Thursday 19 October / 10:00am to 12:30pm / Online and in person / Tower Hamlets Professional Development Centre, 229 Bethnal Green Road, E2 6AB

Join us to better understand the puzzle of local health and care services and who is doing what and how the VCS can influence.

There has been a lot of change in the way the NHS has been structured since July last year into the integrated Care System. In the borough the focus that we have been working with the ICS to develop a VCS collaborative that can create opportunities for the sector to influence, create solutions and embed approaches. The opportunities in the borough are:

• Working at a neighbourhood level with the Primary Care Network and Localities
• Neighbourhood forums and localities programme
• The community health services review
• THT health inequalities funds and how the sector can make a difference.
  

The session will have presentations from:

• Vicky Scott - update on VCS alliance with the ICS
• Amy Gibbs - Update from THT
• Tim Hughes - Partnership Programme Lead - Localities & Neighbourhoods Programme
• Zereen Rahman Jennings - Community Health Services review
• Phil Warburton and the Mental Health Alliance
  

Followed by a workshop to enable us to:

Map what is currently happening and what are the decision-making structures
Where can we get involved and have influence to strengthen collaboration, influence funding approaches.

Wednesday 11 October / 12.00 to 1.00pm / Online

elop's Quick Connect sessions have been created to support sharing of information on elop's mental health support services for LGBT+ people, their support spaces to connect with others and how their Training and Education services can best support you and your teams to improve access to LGBT+ communities with bite sized to fit into your day and start conversations.

Do you live in Tower Hamlets and want to share your views on the Cost of Living? If yes, then we have a great opportunity for you! The Tower Hamlets Equalities Networks in partnership with Tower Hamlets Together are running a survey to find out how the cost of living affects you and your community. Your feedback will help us improve health services and make a difference.

The survey is open to anyone who is 18 or older and lives in Tower Hamlets. You can choose to do it anonymously or give us your contact details. If you do, you'll receive a £20 voucher that you can spend in many shops. The survey will be open until the end of September 2023.

The Limehouse Project and Women Inclusive Team are jointly working to develop and coordinate the first ever Ethnic Minority Network in Tower Hamlets. The Aim of the Network is to raise the profile of the local BAME communities, share ideas and explore current issues.We aim to build a strong and supportive Network and become a resource for local BAME communities.

If you would like to join the Tower Hamlets Ethnic Minority Network, attend meetings and receive regular newsletters please complete the form here.

The Equalities Hub is key to the new direction for the Council’s equalities provision, providing a central strategic focus, responding to the community’s needs and issues. The Hub will be vital to bringing about a more coordinated approach to equalities in the borough. If you want to find out more on how to get involved or if you have information you would like to share with the networks please get in touch.

Thursday 21 September / 10.00am to 3.00pm

Learn how to create your own theory of change and narrative. This course will challenge you to think critically about what you're doing and why.

A theory of change is a popular tool used to help plan and communicate what you do. It can also help support your monitoring and evaluation. It also will help you articulate the changes your organisation wants to make and help connect these changes with the activities you're planning.

By the end of the training, you'll: 

• understand what a theory of change is and how it can be used for planning and evaluation
• know how to develop a theory of change
• have the confidence and skills to develop a theory of change for your organisation.

Thursday 28 September / 1.30 to 4.30pm & Monday 23 October / 9.30am to 12.30pm / 2 virtual half days

Wednesday 4 October / full day in person

Local Health and Care staff are invited to this introductory workshop introducing Racism in Health & care services and its impact.

At the end of the workshop, learners would have:

• explored their understanding of racism, its root causes and how racism is maintained
• understood how racism shows up (covert and overt) and it impact on health inequalities
• explored what it means to be anti -racist and how it differs from business as usual
• reflected on what it means to develop an anti-racist approach in their work - including what support they may need going forward
  

Tower Hamlets Council is investing £13.7 million into developing an exciting new youth service 'Young Tower Hamlets' for young people aged from 11-19 and up to 25 with SEND across the borough.

As part of the design process LBTH have already collected a range of opinions and comments from over 900 young people, where they have shared what they think a modern, dynamic youth service should look like. Now, they are seeking the views of parents, carers and caregivers. LBTH would like to know what you think the new Youth Service should offer young people and what that offer should look like.

Thursday, 28 September to Tuesday 3 October 10.00am to 4.00pm / Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, E3 2SJ

Natalie is a mixed media artist who uses mark-making as a way to express and process her experiences of tetraplegia, a term to describe someone’s inability to voluntarily move upper and lower body parts. 

In November 2020, Natalie was the victim of gun crime in east London as an innocent bystander. She became paralysed from the chest down with a C4 spinal cord injury, preventing her from using her hands. With the help of splints, Natalie has been able to use drawing tools to improve her hand and arm movements, while expressing herself through art. 

Supported by Arts Council England, Natalie will be self-producing an exhibition to showcase the artwork she has created since her rehabilitation.

If you have any questions about the exhibition, Natalie can be contacted directly at nataliebignell2.0@gmail.com. Further information about her work is available on her personal website, and previews of her artwork can be found on her Instagram account, @sneaky_biggers.

Preview: Thursday 5 October / 6.00 to 8.00pm / Brady Arts Centre, 192-196 Hanbury Street, E1 5HU

Exhibition continues 6 to 28 October / Monday to Friday 10.00am to 7.00pm & Saturday 10.00am to 4.00pm

Asiko, Fatima Ali, Rio Blake, Samantha Brown, Raymond Daley, Tzion Essel, Taishan Henry, Tanesha Lewis, Trisha McCauley, Mohamed Mohamud, Olufemi Olaiya Nicholas Olawunmi, Keleenna Onyeaka and Stefan Pyne.

Adults only: Tuesdays 7.30pm to 9.00pm & Thursdays 7.00 to 8.30pm / Mile End / £5 per session

Children only: Tuesdays and Fridays 5.00 to 6.15pm / Bethnal Green / £5 per session

The Thai Boxing Fighters Academy has been supporting the community in the London borough of Tower Hamlets since 2013. They are a unique Academy combining the art of Muay Thai Boxing with confidential support and encouragement to help people experiencing social, well-being & fitness problems. with a strong focus on community inclusion, support and personal development.

• burn calories and strength
• gain focus and discipline
• build self confidence and mental strength
• learn defence

For more information or to book a session, call 07769797916 or email thaiboxingfightersacademy@yahoo.co.uk

Young Mayor elections are taking place in December 2023 – don’t miss your chance to create change in Tower Hamlets. Apply to become a candidate before 1 October.

The Young Mayor represents young people across the borough and is elected every two years by young people who live, work or study in Tower Hamlets. Over the past few years, the Young Mayor elections have gained enormous momentum in engaging young people with local democracy and the world of politics in Tower Hamlets. All 13 to 17 year olds who live, work and study in Tower Hamlets are eligible to stand as young mayor. Click here for more details.

The Young Mayor and his/her deputies attend meetings with local councillors and decision makers. They also represent you at regional and national meetings.

Rolling deadline until 30 September

Wakefield Tetley Trust will offer grants from £500 to £6,000 for local initiatives that support their fund priorities to support marginalised communities and individuals by:

• Supporting urgent work 
• Supporting core activities and services
• Making a practical difference  

Grants of £6,000 will be exceptional; most awards will average £3,000. Please get in touch with them first if you intend to apply for the maximum amount. Organisations with an annual turnover under £600,000 and a track record of delivery are eligible to apply. Deadline for applications are open on a rolling basis, but the round will close when funds are allocated and no later than 30 September.

Deadline: Wednesday 11 October @ 4pm

Rosa’s Voices from the Frontline fund, now in its sixth year of running, offers one-year grants of up to £7,000 to women’s and girls’ organisations to support campaigning and influencing work that enables women and girls to use their voice to achieve change. There remains a critical need for funding for women’s and girls’ organisations to deliver activism and campaigning to raise awareness of the issues women and girls face. This is why Voices from the Frontline exists.

Deadline for expressions of interest: Monday 16 October 2023

Race and poverty in the UK are clearly linked. Black Londoners are twice as likely to be in poverty than white Londoners. In 2022 Trust for London launched a new racial justice fund with a focus on increasing economic empowerment in London’s Black and minoritised communities. They gave out £840,000 to six organisations under the first phase of funding. Applications for the second phase are now open.

The racial justice fund supports new and exciting ideas in Black and minoritised organisations that are working to increase incomes and wealth in local communities in London. Fund details:

• £4 million in total given out over two years
• Grants for up to five years
• Development grants available
• Flexible funding for core and/or project funding

Deadline: Monday 16 October 2023

The £76M Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund has been launched today (24 July 2023). The fund will support organisations across England to deliver critical frontline services. Organisations will be able to apply for funding to maintain or expand critical cost of living services from now until the end of March 2024.

Applications will be for amounts between £10,000 and £75,000. The funding is only open to frontline organisations running critical services in communities. The fund is part of the £100M for charities announced in the Spring Budget. It will be administered by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Deadline: Tuesday 31 October

Do you live or work in Tower Hamlets? Are you keen to explore ways of creating a better food system?  The Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) have £175k in grants to give away this Autumn to help fund community projects focussed on food. This funding could help you start an exciting project such as: 

• Schools’ food growing programmes 
• Growing and composting courses/workshops 
• Cooking and eating courses/workshops 
• Community cookbooks 
• Supper clubs / shared meals 
• Exploring healthy planet diets 
• Low waste living / upcycling and reuse 
• Exploring faith, spiritual and cultural connections to land and food  
• Sharing food knowledge and skills 
• Community campaigns 
• Food festivals 

WEN can help you with your applications - with one to one sessions available, webinars and lots of information to help you complete the one page application. Click here to see other projects that have received funding. 

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has made available a £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund to support suicide prevention activities delivered in England by non-profit organisations. The funding period is from financial year 2023 to 2024 to the end of the financial year 2024 to 2025.

The strategic objectives of the fund are:

• To support non-profit organisations to configure their suicide prevention services and activities to better meet the increased demand seen in recent years
• To support a range of diverse and innovative activity that can prevent suicides, both at a national and community level
  

This fund is open to non-profit organisations providing suicide prevention services, activities or interventions that meet the strategic objectives of the fund. The activities being funded and undertaken using the grant should be non-economic activities, meaning that they are delivered to service users free of charge.

The City of London Corporation’s charity funder temporarily paused taking applications from May 23 as it switched over to new grant management software, with the aim of making the application journey smoother for organisations applying for funding. That process is now complete, and the trust is once again accepting applications through its new online portal.