Befriending services

Shorter days and bad weather during Winter can sometimes make people feel even more isolated from their community and in need of human connections. Here are some of the organisations who run befriending schemes for people living in local places across Kirklees.

 


Royal Voluntary Service – Home Service

RVS provide social and emotional support to help people keep leading independent, healthy and happy lives. Support is available for everyone aged over 18 years. Under 18s will also be considered on a case by case basis. Befriending can be either face to face or over the telephone.

Tel. 01484 226363
Email: home.libraryservice@kirklees.gov.uk

Royal Voluntary Service – Supporting people

RVS – Volunteering within the community

 


Age UK

Age UK offer a befriending service for any older person who feels lonely or isolated and try to support them to lead a more fulfilling life. Support is available for everyone aged over 18 years. This can be either face to face or over the telephone (a joint project with Yorkshire Children’s Centre).

Tel. 01484 415465
Email: communityconnections@yccuk.org.uk

Age UK – Request a befriender or volunteer

 


Yorkshire Children’s Centre

Our Community Connections Befriending Service is available to adults over the age of 18 who may be experiencing isolation and loneliness or a limited social life. Support can be either face to face or over the telephone (a joint project with Age UK).

Tel. 01484 415465
Email: communityconnections@yccuk.org.uk

Community Connections – make a request or volunteer

 


MHA Communities

MHA Communities befriending service is about getting people together to make friends. Support is available for people aged 55+ in the Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Cleckheaton areas. This can either be face to face or via telephone.

Tel. 01484 515420
Email: Cheryl.flynn@mha.org.uk 

MHA Communities – Befriending

 


Luv2MeetU

Luv2meetU is a friendship service for people with a learning disability or autism. We support people to make friends and share interests. Befriending support is available for everyone aged over 18 years. This can be over the telephone, by text, via email or though chaperoned face to face friendship meets.

Tel. 07867 179902
Email: Wendy.ponton@hft.org.uk or Zoe.swearman@hft.org.uk or Halina.akrich@hft.org.uk

Luv2MeetU

 


The Kirkwood

The Kirkwood provide befriending support for people who have life-limiting illness or who are bereaved. This can be either face to face or over the telephone.

Contact: Sharon Kingsley
Tel. 01484 557917

The Kirkwood

 


 

How many people can attend group activities?

Covid-19 update

We’re sharing some advice for community groups who may be uncertain about how many people can currently attend group activities in a community room.

From 17th May 2021 larger gatherings exceeding the social contact limits may take place (up to 30 people) providing certain conditions are met. This may enable certain social gatherings such as informal classes, activities and events to go ahead. These gatherings must be organised by a business, charity, public body or similar organisation. The organiser must take reasonable steps to ensure that those attending do not mix beyond what is permitted – up to six people or two households indoors and up to 30 people outdoors – unless another exemption exists.

Here are some examples of larger gatherings and the current guidance.


Support groups

Activity or meetings can take place with up to 30 participants where officially organised to provide mutual aid, therapy or any other form of support. Support groups must be organised by a business, charity or public body and if taking place indoors, must not take place in a private home.

Examples of support groups include those that provide support to:

  • victims of crime (including domestic abuse)
  • those with, or recovering from, addictions (including alcohol, narcotics or other substance addictions) or addictive patterns of behaviour
  • those with, or caring for people with, any long-term illness or terminal condition or who are vulnerable (including those with a mental health condition)
  • those facing issues related to their sexuality or identity (including those living as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender)
  • those who have suffered bereavement
  • vulnerable young people (including to enable them to meet youth workers)
  • disabled people and their carers

Exercise, sport and physical activity

You can do unlimited exercise but there are limits on the number of people you can exercise with. You can exercise in a group of up to 30 people when outdoors. When indoors, you can exercise:

  • on your own
  • in a group of up to 6 people
  • in a larger group of any size from up to two households (and their support bubbles, if eligible)

You can also take part in formally organised indoor and outdoor teams sports or licensed physical activity with any number of people. This must be organised by a business, charity or public body and the organiser must take the required precautions, including the completion of a risk assessment. You should avoid contact in training and, for some sports, avoid contact in all activities.

Indoor activity, such as classes, is restricted to the capacity of the venue (100 square ft per person and subject to adequate ventilation). It is the building operator’s responsibility to calculate these capacities, and it is expected that activity leaders reflect this in their risk assessment, which should also incorporate social distancing.


Childcare

Up to six people from different households or a larger number of no more than two households can meet indoors without the need for a formal childcare arrangement. All children can go to registered childcare, childminders, wraparound care and other supervised children’s activities indoors and outdoors.

Gatherings above the limit of six people or two households indoors, or above 30 outdoors, can take place for the following purposes:

  • for education, registered childcare and supervised activities for children
  • for arrangements where children do not live in the same household as both their parents or guardians
  • to allow contact between birth parents and children in care, as well as between siblings in care
  • to place or facilitate the placing of a child or children in the care of another by social services

Parent and child groups

These can take place indoors as well as outdoors (but not in private homes or gardens) if they are for the benefit of children aged under five and organised by a business, charity or public body. Parent and child groups must be limited to no more than 30 people. Children under five and anyone working or volunteering as part of the group, such as a group leader, are not counted in this number.

Community Buildings Recovery Grants for local organisations

Image shows people and buildings, impression of building a community

Kirklees Council are providing £500k of Recovery Grants for voluntary and community organisations who have been affected by national lockdowns and local restrictions.

Grants of up to £20k are available now to help our vital community buildings in local places across Kirklees recover from Covid-19.

Supporting community buildings that really matter to local people

Community organisations are vital for our local economy and for people’s wellbeing – creating jobs, delivering services, connecting people in our neighbourhoods and providing activities that people and communities really value. We know this continues to be a difficult time for local organisations who have been unable to open community buildings as usual.

Voluntary and community organisations in Kirklees who own or rent buildings in our local places can apply for a grant to recover lost income due to Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions. 

Who can apply?

The Community Buildings Recovery Grant is available for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations who:

  • work in (and are based in) Kirklees
  • were open as usual before the Covid-19 restrictions
  • own or rent a non-residential property (this could include a space within a building that you pay costs for, or a building you own and have continued to pay costs for). 
  • have been legally required to close or have been significantly impacted by lockdowns and local restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

How to apply

You can find the full eligibility criteria and apply online via the Kirklees Council website:

Help for voluntary and community organisations

(the information will be available here from 9am on Thursday 20th May)

 

The fund is open for applications from Thursday 20th May to Sunday 6th June

Payments to successful applicants will be made by Wednesday 30th June.

 

Questions? Contact us

If you’re not sure whether you can apply, or if you need any help or advice before applying for the grant, please contact:

Email: thirdsector@kirklees.gov.uk
Tel. 07773 488563

 

‘Thank You’ Fund for groups run by volunteers

Volunteers Week

Kirklees Volunteers’ Week 2021

National Volunteers’ Week from 1st to 7th June is an annual event to recognise the contribution that millions of people make across the UK through volunteering.  It’s an opportunity for us to recognise and say ‘thank you’ to volunteers in Kirklees.

This year the TSL Kirklees Volunteering team want to help groups in Kirklees say thank you to all their volunteers, particularly those who’ve done such incredible work over the last year, supporting people through the pandemic, either in person or from home.

Apply to our ‘Thank You’ Fund

If you are a volunteer-run project or group in Kirklees, then you can apply for a small fund to help you say ‘thank you’ to your volunteers. You will also receive a pack of free Volunteers’ Week thank you cards.  A maximum grant of £100 is available for each organisation, but we will be able to fund more groups if people only apply for what they need.

It’s up to you how you spend the money, as long as it’s on an event or item to say thank you to your volunteers.  For example, wellbeing goody bags, book vouchers, an afternoon tea delivery or tickets for an online event (please make sure any of your events are Covid-safe).

In return, we ask that you send us a photo and a quote from your volunteer group or an individual volunteer for us to share as part of our online Volunteers’ Week celebrations.

How to apply

Please complete and return the Thank You Fund application form (Doc).

The deadline for applications is Monday 24th May 2021

We aim to let you know within three working days if your application is successful. We will then ask you to invoice for the amount and payment will be made by bank transfer (we can provide a template for an invoice if necessary).

If you have any questions, please contact:
Becky Bracey, Volunteer Development Manager

Tel: 07776 588691 or email becky@tslkirklees.org.uk

TSL Kirklees Volunteering

 


 

Community Buildings webinar, 20th April 2021

Chestnut Centre

Community buildings in our local places are vitally important hubs for our communities. They are places which support people’s physical and mental wellbeing, as well as being welcoming spaces that connect people and organisations. The re-opening of these buildings in a safe and practical way is a key part of helping our communities through the government’s proposed roadmap out of lockdown.

On Tuesday 20th April at 5.30pm, Kirklees Council are hosting a third webinar to provide guidance on how to safely re-open your community building and what the recent changes in Covid-19 regulations mean.

If you have questions that you would like answering at this webinar then please send them to candc.projectteam@kirklees.gov.uk (ideally by 6pm on Monday 19th April). Even if you can’t make the session, please still send your questions through as it will be possible to watch the recorded session on YouTube after the event.

There will also be an opportunity for you to ask questions via the YouTube chat system during the session, but it would be great if you can share your questions in advance so that we can do our best to help.

Watch the webinar live and see the chat on YouTube

We look forward to seeing you there.

Joanne Bartholomew, Service Director for Skills and Regeneration, Kirklees Council

Jill Greenfield, Service Director for Customers and Communities, Kirklees Council

 


Community buildings and activities

People Helping People – 17th March 2021

The next online People Helping People local network event is on Wednesday 17th March 2021 from 10.30am to 12 noon. It’s run by Third Sector Leaders Kirklees, to help small community organisations in local places across Kirklees to get together, meet each other, share what you are doing and learn what others are doing. It is another chance to share best practice and discuss how we might be able to support each other.

Find out about funding & opportunities for working with children & young people

At this People Helping People meeting, you’ll hear from the Kirklees Council Early Years Team and a new local charity, Kirklees Youth Alliance, You can find out about the latest funding and opportunities for working with children and young people in Kirklees, including putting on holiday activities and accessing other funding, like Children in Need.

There will also be an update on the latest funding opportunities and about other support and training that’s available, including:

  • IT support from Kirklees Council
  • training on scams and how to spot and safeguard victims (from West Yorkshire Trading Standards), plus opportunities to put on a range of consumer and safety workshops for your groups
  • Co-op Local Community Funding
  • Grants for walking and cycling

How to take part

This meeting will take place online and you will receive a link that you click to join the meeting nearer the time. You do not need any special software, or to download anything or set up an account. You should just be able to click and join.

People Helping People – register on Eventbrite

 

If you have any problems or questions about accessing the meeting, please contact comms@tslkirklees.org.uk

Community Champions – help to tackle misinformation

Can you make a difference in your community by tackling misinformation? Can you help encourage people in your local community to take part in the vaccination programme?

Through the Community Champions scheme voluntary organisations will deliver a wide range of measures to protect those most at risk – building trust, communicating accurate health information and ultimately helping to save lives. The Community Champions will tap into their local networks to provide advice about COVID-19 and the vaccines.

Funding is available now for community groups to apply to the Community Champions fund.

Community organisations have until Monday 1st March 2021 to submit their application to round 1 of the grant scheme.

You can download the Community Champions application form online. See the Kirklees Together blog for more information:

Applications open for round 1 of the Community Champions scheme – Kirklees Together

*Please return your form to candc.projectteam@kirklees.gov.uk before the deadline.

Round 2 of the grant scheme, which is due to go live in the coming weeks, will be open for smaller grants of up to £1000. Community groups can apply for this money to develop their own targeted campaigns to help reach communities in all of our local places.

Recipes From Home cook book supporting the community

We all love a good recipe book and have probably been doing more cooking and baking at home over the last year than ever before. It’s wonderful then that our colleagues at Third Sector Leaders Kirklees have been working in partnership with community groups and One 17 Charitable Trust to produce a Recipes From Home cook book.

The book includes 30 easy-to-follow recipes for nutritious meals on a budget and is published on the Caring for Kids website.

Buy Recipes From Home

All the profits from the sale of the book on the website go to the six groups involved in cooking up the book in the first place. It can be purchased for £5. An organisation in Northern Ireland has ordered 30 books already, but even purchasing one book can make a difference.

When you place your order online, you can even make a note saying which of the six groups you’d like your contribution to go to.

The six groups are:

  • Crosland Moor Cooks (Oak Primary School)
  • Men’s Matters “Library Takeaway” group (Dalton Library)
  • A Taste of DASH
  • Home-Start Mums
  • Ravensthorpe Rosoi (Ravensthorpe Community Centre)
  • Worth Cooking – Worth Unlimited, Lowerhouses

Buy Recipes From Home

People Helping People – 27th January 2021

People Helping People network

The next online People Helping People local network event is on Wednesday 27th January 2021 from 10.30am to 12 noon. It’s run by Third Sector Leaders Kirklees, to help small community organisations in local places across Kirklees to get together, meet each other, share what you are doing and learn what others are doing. It is another chance to share best practice and discuss how we might be able to support each other.

What funding & investment do you need to thrive in 2021?

Join other community organisations to discuss your views on what funding and investment is needed to support local groups in places across Kirklees. Hear from other local organisations, share experiences, find out what funding is available now and get help to apply.

How to take part

This meeting will take place online and you will receive a link that you click to join the meeting nearer the time. You do not need any special software, or to download anything or set up an account. You should just be able to click and join.

People Helping People – register on Eventbrite

 

If you have any problems or questions about accessing the meeting, please contact comms@tslkirklees.org.uk

Support grants for community venues who have closed due to Covid-19

Business support grants

Do you run a community centre or other community facility? Business support grants are available for voluntary and community organisations in Kirklees who generate a significant part of their income through activity that has been legally forced to close (or has been significantly impacted) due to Covid-19 restrictions.

You could apply for financial support if:

  • You have been required to close your community venue due to Covid-19 restrictions.
  • Your organisation has remained open but has been severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.
  • You have lost income due to the restrictions, such as losing out on hall hire fees or not being able to operate a café or other community facility.

What kind of organisation can apply?

Support is available for:

  • community centres
  • community buildings
  • community facilities
  • faith-based venues

There is more than one type of support grant available depending on your circumstances. Please read the eligibility criteria carefully before applying. You could be eligible for support whether or not you usually pay business rates. The amount of funding will depend on your circumstances.


What about other organisations?

This is business funding, which is also available for community organisations who have a commercial aspect to their work. Not every type of community activity can be supported (for example, the grant cannot be used to replace income from donations). If you’ve lost vital income due to Covid-19, please check to see if you can apply.

Kirklees Council are continuing to work closely with Third Sector Leaders Kirklees on other ways to support voluntary and community organisations over the coming months. If you’re not eligible for a business support grant, there may be other ways that we can help.


Find out more and ask for advice

If you’d like advice about whether your voluntary or community organisation is eligible for a business support grant, please contact:

business.enquiries@kirklees.gov.uk

You can find more information and online application forms at:

Coronavirus: Help for businesses

 

Third Sector Leaders Kirklees offer free advice and support for voluntary and community organisations and can connect you to other people and organisations:
Third Sector Leaders Kirklees