The Mayor's Fund for London’s Post

The Bread Run at Turners Mosque. London Tigers Men’s Health programme participants shared bread with families and #homeless friends. This activity enables those on the programme to venture out into the community, to make new friends and serve those less fortunate. The benefits for the wellbeing of the participants are endless as they walk round the neighbourhood meeting and greeting. The cost of living crisis is to blame for parents having less time to read, play, and cook healthy meals with their children, a new poll has claimed. UNICEF UK said many parents are working more, with a large number saying their finances are "stretched to the limit". This has forced many to cut back on activities, sports clubs and cut spending on books, toys and crafting materials. The poll also found: • 30% reported working more hours in the past year due to increased financial pressures, with 37% having less time with their children • 71% said their family budget is "stretched to the limit" with 56% reporting cutting back on playgroups and sporting activities and half cutting back on books, toys and crafts • 71% said they feel it is harder being a parent now compared to their parents' generation due to the rising cost of living, spending less time with their children and a lack of childcare • 50% said they cannot afford to give their children the life they want to We don’t have a shortage of food but due to affordability there are many people going without to ensure the children are fed. Well done guys! #thewanderinglondoner

The reported trend of children's care homes moving to the cheapest areas of England instead of where the need is the greatest is a cause for concern. This not only exacerbates the existing inequalities in access to care but also creates a ripple effect by concentrating social problems in certain areas. It remains imperative that this issue is studied more comprehensively and addressed in a manner that benefits all parties involved. https://lnkd.in/g3UYKfy4 #carehomes #uk #fostercare #childrencare #childrenswellbeing #learningresults #childrensmentalhealth #childrensservices #socialcare #socialcarejobs #socialcarerecruitment #children #wellness #wellbeing #childrensmentalhealthmatters #society 

🌱 Inspiring Connections: Empowering Students for Community Impact 🌱 Our mission is to enable students to engage in community work and cultivate their empathy. Education is more than just textbooks; it's about instilling compassion and a sense of responsibility towards others. By empowering students to get involved in community initiatives, we aim to create a generation of compassionate changemakers. Through Inspiring Connections, we will be organizing various events, volunteering opportunities, and workshops that encourage students to connect with their communities, understand diverse perspectives, and make a positive impact. Our vision is to build bridges of empathy and understanding, making our communities stronger and more supportive. Together, we can inspire a wave of change that starts from the hearts of our young learners. Nilufer Kurtuldu Ansary Muhammed #InspiringConnections #CommunityEngagement #EmpoweringStudents #MakingADifference #CompassionateChangemakers #TogetherWeCan #ImpactfulEducation #EmpathyMatters

🌟 This morning's informative session on the release of the report "Housing, Health and Happiness: How Inadequate Housing Shapes Child and Parental Wellbeing" by James Laurence, Helen Russell, and Emer Smyth was truly enlightening! 🌟 Key takeaways from this insightful report on #Housing in #Ireland included: 📈 “Analysis of policy options by the ESRI found that adding a second-tier targeted child benefit payment to lower-income families would be a highly effective way of lifting children and their families out of poverty, which, along with other measures, could help address housing inadequacy linked to low income.” 🏡 “Much of the impact of poor-quality housing and neighbourhoods on children’s wellbeing operates through its effects on mothers, making parenting more stressful and leading to greater parent-child conflict. The findings highlight the importance of putting in place supports for parents, including those with school-aged children, and embedding such supports in both schools and communities. Lower-income families are less likely to feel their local neighbourhoods are safe and supportive. Measures to support community development and to enhance local social capital are therefore important in promoting wellbeing among children and their families.” 🤝 “The evidence presented here shows the case for supporting networks for parents with school-going children, not least the positive impact that living in communities with more social capital appears to have for families’ wellbeing.” This report underscores the critical need for targeted policy interventions and #community support to enhance the wellbeing of children and parents, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds to lift them out of #fuelpoverty and improve their physical and #mentalhealth. Let's continue to work together to build safer, more supportive neighbourhoods for all. 💪 Below is a link to where you can access the full report: Housing, Health and Happiness: How Inadequate Housing Shapes Child and Parental Wellbeing | ESRI, I would be interested to hear your reactions to it and any thought you might have about the finding so please let me know what you thought in the comments below... 📃👍💬

An interesting article by the CEO of the Wheel, Ivan Cooper, about the role the community and voluntary sector plays in combatting loneliness: "The loneliest country in Europe must not take its community supports for granted" ..."It is in the community and voluntary sector that we find many existing support and advocacy organisations. Access to housing, healthcare, literacy supports, and disability services, to name just a few, play just as big a part as specific “loneliness interventions”. You can find the article here: https://lnkd.in/eKAUkR9E

Investing in kids is not only the right thing to do, it also makes good economic sense. There is a strong ROI for ensuring that children have a healthy start in life: school food programs yield returns of up to 7X, and every $1 invested in treating mental health results in a return of $4. When children thrive, Canada thrives! #childrenfirst #budget2024 #investinkids #cdnpoli

Des Kelly OBE and John Kennedy advised the Government on how to reform adult care and support in Northern Ireland and shared the initial proposals with CMM in 2018. In this article, John Kennedy, a Housing and Social Care Consultant, reflects on the Power to People report’s progress in that time and shares the outcome of the 2022 public consultation. We were encouraged to be ‘radical’ in our proposals from almost everyone we met. The report defined the need for change as ‘a good system of social care can transform lives – it’s that simple. Not just for those who receive social care services but their families, friends and communities too’. The aim of the panel’s report was ‘to challenge the current approaches, attitudes and established ways of delivering adult care and support to embolden a genuine public movement for change and transformation.’ Read the article here and share your views: https://bit.ly/45TdSkr #government #funding #socialcare #report #powertopeople #northernireland #care #community

*30 Hours* What would you do if you suddenly had 30 more hours of free time on your hands? The possibilities are endless of course. I, for one, would catch up on much needed sleep, and spend the rest of the time annoying my children. This expanse of free time is a luxury to many, but even more so for our Resilience Trail Guides who face substantial caregiving responsibilities on a daily basis. Recently, I did a simple calculation to understand how we have been impacting our Guides through engaging them in our Trails. Siti, one of our newest Guides, is a single mother whose husband passed away a few years ago. She has 7 children, one of whom has Down's Syndrome and requires constant care and attention. She hasn't been able to consistently hold down a full time job because of her caregiving responsibilities. Through recommendation by our Mentor Guide Lydia (who was featured on CNA, see previous post), we recently onboarded Siti onto our *Resilience Trails programme. In 6 hours with us, she was able to earn what she would have spent 36 hours earning as a cleaner, based on average hourly wages in 2023. She now has 30 hours more. 30 hours more of bandwidth. 30 hours more of time for her children, to plan for a future, and even just for herself, to have that elusive break. To rest, to breathe; to feel like they can take on another day. Can we even put a price on that feeling of freedom? I can only pray that with like-minded and like-valued partners, we can continue to sustain this programme, for Siti and many more like Siti out there. For Educators or Organisation leaders (religious organisations, non-profit org, corporates, govt agencies alike) looking to organise a meaningful learning journey for your students, teachers, youths, team etc. and are interested in place-based philanthropy and uplifting our vulnerable families, please hit me up! It's the season of meaningful scheming over hot mugs of eggnog, so let's scheme together, for good. *Launched in 2022, the Resilience Trails is an asset-driven, place-based and community-led social innovation by Skillseed that augments the household income of Singaporeans who experience financial vulnerability. It seeks to address their immediate needs through co-designed and co-led neighbourhood trails that showcase their grit, gifts and lived experiences, whilst inviting empathy and awareness of their difficulties. For more information on our RT programme, check out https://lnkd.in/gP52zuJj #communitybuilding #trust #placemaking #skillseed

Did You Know Non- Profit for the week!! My goal is to you help start your Non Profit at the sometime educate you on your journey. Do you need help getting started? -churches -ministries -health -education -social programs -youth development -community and housing development -crisis services, and soo much more! Contact me to setup a free consultation today!

Kids who participated in community service were 34% more likely to be in excellent or very good health, 66% more likely to be considered “flourishing” (a positive measure of overall well-being), and 35% less likely to have behavioral problems compared to those who didn't participate at all. The research was published in JAMA Network Open and is based on findings from survey data provided by the parents of more than 50,000 U.S. kids ages 6 to 17, about half of whom reported that their child did some kind of volunteer work. Check out the report for more details on the research. Have your kids ever witnessed any benefits due to volunteer work? Let us know in the comments below. #Volunteer #Benefits #Kids #CommunityService #KidsforKids