Angela Bradley
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I have been volunteering for 20 years. I started volunteering with Caroline Bairner and Christine Dallas to help facilitate a family group at Whitfield Activity Community Centre (WACC). From this I found out about Link Up, a community project that empowered local people to make changes in their community. I was able to meet other workers and practitioners, and this is where my passion for community work and fighting for positive social change began to grow.
When Link Up closed, I supported the transition to Whitfield Community Hub to re-establish and redesign the service. I gained invaluable experience in this transitional period and was able to facilitate the food larder and other community groups.
Throughout my time volunteering I have participated in several training courses for example, REHIS, Speak Easy and Walk Leader training. I sit on a number of strategic groups, these include Child Poverty and Income, Attainment and Health Inequalities and Community Health Advisory Forum, Alcohol and Drug Partnership Forum, Community Regeneration Forum and I am the Secretary for the Local Management Group at the Crescent.
Throughout my time volunteering at Link Up and Whitfield Community Hub (WCH) I met Joe. When the WCH closed, I knew that this meant that there were no services left in Whitfield, and I knew the impact this would have on the local community. From working with Joe, I knew that the local GP practice had plans to establish a social prescribing hub.
The GP’s at Newfield Medical Group recognise the limitations to medicine alone and know that alongside social prescribing, medicine will have a much greater impact on their patients. This allows them to adopt a holistic approach to the care they provide for their patients. As I also live in the area, I knew that this would have a positive impact on this community and has also allowed me to move GP practices to get better access to health care.
When I started volunteering at the café at Newfield Community Group there were no groups or activities. I have supported the charity to develop activities and groups to offer the community. I have also supported the kitchen in the café to allow them to be open 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday.
In the café, we have ensured that it is a welcoming, inclusive environment and accessible for everyone in the community. In the first 6 months of the café being open we welcomed over 1200 local people. Lifegate, another community café in the area, is only open Tuesday 3pm - 5pm and Friday 11am -1pm but we offer food to the community all week.
We use food to reduce the barriers to engagement to allow local people to access the support they need. I have developed my own baking and cooking skills over the years, which has enabled me to support Newfield to benefit local people in the area.
I plan to continue to strive for social justice and fight for positive social change!