UP FRONT : FUTURE EALING
Local volunteers are among those helping to shape Northolt ’ s future from a base inside its library . Deborah Dickey spoke to two of them to find out more .
A community champions meeting in Northolt
Championing Northolt
The Northolt Library Hub meets every Thursday between 10am and 4pm . It aims to build on the existing community spirit and forge a new , positive identity for the area . The project has been set up to offer faceto-face employment , health and wellbeing support to local people from trained and experienced volunteers , also known as ‘ community champions ’.
It is also carrying out a research project to better understand some of the barriers facing Northolt residents so they can be supported even more effectively .
The champions are co-ordinated by Greenford , Northolt and Perivale Community Forum . They are local and well placed to quickly get to the heart of the people ’ s problems . One of them is David Cox , 70 , who has been a volunteer and community advocate for many years .
He said : “ I have 30 years of experience in community involvement and , now I ’ m retired , I also have the time . Because we are volunteers , local people see us differently ; they know that we are independent . We just want a good community . Part of what we do as community champions is to show people the power they have to change things .”
Elizabeth Salmon , 31 , has lived in Northolt all of her life and is a paralegal . She said : “ There are lots of people in Northolt who have skills , but have lost their way . One client had been unwell for a very long time and needed support and encouragement to give him the confidence he needed to take his first steps and start to change his life .”
Advice at the hub
Peter Mason , the council ’ s cabinet member for prosperity , skills , employment and transformation , said : “ The Northolt Library Hub is a fantastic example of a community coming together to solve problems . Using our Future Ealing programme , we want to encourage more local people to get involved in this kind of way .” Read the full story at ealingnewsextra . co . uk / features / champions and find out more about the Northolt Library Hub .
Do it
There are lots of ways to help your community , from conservation projects to helping at a dementia café . Visit the Bubble community website at dosomethinggood . org . uk
6 around ealing December 2017