Linacre is a ward within the borough of Sefton in North West England. Within Linacre sits Poets, a group of streets named after famous wordsmiths, an area where 2,200 people live (33% of the total ward population) and where the highest rates of fuel poverty, worklessness and crime in the borough are recorded.
Plus Dane Housing are a social housing association that have delivered homes and services for over 40 years across Merseyside and Cheshire. Plus Dane’s core business is developing quality homes and services, which for the majority of tenants, is all they want and need. However, at times a vulnerability, some clients need additional support to thrive and maintain their independence, health and wellbeing.
Throughout 2024, we were able to provide bespoke support some incredible local, social-purpose organisations through our Social Climbers programme, which is all about supporting social enterprises and charities to amplify the impact of their work.
Based in Birkenhead, Open Door Charity is a multi-award-winning Wirral-based resource by young people, for young people. Open Door delivers a range of services that support the wellbeing and mental health of young people and families, using innovation, arts and culture as a catalyst for change. Since 2022, we’ve been working with Open Door Charity to make their vision of transforming the Treasury Annexe building in Birkenhead into a space to create Joy a reality.
‘Wellbeing’ has become a bit of a buzzword in public services, with data and information around wellbeing being increasingly used by by services, politicians and commissioners to make decisions about communities. The problem is, the metrics that are used to measure wellbeing are often designed by academics and policymakers. So, when we talk to communities about wellbeing, it can be hard to tell if we’re all talking about the same thing.
In early 2019, the Capacity Team sat down with Wirral Council’s Early Help leads to kick off a new project to truly shift how the borough approached support for local families. This project was based around one key insight: the last thing a parent wants (or needs) when things get tough is a knock on the door from a social worker.