Tonge Moor UCAN centre is in a lovely old library building which houses the north neighbourhood management team and housing services offices as well as the UCAN. In the large public area the computers are busy with people browsing the internet looking at everything from job searches, to tattoos to Facebook.
Maryam from housing services is around to answer housing queries and there is a free phone which customers can use to call for benefits advice, the council or utility companies. Christine tells me that this phone is always busy and there is sometimes a queue of people waiting to use it.
Christine works in a glass-fronted office looking over the main reception area with the door open for customer enquiries. As we sit down she’s receiving texts from members of her women’s group telling her she’s recruited another member. As Christine says, you can put as much information out as you want about something, but word of mouth is always the best means for getting a message across. UCAN is about putting people in touch with services and if someone has a good experience they’ll pass it on.
Although it could be seen that using social network sites is not a good use of the UCAN facilities, Christine sees this as a positive tool that enables her to engage with customers that wouldn’t normally access services. It allows us to get to know the customer and build trust and gradually introduce them to services.
However, while people do use the computers for job searching, paying bills and checking bank balances, some also just need to be able to get online to get access to the information they need to live their lives. Internet access is a vital part of daily life in today’s connected world and something that many people with instant access often take for granted.
Once people are through the doors of the UCAN the opportunity to engage is there and conversations can begin. This is especially important with difficult to reach groups who would come in to get online, but might not engage with other more formal services as easily.
For others, visiting this IT suite can be a lifeline and the only way they will get to engage. For some of these people who would otherwise face exclusion for various reasons, visiting regularly and getting to know staff and other customers can be a way to feel part of the community. Simple things like answering questions from other users, switching machines on in the morning and doing favours for staff can make people feel like they’re helping out.
Once people are in the centre and get to feel more comfortable around staff, there is a real opportunity to engage and be able to identify any services that might be helpful. If it’s the internet access that gets them through the door, then that’s some of the work done.
As the centre is open, our visitors are constantly coming to the door asking an array of questions, from a lady asking what to do with her deceased neighbour’s mail to a passer by who’d found some keys on the floor outside. Visitors are put in touch with sports activities for teenagers, some come to chat about bin collections and disposing of dog mess. Incidentally, a top tip from Warren is that nappy sacks are better than dog bags for not being as smelly!
One visitor provides an almost textbook example of the UCAN approach. He comes to the office to ask for help getting onto a PC. During his visit he is signed up for a CV session and offered information about other relevant services in the area. Christine says trying to offer too much on the first visit can put people off and so she’ll make sure that it’s followed up when he comes back on Thursday.
Christine tells me as a UCAN Officer you’re a walking A-Z of services and, without prompting (!), that Facebook is the best way to keep up to date with what services and activities are available in the area as more organisations are using this as a tool to promote their services. Christine also gets regular emails and updates from partner organisations that realise the importance of the UCAN promoting their services.
Christine’s daughter is volunteering at the UCAN one day a week and she sees this as a good way to build up her confidence. Christine started as the first volunteer at the first UCAN centre in Bolton at Halliwell 13 years ago.
Under the wing of the then UCAN manager Marie McNulty she started taking on small tasks and doing short courses, building up into more responsibility and then going on to study community and youth work. After three years as a volunteer, Christine began to work for Bolton at Home part time and started full time in 2005.
In between Halliwell and Tonge Moor, Christine set up Hall I’ th’ Wood UCAN which introduced UCAN services into the estate. Now there is an increased range of activities at the community centre there and Hall I’ th’ Wood residents come to Tonge Moor UCAN to access services.
“When residents say they feel like we’ve got a community again – that’s job satisfaction and you feel like you’re doing something right,” says Christine.
After this quick run through of Christine’s experience its lunchtime and the UCAN closes. There’s half an hour before the women’s group starts at the Greenway centre up the road. Christine tells me “You never get your dinner working in the UCAN – it never goes half an hour without the bell ringing.”
With no time for lunch the Wonder Woman group kicks off at the Greenway Centre with ESF officer Warren Rogers talking about what the programme can offer to the women. As we’d discussed the importance of word of mouth as a promotional tool this looks like a great way of spreading the word and getting people referred to the programme.
Visiting face to face also allows the women to get their questions about the programme answered by Warren and discuss what they might get out of the scheme. Warren is able to collect contact details directly from people. In between saying hello and making sure people are introduced and have brews, Christine has to grab a quick bite of lunch.
Kalysa gives one of the women advice about how to get work in the prison service to and Christine hands someone a job application form she’s helped them complete. The group clearly know each other really well and there is a lovely relaxed atmosphere.
The main activity today is an exercise looking at evaluating the women’s groups and services in the area and there is a passionate discussion on the importance of the groups. Some of the feedback includes comments such as:
- “It makes me feel important not like I’m just another number on paper.”
- “It’s the only time I have to myself. For two hours a week I feel special.”
- “Afterwards you can feel down when you have to go home.”
Jennifer was introduced to the women’s group by her cousin and then brought her sisters, mum and nana along. She says the women’s group is a nice place for them to meet up with them regularly as well as meet other people she’d seen around the estate but never spoken to. Christine tells me the women’s groups have gone a long way towards promoting sense of community on the estate; residents who previously were making ASB complaints against each other have come together through the various activities.
Christine has introduced Jennifer to staff from Christine Partington House, our women’s centre and she wants to be able to volunteer there, taking her experience of being part of a successful women’s group with her. Christine has also suggested that she apply to be on the Bolton at Home board and has introduced her to other board members. Jennifer doesn’t visit the UCAN because through the women’s group she can ask Christine directly. She says Christine is “brilliant” and the reason she wants to get more involved with Bolton at Home. Jennifer sees Christine as a friend, someone who can relate to the other group members and not as a facilitator. She says she’s helped everyone at the group in different ways.
One of the problems about working in the UCAN, Christine says, is that there needs to be more joined up working within Bolton at Home. She says: “I wish we all had a greater understanding of each other’s services. We’re all fighting the same cause at the end of the day.”
In response Christine is working on a ‘Welcome to the Community’ pilot working with housing services to target new tenants and give them more information on the services that are available. The event takes the format of a quarterly coffee morning where new residents can learn about what the UCAN offers, and meet their Housing Officer and local PCSO. The idea is to promote UCAN services to new tenants as soon as they arrive and help introduce tenants who could become isolated to local community groups.
As Jennifer said: “Christine makes it look like fun and not like she’s working,” and I would agree – it’s been fantastic to spend the day with someone who’s so enthusiastic about their work.
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