Durham Community News August 2020

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Welcome to the August 2020 Edition

Guidance on reopening Community Buildings

With community buildings now allowed to reopen, we recognise the challenges faced by those people running buildings to understand and implement all the changes and measures required to reopen safely.

Over recent weeks we have seen a huge surge in enquiries from people looking for advice, support and reassurance that the measures they have put in place are robust enough, and within the latest government guidelines, to keep people safe when they return.

In order to help with some of the most common questions, we’ve produced a new community buildings guide focusing on reopening and some practical steps and additional guidance to support you to reopen safely.

Our next Share and Learn meeting will also be an opportunity for trustees and staff from community buildings, to come together to talk about reopening and share ideas and experiences. This session will be held online on 14th September 2020 from 2.00 - 3.00pm via Zoom, full details can be found here.

Read our Community Buildings reopening guide

Life after Lockdown Online Training Sessions

To assist voluntary and community organisations in the next stage of life after lockdown, we have developed a series of short online workshops which are fully funded. These start in September and include Volunteers and the Law, Managing Risk using a Risk Register, Understanding Safeguarding for Voluntary and Community Organisations, Using Social Media to Stay Connected, Understanding Trustee Responsibilities and Good Governance and Competing a Funding Application.

Community Led Housing online event - an introduction and how to get started

DCA manages the Community Homes on the Map hub which covers the South of Tyne area including County Durham and provides community led housing support. If you are interested in learning about community led housing, this is a great opportunity to find out more, listen to speakers and ask questions.

Read more and book your place

Safeguarding Update

Read the latest Safeguarding information on our website including details of the Protect Young Eyes campaign to prevent children from online dangers, easy to read fact sheets for the voluntary sector produced by the Safer Culture North East partners, the Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership training programme and the latest updates from the County Durham Safeguarding Adults Board.

Community Good Food Forum

DCA has recently been awarded a Sustainable Food Places grant to pilot a new initiative in County Durham that will help Food Durham, the County Durham Food Partnership to develop, support and sustain a local good food movement; bringing new residents on board and connecting them as active food citizens to work together to transform their local food system.

VCSE Digital Skills Survey

VONNE is working in partnership with North East Local Infrastructure Organisations, New College Durham and the WEA to develop free or low costs digital skills training for our sector. To help inform the work, they have launched two surveys, one for individuals to share their needs and the other for VCSE leaders to give an overview of the needs within their organisations.

News Highlights from across the sector

Help Healthwatch County Durham plan their work priorities - read more
Durham Constabulary Communication Methods Survey - read more
WEA new online courses available - read more
NEPACS Hidden Sentence Training - read more
Happiness Hubs Fund Grant Scheme - read more

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