At Bath Mind, as part of our Online Wellbeing in the Workplace scheme we are now offering ONLINE Mental Health First Aid training Take a look at the information below and to book a space or view all our course follow this link. If you have any questions, please contact: hannahroper@bathmind.org.uk

The SW is currently at a Level 2 Heat Health Alert – ‘Alert and Readiness’. New resources and a slide pack outlining the risks of COVID-19 and hot weather are available on the Heatwave Plan for England collection page. The latest alerts can be found on the Met Office website – https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/heat-health/#?tab=heatHealth Here is a link to a blog PHE wrote on hot weather in 2018 which might be useful too - https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2018/07/23/why-some-people-suffer-during-heatwaves/

New support will be offered to the region’s businesses to help improve mental health and wellbeing for employees, and address some of the problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is investing £100,000 to develop ‘Thrive West’, which aims to address some of the key mental health issues which businesses say are affecting their employees, and impacting productivity. Thrive West will help to raise awareness of mental health support, provide information, advice and guidance, and develop online tools. The package of support, including training resources, will be hosted by WECA’s West of England Growth Hub website www.wearegrowth.co.uk West of England Mayor, Tim Bowles, said: “It’s never been more important for us all to pull together and help one another out. Thrive West is part of package of new support for the region’s businesses which I am bringing forward over the coming weeks. This includes addressing mental health issues for businesses, support for financial resilience and our Trading Better Online programme, which I launched last week. “Businesses have been telling me that the mental health of their staff is a major concern as the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt across our region. Our businesses and workers need help and support from a trusted source during these difficult times. That’s why we’re investing £100,000 to develop Thrive West and build this vital package of support.” The Combined Authority is working with a range of employers and partners including Public Health professionals and representatives from Business West, the Federation of Small Businesses, Thriving at Work regional network, Mind, and the Thriving at Work Leadership Council. Thrive West builds on existing arrangements including the ‘Thriving at Work Bristol’ programme extending the work to the wider region, focussing on those sectors most affected by the pandemic. Thrive West will cover the Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire council areas. It will share learning and best practice and will support others to embed good mental health support in workplaces across the West of England. Thrive West is part of the West of England Combined Authority’s targeted business support programme following the coronavirus outbreak. It follows the recent launch of Trading Better Online, designed to help small businesses enhance their web presence by adopting new technology or new digital practices. Through the scheme businesses will be matched to a consultant and supported through up to four days of free hands-on support. The West of England Growth Hub plays a key role in helping SMEs access tailored business support, find and navigate information, and expand their networks. The Growth Hub is the West of England’s dedicated business support service which offers free, one-to-one advice and guidance for SMEs to help them innovate and adapt, build financial resilience and boost productivity. Find out more: www.wearegrowth.co.uk.

St John’s Foundation, Feeding Britain and Bath and North East Somerset Council are delighted to announce a £30,000 fund to support the provision of food during the 2020 school summer holiday period. We are delighted that the government has confirmed its intention to extend free school meal provision to cover this year’s summer holidays. However, we are well aware that funding is still required to support organisations working with hungry children across Bath and North East Somerset, particularly those who may not qualify for free school meals. There is also an ongoing need for long-term support to address the causes of food poverty. Through this small grants programme, awards of up to £3,000 will enable charities and statutory services in Bath and North East Somerset to deliver support to households with school-age children at risk of hunger and malnutrition. Preference will be given to projects seeking to address both immediate need and reduce vulnerability to future food insecurity and food poverty. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 3rd July. Applicants will be notified of the selection panel’s decision in the week beginning 13th July. For more details visit https://stjohnsbath.org.uk/what-we-do/funding-support/holiday-grants/.

Twenty fruit trees were planted earlier this year, at Plain Ham Allotments, just below Larkhall Athletic Football Club grounds. There is an opportunity to become involved in supporting this community project, and join the team of volunteers already caring for the trees: With the new orchard planted up more recently and deer proofed (!) we are now looking for volunteers to support the young trees development. Newly planted trees need at least 4-5 buckets of water per week in the first year, 3-4 in the second and 2-3 in the third - (tree officers advice). The survival rate for young trees is doubled by this alone. Extra care can be given in weeding out around the base of the tree too. If you would like to adopt a tree (or half a tree) please get in touch with Kathy Cook: apcgrowers@gmail.com

I am delighted to announce that today Young Bristol have been honoured to receive The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the equivalent of an MBE for Charities. We will be receiving the Award from HM Lord-Lieutenant, Mrs Peaches Golding OBE. This Award rightly recognises the positive contribution everyone connected with Young Bristol continues to make in the lives of children, young people and families throughout the city. From our Fundraising Committee and Trustee Board, to volunteers at our Community Youth Clubs, young people who volunteer on our programmes, and Corporate Partners and individuals who volunteer to raise much needed funds for the charity and our dedicated staff team. Founded in 1928, Young Bristol is one of today's leading Bristol Youth Charities. We have a range of Programmes which includes supporting Community Youth Clubs and a Youth Club on Wheels, delivering Outdoor Activities, Sports, Creative, Employment and Educational programmes in communities across the city. Over the past year we have had in excess of 21,000 contacts with local children and young people. As we continue to adapt our services to meet the current pandemic challenges, the staff team and volunteers have again showed their versatility and ingenuity ensuring we maintain regular contact with those most vulnerable children and young people in our society. For more information on our announcement or any of our Programmes please visit our website www.youngbristol.com Thank you for your support and interest in our work, and for being part of our success.

A message from Lloyds Banking Group: Our Lloyds Banking Group Charity Covid Response Forum offers charities and small businesses the opportunity to explore their most pressing issues in a facilitated session with a team of 5-7 colleagues from the Design team. The aim is to collaborate with charities and small businesses that are struggling during the Covid-19 lockdown by providing impartial and constructive advice. The format is a standalone 2-hr webex session on 25 June from 1 – 3pm; the charity or business can send one or two reps to participate. A nominated facilitator will help the reps prepare for the session by explaining what information to bring and making sure the tech will work on the day. During the session we apply creative problem-solving skills, experience and insights to frame business challenges, identify opportunities, and develop potential solutions. Our volunteering teams offer a wide range of skills ranging from crisis review and recovery, digital, financial management, leadership and governance, managing teams and communications. We use a tried-and-tested ‘business canvas’ method to structure the session, dig out the root causes of the charity’s problems and map out achievable goals and next steps. Who are our Design colleagues? Not just graphic designers and copywriters! We’re a team of nearly 400 specialists including end-to-end service and business designers, researchers, data scientists, Ux/interaction designers and more. Design also includes Responsible Transformation, a team that works across the whole of LBG and externally to make our financial services fairer and more accessible to society. They also work with us to organise charity mentoring and fundraising events like this one. Criteria for the programme Participants need to be people-focussed Participants need to be based in the UK and working for UK beneficiaries Not for medical research In previous years Lloyds have supported organisations working on mental health support, youth organisations, support with homelessness and LGBT groups to name a few. How do I get involved? Please express your interest in the programme by emailing investinbath@bathnes.co.uk by close of play Friday 12 June 2020. We can then share details with the team at Lloyds Banking Group who will be in touch!

The June Senior Leaders Network was a great opportunity to get online with 30 other senior leaders across B&NES. We started off breaking into groups of 3 to talk about how we have found the last few months, what was really challenging for us and what we are grateful for learning. It was interesting to hear common themes across the sector but the funding shortfall is clearly a serious concern for many of us. Some organisations are bounced into new roles and new opportunities to support the growing needs across the area as well as unfortunately having to furlough staff. Lots of organisations are embracing technology as a way to reach out to the members and clients. Some of the key feedback from the session was; Surprise about the adaptability of many organisations Concern for widening inequalities- particularly those with mental/physical disabilities Long term planning very difficult at the moment. Now it is more focused on crisis management. Difficult to plan, what happens after lockdown, new ways of working. Hard to get your head round. Challenges of going online, not necessarily set up for it. Challenges of taking services online when people you work with don’t necessarily have access to computers/have a disability. Janine gave a great talk about developments at the Carers Center and this has all been written into a blog which can be found here. The blog posts are well worth a read and they are posting several a week. After Janine’s talk we broke out in to small groups to discuss the content and it was agreed by all that people wanted to learn more in a group environment. We have shared the links at the bottom of this post for people to do that. Here are some of the useful resources shared in the call; Carers’ Centre Blog Info on consequence scanning* (*This is written with a tech / digital focus so the language can seem a bit alien, but the premise of checking in constantly about consequences is applicable outside of the digital world!) · This is blog about the consequence scanning workshops the Carers Center attended

If you need to view the document in a plain format please follow this link. COVID-19 Impact on BANES 3rd Sector - follow link if you need to zoom in.

Scale Accelerator helps mission-driven organisations to maximise their impact on people’s lives by offering £30,000 worth of consultancy from a dedicated team of experts. https://www.springimpact.org/scale-accelerator-2/ “It’s really helped us take a step back as an organisation, and work out where we are now and where we would like to be” (Evolve, Current Scale Accelerator participant) Is there a pressing social issue that you are passionate about addressing? Do you feel that your organisation should be doing even more to solve it? Scale Accelerator is a fully funded 6-month Accelerator Programme for UK based charities and social enterprises who are ambitious about impact. Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund (formerly known as Big Lottery), organisations get access to a dedicated team of expert consultants and join a small group of other organisations on a similar journey. Applications open: 15 June 2020 Applications close: 12 August 2020 Programme start date: November 2020

Our Director James has formally joined the West of England Civil Society Partnership (WoECSP) on behalf of 3SG replacing Rosie Phillips who has done a great job representing Banes via this strategic network. WoECSP is a registered Community Interest Company established by Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (VCSE) infrastructure and support organisations across the West of England. The partnership, originally established in 2011, brings together Voscur, CVS South Gloucestershire, The Care Forum, Voluntary Action North Somerset, Wesport, West of England Rural Network and B&NES Third Sector Group The role of the Partnership is to provide: leadership, support and coordination for the VCSE sector across the West of England a voice and focus for the VCSE sector to engage in, influence and scrutinise policy development at a West of England level with the new and emerging governance structures Achievements of the Partnership to date: Supported the development of and work of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Supported the development of the LEP Economic Strategy, in particular the approach to supporting Social Inclusion Enabled the development of and supported a successful grant application to the EU Social Fund Building Better Opportunities programme led by Weston College, which has secured £6 million of funding Enabled activity delivered by 25 local VCSE organisations across the West of England to support people furthest from work The Partnership’s current work includes: Supporting the VCSE in its engagement with the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and Joint Committee Working with the WECA Skills Group, the Rural sector group, the Social Enterprise Sector Group and the Growth Hub Supporting the development of the Local Industrial Strategy and leading on Inclusive Growth Representing the VCSE on the EU Structural Investment Funds Committee Follow them on Twitter via @woecsp

UoB are currently developing free training resources for charities and non profits to use, please share your thought on what you would like to learn to help you and your organisation grow and develop.

This Carers Week, we have a message from Carer's Centre Bath and North East Somerset who need your help to reach more unpaid carers. Research by Carers UK is alarming and shows unpaid or family carers are being forgotten during the Coronavirus crisis. There are over 20,000 carers aged 5 years and up in BaNES and over 80% of them are now under greater pressure than ever before. You can help us to support them by referring or signposting to us. We're still here to help. Refer an unpaid or family carer for support We’re still here to provide support We’ve extended our Support Line hours, now open Monday - Friday 8.15am – 3pm every weekday. Carers can call free on 0800 0388 885 or email support@banescarerscentre.org.uk Support as life changes Caring doesn’t stay the same. We're also here to help those who are new to caring. Planning for emergencies Now more important than ever, we can help carers to think through what a contingency plan might look like. Apply for grants White goods, tablets or similar electronics to support with the caring role. Help with employment We understand the complexities of juggling work and caring and can help carers through this. Help to look after themselves We understand the barriers many carers can face in looking after themselves. We can help carers find the right support for them. Support you with technology We know that carers can lack confidence in accessing support online or using technology to help with caring. We can help. Give quick, accessible information We can point carers to online sources of support or email/post information regarding caring. We're online too! We have added a Coronavirus Hub on our website with further advice and information for carers, including how to create a Support Plan or Emergency Plan for the crisis. We're still supporting carers to stay well and connected With all of us needing to stay at home and keep our physical distance from others, it’s more important than ever that carers look after themselves. We're running a virtual breaks programme Including activities such as yoga, mindfulness and even gardening. We hope carers find something to interest them, take some time out for themselves and feel connected with other carers. We can help carers overcome barriers to accessing services online (such as sorting grants to pay for technology and support sessions to get carers on to their first zoom session!) Carers can book a place here or by calling the Support Line on 0800 0388 885. Our Carer Cafes will be moving online later in May. Carers can find out more by calling the Support Line on 0800 0388 885. We've also started a new Facebook Group for carers to chat with others about their hobbies and interests - from books to pets, gardening to crafting, films to cooking and beyond! We’ll also be holding some fun challenges and friendly competitions. We hope this group gives carers new ideas of things they can try at home to take some time out and look after their wellbeing. Carers can join the group here. There's more wellbeing information for carers on the Staying Well page in our Coronavirus Hub. See our virtual breaks programme We're still here for young carers too! We are sending weekly updates to all young carer families by email and are busy calling families to check in. We have some fun activities for families coming up including an afternoon of games, challenges, magic and dancing on 9th May and a family quiz on the 15th May. Find out more and book here. Our Support Line is also there to support carers of all ages, including young carers. Find more details here Finally, we've created a new Young Carer Activity Booklet, for off-screen activities which has been sent to all primary age young carers. Supporting carers to get to grips with technology Now more than ever, technology can be helpful in supporting our wellbeing. On our Coronavirus Hub, our Tech Navigators have chosen a series of links that they have found to help carers become more confident. Best wishes, BaNES Carers' Centre Team

Black South West Network have undertaken a survey to assess the impact that COVID-19 is having on BAME led businesses, social enterprises or community businesses, voluntary organisations and self-employed minority ethnic individuals. Read the report

Banes Council are undertaking an ambitious community engagement exercise to transform the quality of life and public health across the whole region, not just the city of Bath. https://bathnesliveablestreets.commonplace.is/ The council are asking for ideas and experiences so they can deliver on their ambitious Liveable Neighbourhoods, where living in Bath & NE Somerset is healthier, enjoyable, and safe. What makes this engagement exercise extraordinary is that it’s a genuine chance for individual residents, workers, and commuters to have our say. 3SG strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to engage in this survey. 1. Register and comment (they’re all anonymous) on how your area, neighbourhood, or road could be better. 2. To look around at other comments and vote for the ones you think are good. 3. Share this with your friends, family, and neighbours. The site: https://bathnesliveablestreets.commonplace.is/

Cobalt HR have produced some useful advice on returning to normal working. In terms of returning to work, employers will need to take a number of factors into account: 1. A risk assessment is the starting point, as that should identify all the risks and what can be done to mitigate them, eg. personal protective equipment, training. The risk assessment would identify which roles could and couldn’t work from home. 2. Other tips include deep cleaning the offices, so people feel less concerned about returning. Protect the 2m rule. Have hand sanitiser available for staff’s use. Vary starting and finishing times. 3. Regular dialogue so you know what your staff’s concerns are. That way, you can address their concerns to put their mind at ease. 4. The big question is flexible working. Can people continue to work from home to do their job? In which case, you could extend home working, but make sure you have a robust policy. It is a different thing working from home ongoing, compared to in a crisis situation as we have been in. That’s why you need a policy. If they can’t work from home, then the above approach would count and you would have to give them a date to return to work. If you can be more flexible, you could have a phased approach. 5. If you have staff who refuse to return to work, then you are facing a dismissal situation. My approach would tend to be to give people notice, so they can get their head around it.

Message from Viv at Timebank Plus: As Lockdown restrictions start to ease, we are looking at ways we can run some of our projects in a safe way. Our online groups will continue to meet every week via Zoom, as it is not yet possible to run indoor face-to-face groups safely. However, as from the beginning of June, we will be re-opening the ‘Borrow It’ Library of Things. Southside Food Co-op will also be starting again shortly and will run on a weekly basis. The Time Bank office will be staffed on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday mornings, but will not be open to the public. We will be able to start doing sustainable gardening and food growing, but only where it is safe to do so, following a risk assessment. We are also looking at the possibility of re-starting Health Walks in the near future, with social distancing and a maximum of 6 people. We are continuing to keep in touch with our members and offer regular or occasional phone calls to anyone who’d like a friendly, supportive chat. Our WhatApp group will also continue, helping people to stay connected, share information, exchange ideas or ask for help. Please email us with your mobile number for the joining link. Borrow It The Borrow It Library of Things will be opening as from this week (2nd June) on Tuesday afternoons from 2 – 6pm and as from 17th June on Wednesday mornings from 10am – 12noon. Please ring beforehand on 01225 442813 to let us know what you’d like to borrow, so we can prepare it and sanitise it. Just knock on our shopfront door and we will pass the item to you. Click here for more info and our catalogue of things: http://timebankplus.co.uk/wp/?page_id=586 Southside Food Co-op We plan to re-start the Food Co-op as from Wednesday 17th June. Boxes of fresh, locally grown veg will be available weekly (or fortnightly if preferred) on Wednesdays, by home delivery only to South and West Bath (eg Twerton, Whiteway, Odd Down, Oldfield Park, Newbridge & Lower Weston). We will be making some changes to the pricing structure. For those people on a lowish income (below £18,000 pa for a single person or £25,000 for a couple) prices will remain the same – ie £3.50 for a small box, £4.50 for a medium box and £6 for a large box. For those who are better off, we will be charging more - £5 for a small box, £6 for a medium box and £8 for a large box. Delivery will cost £1, regardless of box size or income. We will trust people to let us know and won’t be asking anyone for evidence of income! We have decided to trial this price structure because we don’t want to undercut other box schemes and local growers who may themselves be struggling. We will use any income raised to provide veggies to those in extreme need. Please email to let us know if you’d like to order a veggie box and please provide a phone number for us to contact you. Payment needs to be in advance by bank transfer or direct debit. Sustainable Gardening & Food Growing We will assess gardening referrals on a case by case basis, and only take them on where it is safe to do so (eg without access through the house and where the garden is large enough for social distancing). It will also depend on whether there are available volunteers. Please get in touch if you’d like to help out. Our allotment at Bath City Farm is also available for additional volunteers to help with food growing. Online groups Here’s a calendar of the weekly online Zoom groups we have set up. All these groups are currently open to new people wishing to join. Just email us and we’ll send you a Zoom invite. Help is available if needed with setting up and using Zoom (see below). Tuesdays 2 – 3pm Time Bank Social Café. This is an opportunity to meet up socially on Zoom for a friendly chat and catch up. We also sometimes have quizzes or other activities. Wednesdays 2 – 3pm Knit & Natter Group. Get out your wool and knitting needles or crochet hook, make a cup of tea and sit down for a friendly online session with a small group of others. Expert advice is available if needed from our wonderful, knowledgeable volunteer. Thursdays 11 – 12pm Gardening & Food Growing. This is a lively online group hosted by Rowan for people interested in gardening and food growing. Members of the group share information, tips and advice, to learn and improve their gardening expertise. 2 – 3pm Creative Writing Group. This is a very friendly and supportive group of people who are writing and sharing short pieces of prose or poetry. There is a different topic each week and we have an online forum where members of the group can post up their writings. Alternatively, a member of the group is willing to offer advice on people’s writing, if they’d prefer not to post it on the forum. Fridays 2 – 3pm Games Session. This is a friendly fun session, led by wonderful volunteer Thomas, where we play simple board games such as Boggle, Family Fortunes, Wavelengths and many other games. Please join us. Internet Support Our helpful IT volunteer is offering individual advice and support with internet problems, downloading or using apps. If you are struggling with Zoom or other IT problems, just email us with your phone number and he will talk you through the issues you are having. Foraging Group Our WhatsApp Foraging Group is a space where people can swap info and tips on edible plants and wild foods, exchange recipes and get ideas and inspiration. Please email us your mobile number if you would like to join. Helpline 0300 247 0050 Finally, here is a B&NES Helpline number which you can ring for access to: - Volunteer support such as collecting shopping and prescriptions and offering regular supportive phone chats - Money and benefits advice services and housing issues - Up to date info on food delivery services throughout B&NES - Food Banks and food & meal deliveries to elderly and vulnerable people - Services for the most vulnerable, carers, domestic abuse and other family issues 0300 247 0050 The helpline is open 7 days a week from 9am to 5pm. Please note: for medical advice you need to ring 111. Take care and keep well, from Time Bank Plus

The Food Foundation have been surveying adults across the UK to see how Covid-19 and the lockdown have impacted on experiences of food insecurity. Please find below a link to their latest data on the changing patterns of food insecurity during the period of the lockdown compared to pre-covid 19. https://foodfoundation.org.uk/new-food-foundation-data-food-insecurity-and-debt-are-the-new-reality-under-lockdown/ If you click on the arrows (1-17) there are a range of interesting graphs and infographics which summarise the data. This data is from a commissioned online YouGov survey and therefore will have some limitations e.g they acknowledge those using food banks are less likely to be represented in this survey.

Sport England have launched an Inequalities Fund that Wesport are managing for the West of England area. Wesport are requesting expressions of interest from partners who can help reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 and the widening of the inequalities in sport and physical activity. Sport England have been publishing a series of briefings providing a regular picture of physical activity behaviours and attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This data has highlighted widening gaps in the activity levels across existing priority audiences. These groups are: People from Lower Socio Economic Groups Black, Asian Minority Ethnic Communities Disabled People and People with Long Term Health Conditions The Inequalities Fund is for use from now until October 2020 and is focussed on supporting partners who have direct access and established relationships with priority audiences. Funding will support projects that seek to enable these priority audiences to remain active in the COVID-19 lockdown and early recovery stages over the next 6 months. Wesport anticipate projects to be valued between £200 - £5,000 but with the majority of requests averaging around the £2,000 mark. Expression of Interest window is open from now until Friday 26th June 2020.They will be reviewing these regularly, and where possible awarding funding before the initial deadline, so please do not wait until the deadline to submit your Expression of Interest. Please visit the website here to find more information and to complete your expression of interest form.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has launched the ‘Covid-19 Extraordinary Ministry of Justice Funding for Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Support Service’ after securing £25 million from the Government. The extra funding is available to charities who support vulnerable people including victims and survivors of sexual violence and domestic abuse. The funding will cover contingency funding needs from 24 March 2020 (first day of lockdown) to 31 October 2020. Funding may be used to cover both incurred and anticipated additional costs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Application deadline: 1st June 2020. Find out more about the fund and how to apply.