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Action Together’s Social Prescribing Team and Community Development Team are deeply rooted within Tameside and its communities; this allows us to build on our knowledge and strengthen our growing networks with the various community provisions Tameside has to offer. Social Prescribing is a non-urgent and non-medical service. Recognising that Social Prescribing is not right for everyone, the team will attempt to redirect people to the appropriate services to ensure they receive support for their priority needs in a timely manner.
Liset's Social Prescribing Story
In December 2022, Liset* contacted our Social Prescribing service by telephone. Liset was a single mother of three young children and lived in temporary housing in Hyde. Liset spoke to our Social Prescribing Administrator, Natalie, about the pressures her and her family were facing due to the rapid increase in the cost of living. With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, Liset went on to explain how she would not be able to afford Christmas dinner for her family.
Prior to this telephone call, our Social Prescribing Team had learned of Haughton Green’s Christmas Foodbank Referral Scheme for 2022. In 2021, the project had provided more than 200 families Christmas dinner to cook at home. The Christmas dinner parcel included a mix of tinned goods, fresh food and enough food and treats to last families throughout the festive period. The project’s priority was to help the most needy families in Tameside. Natalie offered to make a referral to Haughton Green’s Christmas Foodbank, which Liset consented to.
Taking into consideration Liset’s children aged, 5, 6 and 9, Natalie also informed Liset of Tameside’s Toy Appeal. During November/December 2022, Action Together, in partnership with Tameside Reporter and Tameside Council’s Children Centres. Through hard work and dedication from the volunteers, and the generous donations of toys and gifts from Tameside residents, the Appeal enabled 509 families in need across Tameside to give 1,180 children a gift on Christmas day.
Although, the closing date for the Toy Appeal applications had passed by a few days, Natalie telephoned Joanne, the Children’s Centre Co-ordinator in Hyde. Joanne explained that the centre had enough gifts for a family gift box, and kindly offered to arrange this once a referral was made. With Liset’s consent, Natalie completed a referral to the Toy Appeal project.
Furthermore, Action Together’s Social Prescribing team received a variety of donated Christmas gifts from LEAP, through a collaborative project with Dunelm. Natalie teamed up with Social Prescribing Officer for Ashton, Jyoti Mckellar and Social Prescribing Link Worker for Ashton, Tiffany Schofield, to prepare several gift bags for clients who they felt would benefit from it the most. Understanding that Liset was feeling poorly, they offered to deliver it to her home as a one-off exception, since they were driving through the area.
“This will make a huge difference to our Christmas this year!”
A week later, Natalie made her final telephone call to Liset; Liset was able to arrange a lift to Haughton Green’s Foodbank and collect her food parcel which was plentiful and described it as ‘more than enough.’ Natalie notified Liset that her referral to the Toy Appeal had been accepted and gave her the contact details for the Children’s Centre in Hyde. Liset was extremely thankful to have some of the pressure lifted, now that she had the resources to enjoy Christmas with her family. It was agreed that Liset would be allocated to a Social Prescribing Officer, who would contact her in the new year and find out whether Liset was in a better position to start Social Prescribing.
* Name of client changed
What is Social Prescribing?
In short, Social Prescribing helps people to make new connections in their community.
Our Tameside Social Prescribing Team work with people to help them make new connections in their community. We listen to people to find out what's important to them, what changes they would like to make in their lives, and help identify the best ways to achieve those changes. Our Team connect people to what’s available in their local community, including groups, activities, and appropriate services that they're able to easily access and attend independently.
Our aim is to encourage the people we work with to improve and manage their own wellbeing and we work together with people on a 1-2-1 basis, creating goals to get that person to where they want to be.
We are not support workers, our work is non-medical and non-urgent. We work with people that are motivated and ready to engage with us to make positive changes. Social Prescribing is free and we work with people over the telephone, in community spaces, or by visiting them in their homes.
Tameside Toy Appeal 2023
We're pleased to announce that the Tameside Toy Appeal has returned for 2023 and is set to help families in need across Tameside once again.
You can find out more about this year's appeal, how you can help or how families can be referred to receive support here: www.actiontogether.org.uk/tameside-toy-appeal-2023