Wednesday 13 July / 10.00 to 11.00am

THCVS is working with LBTH Public Health to raise awareness of how to develop culturally appropriate health messaging for our communities. This project reviewed health communication and engagement strategy with Tower Hamlets residents towards ensuring guidance and important health messages are ‘culturally appropriate’, ‘available in different languages’ and ‘uses different approaches’ to ensure messages reach different audiences.

Adopting a two phased approach which comprised of a desk top review and semi-structured interviews with 22 Tower Hamlets residents, the project reinforced the importance of community involvement as crucial to the ethos of cultural appropriate health communication and highlights the need for ensuring health messages are co-designed, and accessibility issues considered congruent to the provision of health messaging which is culturally appropriate.

Wednesday 6 July / 10.30am to 12.30pm

Women and men alike have the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Despite great progress in that regard, there is still a great gap between the sexes in accessing equal resources. Sex inequalities and inequalities in the social and economic determinants of health are at the core of health inequities for women and girls and must be addressed.

To address this, in 2021, the UK government set out the first Vision for Women’s Health Strategy and recently appointed the first women health ambassador Dame Lesley Regan to shake up women’s health.

The July gathering will aim to initiate conversation on our health as women (from puberty to aging well and what comes in between) and identify our barriers and priorities for women’s health from puberty to menopause.

Friday 15 July / 11.00am to 3.00pm / Mile End Stadium, 190 Burdett Road, E3 4HL

Join the Disabled People's Network for free and Inclusive sports activities! The Disabled People's Network have been working with Tower Hamlets Council to address inequality and improve local community cohesion. Working in partnership with residents, the council, voluntary organisations the network aim to reduce inequalities faced by disabled people.

Better Safe Communities are pleased to inform you of the launch of the first historic Somali National Helpline, sponsored by the local businesses up and down the country and in regards to poor service provisions of UK public services for Somali communities nationally.
 
The Helpline was founded by Khadra Hersi, a student of London Met University. It is aimed at the Somali community, helping with language barriers, immigration, and mental health issues due to war in their country. The Somali National Helpline are a service that uses professionals to support people overcome issues they are facing. They exist to support individuals with language matters, mental health issues, and beneficiaries to solve their problems. They also provide translating and interpreting services. They are here to support and advocate for many problems faced within the Somali community such as young adults suffering from knife crime, and elderly people who feel isolated and lonely due to language barriers.

Consultation Closes: Tuesday 12 July 2022

TfL are consulting about proposals to make changes to bus routes into central London and would like to hear your views. The changes being consulted on are intended to cause as little disruption to passengers as possible, while making the savings required by the Government.

TfL have done a detailed review of London's bus network, to achieve these significant financial savings. As part of this work, they have reviewed key bus corridors from the north, south, east, and west into the centre of the city. This is because demand has reduced over the years on some roads leading into central and inner London due to changing travel patterns which have been accelerated by the pandemic. 

You can also submit your response to TfL by email or in writing (no stamp needed) to:

• haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk; or
• FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY (CLBR)
• Or you can telephone on 020 3054 6037 to leave your name and contact number and they will call you back. Quote ‘Bus Review’ when leaving your message.

TfL are keen to hear from anyone that wants to comment on this consultation. Please do pass on these details to your own contacts as you may find appropriate.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Do you need support with your mental health? Do you need information on accessing local mental health services? Do not let things build up or escalate...

Please feel free walk-in to The Together Cafe: Osmani Centre, 58 Underwood Road, E1 5AW during the following days & times: Weekdays between 5pm to 9pm / Weekends and Bank Holidays from 12 noon until 9.pm or call 0808 196 2103 (freephone). 

You will have access to a recovery worker, peer support worker and mental health professionals who can offer support and creative interventions to help you to cope more effectively. This support is available to all residents of Tower Hamlets and is free to use.

5, 6 & 7 July / 1.30 to 3.00pm / My Space creative area, Bromley By Bow Centre

Chickenshed creates theatre for all ages and runs successful outreach projects, education courses and membership programmes throughout the year. The Space Between Us Programme was born out of the desire to bring together a group that crossed generations, from all sides of society and developed a creative platform to have conversations, explore histories and devise theatre together. 

The three workshops and may include conversation, music, crafts, writing, movement, spoken word and film. Everyone is welcome and absolutely no experience of theatre is required. To find out more, contact mina.chowdhury@bbbc.org.uk

Wednesday 6 July / 2.00 to 4.00pm 

This training will look at gambling related harm in regard to: 

• How problematic gambling occurs, and what it looks like 
• The prevalence of gambling in young people and what support services is available for them 
• The impacts of problematic gambling on the gambler, and any affected others 
• What you can do to support people affected by gambling-related harm 
  

For those who have a Learning Hub log in - please apply HERE / External staff please apply using this External Partner’s link. 

Wednesday 6 July / 5.00 to 7:00pm

This is a public training to anyone living or working in Tower Hamlets to learn a bit more about the Harm Reduction movement and about different substances. The first half of the training will cover principles of Harm Reduction and the theoretical foundation for working with or generally supporting people who use drugs, and the second half will be a whistle-stop tour of some common substances, their effects, and ways you can support someone while they use those substances.

Thursday 7 July / 1.00 to 3.00pm . Harford Street Multi Centre (Harford Health Centre), 115 Harford Street, London E1 4FG

The BMHF are organising a community mental health event (in partnership with ELFT).

• Find out what is happening in your area
• Stalls on local services
• Learn about support services
• Guest speakers on mental health issues
• Refreshments & Lunch
  

For more information on the event or to book a stall for your organisation please contact Shamsur Choudhury on 0771 607 8840 or email: shamsur@bangladeshimentalhealth.org  

Sunday 10 July / 2.00 to 3.00pm

This training is for anyone in Tower Hamlets who has a friend, loved one, or coworker at risk of experiencing an opioid overdose. If you have ever worried for the well-being of someone you care about who is using substances, especially opioids (heroin or prescription pain medicine), this training is for you! Reset Outreach and Referral Service will cover how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose, including how to administer naloxone, the opioid overdose reversing drug.

Tuesday 12 July / 12.00 to 2.30pm / Bromley by Bow Centre, St Leonards Street, London, E3 3BT

Real, ICM Foundation, Radar and Bromley by Bow Centre have started a project aiming to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation within our Disabled communities. To learn more about Disabled people's experiences of isolation, DDPOs and their members will be invited to share their stories. They want to hear about your experiences and your ideas on how to reduce isolation. With your input and our funding, they can bring your ideas to life.

For more information, email events@real.org.uk / call or text either 07305811946 or 020 7001 2184 to secure your place.

Thursday 14 July / 12.30 to 4.30pm / Southern Grove Community Hall, Southern Grove,  E3 4FX

The Training Hub are pleased to invite local health and care staff to attend and promote this Primary Care Careers Fair. The aim of the event is to:

• Raise awareness of primary care careers
• Increase understanding of role and function of primary care
• Facilitate access to current job opportunities in Tower Hamlets primary care
• Provide the opportunity to engage with universities offering programmes to support roles in primary care and wider health care

The event is open to the community and workforce. A significant number of our workforce are also local residents and/or have family friends in the Borough. Do share the event information with all and do drop by yourself.

Monday 18 July / 6.00 to 7.00pm

Tower Hamlets is currently in the process of carrying out a Childcare Sufficiency Assessment with the aim of shaping and improving childcare over the next 5 years. This will be in the form of an 80-100 pages report that will be publicly available in the coming month.

As part of this, the Premier Advisory Group of behalf of London Borough Tower Hamlets Council want to hear parents views and experience in terms of accessing childcare. Therefore, we invite you to this focus group and thank you for giving us your time. Your contribution is vital.

Additionally, they are also running a survey if parents would like to give responses individually: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YGGJMNT

Exhibition open until Saturday 10 September / 121 Roman Road, Bethnal Green, E2 0QN / Free Entry / No booking required

Four Corners and the Swadhinata Trust are delighted to present an exhibition of photographs by Paul Trevor, celebrating east London's Bengali activists of 1978. This exhibition reveals the dramatic events which were sparked by the racist murder of Altab Ali, a 24-year-old Bengali leather garments worker, and pays tribute to the activists who mobilised around the rallying cry of justice that followed.

Local East End photographer Paul Trevor documented how members of the local Bengali community endured racial abuse as a constant factor of everyday life, and the moment at which they mobilised against racist violence and institutional police racism. This exhibition brings together 75 of Trevor’s photographs for the first time, alongside oral history recordings by original activists. The show marks the culmination of a major heritage project led by Four Corners and Swadhinata Trust, in partnership with Paul Trevor.

Office for National Statistics survey tests a sample of two million people every week across the country, around 1 in 14 people have COVID-19 and this is likely to be similar in Tower Hamlets. More information about COVID-19 infection rates is available online from the Office for National Statistics. 

Please check here for more updates from the Director of Public Health in Tower Hamlets.

Please email PhCov19@towerhamlets.gov.uk if you have enquiries about your activities or events.

If you need further advice, please call the council vaccination helpline on 0207 364 3030.

Monday 25 July to Friday 19 August 2022 (20 days) / Malmesbury Primary School, Coborn Street, Bow, E3 2AB

The Tower Hamlets Holiday Childcare Scheme is Ofsted registered and provides childcare for children aged 3 to 13 years old. The schemes takes place during the school holidays, (excluding the Christmas break) within a Tower Hamlets school. See our activity plan for the full timetable of activities available. Bookings close on 19 July 2022 or earlier once bookings are full.

This month the Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg Project will launch at three local children's centres in Tower Hamlets in partnership with Chrisp Street Market. Families with young children under five will receive weekly vouchers, which they can exchange for the fresh fruit and veg of their choice.

This year has continued to be incredibly challenging, especially for those on the lowest incomes. More families than ever are struggling to afford fresh fruit and veg and provide healthy choices for their children. Demand for Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg, a project run by Alexandra Rose Charity, has increased by 36.4 per cent this year. The charity is now supporting over 2,200 families every week.

Tuesday 19 July / 11.00 to 12.30

Have you got an idea for a project in your part of Tower Hamlets? Our Tower Hamlets is back to give local groups the opportunity to crowdfund impactful community-led projects that bring local places to life. As part of this programme, you can pitch for up to £10,000 from Tower Hamlets Council to help you crowdfund your project.

So come along to this launch event and project workshop to find out about the crowdfunding process, learn about the funding offer from the Council and get inspired! Whether your project is big or small, this is your opportunity to learn how you can make a real difference in your local area through Our Tower Hamlets.

Deadline: Monday 19 July @12 noon

Grants of up to £1000 and £5000 are available. The Mayor of Tower Hamlets has established a loneliness “task force” that aims to reduce the impact of loneliness and social isolation on the residents of the borough. The goal of the taskforce is for Tower Hamlets to be a place that is welcoming and friendly where people of all ages and backgrounds have opportunities to connect with each other in ways that are enjoyable, fun and life enhancing.

We know that loneliness deeply affects people in Tower Hamlets and there are factors in Tower Hamlets that increase vulnerability to loneliness such as low incomes and the dense urban environment. One of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic has been to make people feel more isolated from each other and many surveys have identified an increase in reported loneliness.

Grants between £10,000 and £25,000 are available from the Steel Charitable Trust to registered charities in the UK working in the areas of arts and heritage, environment, health, or social and economic disadvantage. Applications under the social or economic disadvantage category must have a focus on either disadvantaged children or people experiencing homelessness. Applications under the health category must have a focus on either mental health or healthcare for older people. 

Don’t forget to apply for a two-year unrestricted grant of £50,000 before the end of the year. Check your eligibility in less than five minutes on our website by selecting one of 11 complex social issues. If the majority of your trustee board self-identifies as belonging to a Black, Asian or minority ethnic community, you can apply under the Racial Equity strand.

The Marketors City Livery Company has announced a new Charity Marketing Grants Programme for 2021-2, funded by its charity The Marketors’ Trust. A total of £20,000 is being made available as grants for small charities (turnover between £10,000 and £100,000 annual income) to run marketing and fundraising campaigns. There is one grant of £10,000 and four grants of £2,500 each

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has partnered with Enterprise Nation to deliver the Pivot Project, offering 150 small businesses in the borough a programme of business support and financial support of up to £1,000.

The initiative is open to businesses with up to 49 employees who were trading in Tower Hamlets before 30 June 2021 and whose business needs to adapt to a new business environment.

LBTH is offering social value resources for organisations with a turnover of less than £100,000.

Organisations can apply for resources including first aid training, ICT support, equipment in good working order, annual subscriptions, and officer support and mentoring from senior managers. Organisations can apply up to a value of £2000. Resources will be offered first come, first served as organisations who fit the eligibility criteria apply.