Each month, ELBA shines a light on one of our inspiring community partners. This month we want to highlight the work of Wick Award, a Big Local project funded by the National Lottery to support local initiatives and help people grow good ideas, ensuring Hackney Wick residents benefit from training, employment and self-employment opportunities. We learnt more about the fantastic work they do from Polly Mann, Wick Award Community and Partnership Development Worker.

What does your charity do?
A resident -led partnership manages a programme addressing local priorities identified by residents in a comprehensive community consultation in 2017;

• Creating opportunities for young people: Wick Award engaged young people to find out what matters most for them through commissioning Hackney Quest, a local youth provider, to support a youth led piece of research. Hackney Wick through Young Eyes report identifies young people’s issues and recommendations. Subsequently the partnership put money into funding  the  Build Up project  creating two apprentice roles and engaging  young residents to make decisions about their local environment and take a lead in the community.
  Wick Award employs an apprentice to take care of communications for the project. Who is supported within Hackney Council Communications Team. The Big Local is encouraging other small businesses and community organisations to create opportunities for local young people through buying in to Hackney Council’s award -winning apprenticeship scheme.
• Promoting wellbeing for all residents: Concerns about the wellbeing of older residents, especially those who are most isolated were raised in the initial community consultation.The Wise Wick project has trained older residents to collect information about the experience of loneliness and social isolation among older people. Community Researchers have developed a directory of local offers which they share with the people they interview as well as the offer of support to get involved in local community activities. This helping hand supports the most isolated residents to get involved.Wick Award has worked with partners in the community to develop a range of offers ,  including  a Community Lunch,  LGBT Elders Supper  Club,  ChairDisco, community gardening , Silver Surfers, healthy eating classes, a pop-up choir, estate-based art projects, yoga, bouldering for people experiencing  mental distress and counselling for young people.
• Creating community connections: Wick Award aims to bring together diverse groups living in Hackney Wick. The Community Chest fund has supported diverse projects to bring Hackney Wick residents together. A famous Tea Dance brings together the Trowbridge Seniors who have  lived in the area all their lives, creative entrepreneurs living in the area  and Hackney Wicked Women, a new generation of Women’s Institute for a buzzing knees up in the community hall.

What challenges are there in east London with regards to the issues that your service users face?
Rapid development in our area has increased  inequalities . Hackney Wick remains one of the poorest wards . Austerity and local spending constraints have taken their toll, for example, reducing  the provision of youth clubs and tailored services supporting frailer  residents  in their homes.

Young people who have grown up in the area have to move far away because local housing is unaffordable leaving older people without support.

Residents moving into the area as it becomes more fashionable might struggle to feel like they are really part of the community.

Wick Award is addressing the gaps between different groups by  supporting partnerships between residents, community groups and businesses to develop projects that bring people together and provide benefits for the whole community.