashboard looking at emerging research on the impact of the pandemic on different populations and on different outcomes starting with subjective wellbeing and its six drivers.

By looking at inequalities in the change in wellbeing, we can identify which societal groups have been hardest hit. Humans are resilient - some of these changes will return to normal without much of an impact, but some won't and can have longer term effects on people’s lives. This evidence can be used to inform the design of policies and programming to take into account how some people may have been affected by multiple drivers of wellbeing all at once and how existing inequalities and vulnerabilities may have been exacerbated, requiring a doubling down on addressing inequality in the UK.  

Two million Londoners from all walks of life experience some form of poor mental health every year. Thrive London, supported by the Mayor of London and the London Health Board, is a citywide movement for mental health.

Thrive LDN will be encouraging Londoners to join the movement - to learn more about mental health and attend key events where they can explore issues, share experiences, discover solutions and support others. In the meantime, they welcome you to share your views with them. 

Londoners have told Good Thinking that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution when it comes to their health – they want information and support that reflects how they live and what their values are.

Good Thinking have been working with a diverse range of faith and belief communities across London to provide tailored wellbeing content and support. This includes collaborating with local councils, CCGs, charities and other organisations. Everyone’s mental health is different – Good Thinking is here to help you find your own path to improve your wellbeing. 

Thrive LDN and Toynbee Hall are running a series of workshops to work alongside young people in producing solutions and initiatives to support wellbeing & mental health in London.

This is a chance for young Londoners to share their ideas around wellbeing and mental health support in small groups. The age range for the workshops is 16-26, and if you attend a workshop, you will be paid a thank you incentive at London Living Wage rate for your time.

The Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board is a partnership that enables leaders, health and social care professionals and other partners across the NHS, the council and the voluntary sector to work together, solve problems and lead change to improve the health of residents.

The board has developed a draft joint strategy for the next five years for Tower Hamlets and we would like you to hear your views on it. 

In London, there are a range of free resources, online tools, and helplines available to help you cope and stay mentally healthy. These sit alongside non-urgent NHS psychological treatments, such as talking therapies, if you need further professional support to help you cope with mental and emotional problems.

Helplines
Many of us might be feeling unsafe, vulnerable, alone or unable to cope with grief or loss. The following helplines are free and confidential:

Samaritans: 116 123
Whatever problems you are facing Samaritans are there to listen.

SHOUT: Text Shout to 85258
Text service for support with any mental health concern (it will not show up on your bill).

CRUSE: 0808 808 1677
Support and advice if you are grieving or dealing with bereavement and loss of a loved one.

Switchboard helpline: 0300 330 0630
The LGBT+ helpline is open daily from 10am-10pm.

Looking out for friends and colleagues
It might feel more difficult to mention to someone that you’re worried about them, but now more than ever we need to keep our connections strong.

If you're worried about someone, The Samaritans has a range of resources to help get the conversation started.

St Hilda's East is considering letting out some of their excess space in their headquarters in Club Row, E2 7EY and are researching the need for voluntary sector facilities in Tower Hamlets. It would be really helpful if you could answer the short survey below so that we can understand more about the needs of our fellow local voluntary sector organisations!The information provided by you in this survey will be used for research purposes.

ELFT want to refresh their strategy and they need your help to do this. A strategy is a plan that sets out what your long-term aim is, what it is that you want to achieve and the ways that you will make this a reality. A lot has happened since the last ‘Big Conversation’ four years ago so it is time to review and refresh it.

You are invited to attend an online engagement of events to hear what has changed and share your ideas and views. 

Thursday 15, 22 July / 10.00 to 10.45am / Workout with Chi Ngo Fitness at Mile End Park: This is a face-to-face session at Mile End Park, which we all attend when the weather is dry. If the weather is wet, we will use Zoom instead. Please note that there are three more sessions to go after this one.

Every Wednesday / 11.00am to 12.30pm / Tiffanwali / Healthy Cooking Course: This course is run in partnership with Tiffanwali, cooking healthy dishes. There are 5 more sessions to go. Due to the government’s recent extension to the restrictions this session will be through Zoom. This course is 6-weeks ending on 28th July.

For more information or to sign up, please email sumita.baines@deafplus.org

Deadline: 30 July

What is Freedom of the Borough?
It’s the highest honour our borough can give. It’s awarded to people and organisations for their exceptional service to Tower Hamlets. It's rarely given out, the last award was presented in 2018. 

Who is eligible for the award?
Individuals or organisations who have made outstanding efforts over several years. They must have a strong, continuing connection with Tower Hamlets. TH wants to hear from all diverse communities.

Throughout July, The Institute of Connected Communities are sharing their research projects and their impacts on the world.

19 July / 12.00 to 1.30pm / Early Career Researchers (ECR) Forum - ECRs are fundamental to the growth of the research at the university and working collaboratively is the way forward in the research sphere. The ECR Forum is an opportunity to meet and get to know fellow ECRs from the ICC and the rest of the university. Open to UEL early career researchers (online) - Click here to sign up

20 July / 2.00 to 3.00pm / Webinar 1: An Ofcom Report - Kirsty Phillips & Ruby Farr - Research on Protection of Minors: A literature review and interconnected frameworks. Implications for VSP regulation and beyond (2021). Open to the public (online) - Click here to sign up

21 July / 10.00 to 11.30am / Webinar 2: African Youth Safety Network - Dr Darren Sharpe, Mohsen Rajabi & Dr Chinwe Obuaku: Recovering from COVID-19 - An alliance to improve the online and offline health and welfare of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people living in Rwanda, Zambia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. Open to public (online) - Click here to sign up

22 July / 1.00 to 5.00 pm / Celebrating ICC’s Social Impact: PPI & community evaluative research drop-in clinic - Dr Darren Sharpe - An opportunity to engage and/or discuss with an award-winning senior research member of the ICC on PPI and community evaluation research. To book an appointment contact d.sharpe@uel.ac.uk. Upon confirmation of appointment, you will need to sign up to the Eventbrite link for the meeting link. Open to members of academy, the public sector and community groups (online) -
Click here to sign up (by appointment only)

An 8 week online Zoom Course

Mondays - 19, 26 July / 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 August  / 11.00am to 12.15pm

This program is open to any Tower Hamlets adult resident with intermediate level English and not in a current mental health episode.

For more information, please call 07570802591 for email Takebackyourlife19@gmail.com

Wednesday 21 July / 11.00am to 12.00pm / Via Zoom 

Are you a provider of health & wellbeing groups in E3? If so E3 would like to welcome you a Networking Breakfast! E3 provide a friendly and informal space for local service providers of all sizes to come and chat and share what they are doing, with a view to strengthening joint working in the area.

For this E3 Breakfast we will be focusing on mental health support and face-to-face groups that are happening in the community. If you know of anything to share please do let us know. The next breakfast will be hosted by Social Prescribing Networks 5 and 6.

The breakfasts are a way of building a 'live-directory' of services and leave us all feeling inspired. You're welcome to bring along flyers, cards or any other information to share with the group. Likewise, feel free to pass this invite on to friends and colleagues.

For more information, please email: the3breakfast@gmail.com

Thursday 22 July - Classroom Session 10am to 4pm

This course will explore what diagnosis' cover learning disabilities, statistics in the UK, what factors impact diagnosis and how this sits within different cultures, what we can do to support people with learning disabilities and where to find support in Tower Hamlets and wider.

To enquire, please call: 0207 426 2332 or email: elft.thrc@nhs.net

Wednesday 28 July / 6.00pm / Via Zoom

The topic will be Community Representation. Discussions will include community engagement and how local residents can get involved. 

For more information and to book you place email lgbtforum@elop.org

Thursday 5 August / 3.00 to 5.00pm

Are you interested in understanding more about how disabled people’s experience of the pandemic has been different, and how we can work towards achieving greater equality within the health sector?

Over the past 6 months, Tower Hamlets Public Health have been working together with Real, ICM Foundation, deafPLUS and Healthwatch, with support from THCVS, to better understand the experience of disabled people throughout the pandemic in understanding and accessing Covid-19 priority health messages.

This conference is open to all, but is particularly relevant to those working within Public Health, the CCG, Tower Hamlets Council and the not for profit sector. Participants of the project, and all disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, are also invited to attend.

If you have an access needs you want to discuss, or need support to attend this event, please contact Hannah West from Real at hannah.west@real.org.uk or call 020 7001 2170.

Thursday 15 July / 2.30pm

Join council officers and our colleagues at Spacehive for an information session about the Tower Hamlets Innovation Fund.

This workshop will introduce you to the Tower Hamlets Innovation Fund - a £120,000 fund to top up your crowdfunding project by up to £10,000.

Learn about how to go about setting up a crowdfunding project, the top-up funding available through this fund, and how crowdfunding can be used to promote your organisation's work.

Grant Deadline: Sunday 18 July

Community Conversation Deadline: Sunday 8 August

London is facing a historically high unemployment rate at a time of great uncertainty, with communities across the capital deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his manifesto the Mayor committed to making jobs, jobs, jobs his top priority; helping Londoners to get the right skills to find employment has never been more important. As well as helping people to get the job they want, learning at any age gives people confidence, helps them be more active in their communities, and lets them lead happier and healthier lives. London has been a city of learning for over 100 years, and colleges, councils, learning providers and voluntary/community organisations have helped millions of people to learn, gain new skills and to fulfil their potential.

At this critical time in London’s history, the Greater London Authority want to hear directly from Londoners.

The GLA are inviting all organisations who work directly with Londoners to host a ‘Community Conversation’ to gather Londoners’ views. They are offering Consultation Access Grants of up to £500 for organisations that need support to do this; the deadline to apply for a grant has been extended to Sunday 18 July 2021. Your organisation can also submit its own response to the consultation through a different link for organisations. The deadline to host a Community Conversation or respond to the consultation is Sunday 8 August 2021.

The consultation feedback will help shape future employment and skills priorities, especially the draft Adult Education Roadmap for London, which sets out a long-term vision for adult learning in the capital. Adult learning includes all types of classes, courses, training opportunities and qualifications for those aged 19+, and is important to help Londoners get the skills they need for jobs and to live happier, healthier lives.

Deadline: Monday 19 July / 12 noon

Tower Hamlets Council has established the Cohesion Events Fund, made available from the Mayor’s Covid Recovery Fund, to award small grants to support a programme of community events; held indoors, outdoors, or virtually. The Cohesion Events Fund focuses on community cohesion and re-connecting communities who have been most affected by the pandemic. Events should take place over a two-week period between 25th
October and 7th November 2021, with one week coinciding with the autumn half-term school holiday.

What Funding is Available?
The total amount of funding available is £45,000. There are two funding levels available:
• Grants of up to £500 for virtual events
• Grants of up to £3,000 for face-to-face events
It is anticipated that 15 – 20 grants will be awarded through this fund.

Deadline: Monday 26 July / 12 noon

The BME Health Forum has opened a first funding round for organisations wishing to help communities in London experiencing racial inequality meet their immediate needs related to Covid-19. Grants of up to £20,000 are available.

This funding round is for charities and social enterprises with an average annual income of at least £100,000 but less than £600,000.

Deadline: Friday 30 July 2021

Are you starting a new education or training course in September, but worried about finding the money to pay for it? The Further Education Trust might be able to help. Applications for the Tower Hamlets and Canary Wharf Trust Fund are open until 30 July 2021.

The fund provides financial grants of up to £6,600, depending on your course and personal financial situation, to help with the cost of further and higher education courses. 

Deadline: Tuesday 3 August / 9am

Groundwork are working with the Mayor of London to offer grants of up to £45,000 for projects which identify opportunities to counter violent extremism in London.

In June 2019, the Mayor of London published the final report from his Countering Violent Extremism Programme. The report includes 70 recommendations for initiatives that could help counter extremism in London across the key areas of:

• Strengthening communities against extremism
• Encouraging Londoners to stand up to hate and intolerance
• Safeguarding vulnerable Londoners from radicalisation
  
• Stopping the spread of extremist ideologies

Deadline: Monday 13 September / 5:00pm

Applications are now open for the 2021 Grow Back Greener Fund, co-funded by the Mayor of London and Thames Water.

COVID-19 has demonstrated just how important our city's amazing green spaces are for Londoners' quality of life. We're looking for community projects across the capital that will improve access to green space, improve existing green spaces and help us adapt to climate change.

Grants between £10,000 and £75,000 are available across two themes: access to green space, and climate adaptation and water, to support local projects that will help create community gardens, revitalise parks, plant trees, create wildlife habitat, restore waterways and turn grey spaces into green. The fund will prioritise locations with poor access to green space and high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

Applications are open to civil society organisations, local authorities and schools. Projects must be completed by November 2022.

Deadline: Monday 20 September / 5pm

Charities are facing significant challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic while continuing to provide vital services to keep people healthy and connected. This year, more than ever, we are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2022 GSK IMPACT Awards. 

The GSK IMPACT Awards provide funding, training and development for charities doing excellent work to improve people’s health and wellbeing. The awards are funded by GSK and managed in partnership with The King’s Fund. They are open to registered charities that are at least three years old, working in a health-related field in the UK, with a total annual income between £120,000 and £3 million. 

Up to 20 awards will be made, ranging from £4,000 to £50,000. In addition, the training and development is valued at a further £9,500. Organisations will also have a film made, receive help with press and publicity, and be given a set of promotional materials. The GSK IMPACT Awards are judged by a prestigious panel of judges and provide national recognition for the winning charities.

The National Lottery Community Fund and The Ubele Initiative, on behalf of The Phoenix Way Partners, have today jointly announced a new £50 million partnership aimed to boost funding and support to Black and Minoritised Community charities and grassroots groups over the next five years.

‘The Phoenix Way’ will create a series of national and regional panels, made of leaders and decision-makers from Black and Minoritised Community-led charities and grassroots groups from across England.

The new initiative will help to facilitate engagement with Black and Minoritised community-led charities and grassroots groups to enable them to access funding and support that have previously failed to reach them and have been difficult for them to access.

'We Fund' funds small and local charities, investing in their work helping people overcome complex social issues across England and Wales. They support charities with an annual income of £25,000 to £1 million with a proven track record of helping people on a journey of positive change through in-depth, holistic and person-centred support. 'We Fund' offers unrestricted funding, including around core costs, and tailored development support to help your charity be more effective.