Project News
Droitwich Spa has a rich heritage stretching back over 2000 years. The town's motto Sal Sapit Omnia - salt flavours all will be as true of the town's future as it has been of its past. The Re Group has been commissioned by Wychavon District Council to explore Heritage Action Zone status for the town.
Droitwich Means Business, the local business leaders forum, is also a champion of this idea and supports the community's ambitious plans for economic regeneration through heritage and tourism. An application to Historic England for Heritage Action Zone status will run in parallel with DMB's plans to consider the merits of establishing better branding for Droitwich Spa a Business Improvement District in what could be an important retail centre in this attractive Worcestershire town. The Re Group is acting as facilitator and coordinator, on behalf of a partnership made up of several influential stakeholders, seeking to recognise research and deliver on some of the aspirations expressed by a number of enthusiastic community groups.
The Re Group worked with the senior management team of Midland Mencap to help them review and build on their core offer of Safe, Secure Quality Housing; the right support and meaningful things to do for their service users. In these changing and challenging times Midland Mencap have been smart enough to realise that now is the time for them to be looking further into the future and thinking carefully about how they make the best use of their resources and diversify their income streams.
The work being undertaken by The Re Group focused on two main elements:
The Heads of Service, from Housing Care & Support and Children & Young People, alongside Board Members, Trustees and other key personnel took part in a well received and highly interactive workshop right at the start of this new leg of the journey. Building this team of ambassadors for the project within the wider staff team will ensure the purpose and benefits are clearly understood throughout the organisation which employs over 300 staff delivering a first class service across Birmingham and the Black Country.
- the research and development of an investment strategy that will enhance and maximise returns on surplus income and capital assets.
- the identification and development of pilot opportunities in partnership with others of supported employment opportunities for service users.
The Heads of Service, from Housing Care & Support and Children & Young People, alongside Board Members, Trustees and other key personnel took part in a well received and highly interactive workshop right at the start of this new leg of the journey. Building this team of ambassadors for the project within the wider staff team will ensure the purpose and benefits are clearly understood throughout the organisation which employs over 300 staff delivering a first class service across Birmingham and the Black Country.
re-engage, re-envision, re-equip, re-employ:
The first project for "re-enterprises" was a re-construction project in Worcester.We helped bring an empty Victorian house back into use and created full-time jobs for three local guys, who had been in prison. They worked alongside Kingsway Build, a well established local building firm.
The first project for "re-enterprises" was a re-construction project in Worcester.We helped bring an empty Victorian house back into use and created full-time jobs for three local guys, who had been in prison. They worked alongside Kingsway Build, a well established local building firm.
Nev Morrell, Director of the Good Soil Trust, a social farming project on the outskirts of the city, identified three candidates from a group he had been working with at the farm for a number of months. The guys had been unemployed for some time largely as a result of having been caught up in the criminal justice system.
After volunteering at the farm, building up their confidence, the guys demonstrated they were ready for the world of work. They had engaged really well on a few small landscaping projects, commissioned by a local housing association and expressed an interest in getting back into work in the construction industry. They each took part in a four week induction program to see if they were up to the task. During the four weeks they were introduced to the site foreman, and other members of the Kingsway Team, who would become their mentors on the project.
The guys were all successful in securing full-time contracts and they worked together on the scheme in Worcester converting an empty old Victorian property into six smart apartments. They learned a whole range of skills, during the nine month project, and went on to work on the next Kingsway contract. This refurbishment of an empty 1960's bungalow was much smaller in scale and gave them the opportunity to become much more involved.
For one of the guys, after five months, working full-time proved to be too much, as a result of a particularly challenging domestic situation, so he went back to volunteering on the farm where he could receive more support. Towards the end of the second project one of the guys received an offer of full-time employment from Kingsway, simply as a result of the commitment and skill he had shown during the previous nine months. Self-employment was the preferred option for the other lad who has gone on to establish his own landscaping business, which he can develop at his own pace.
You cannot tell "who is who" in the pictures above and that's just the way it was on site.
After volunteering at the farm, building up their confidence, the guys demonstrated they were ready for the world of work. They had engaged really well on a few small landscaping projects, commissioned by a local housing association and expressed an interest in getting back into work in the construction industry. They each took part in a four week induction program to see if they were up to the task. During the four weeks they were introduced to the site foreman, and other members of the Kingsway Team, who would become their mentors on the project.
The guys were all successful in securing full-time contracts and they worked together on the scheme in Worcester converting an empty old Victorian property into six smart apartments. They learned a whole range of skills, during the nine month project, and went on to work on the next Kingsway contract. This refurbishment of an empty 1960's bungalow was much smaller in scale and gave them the opportunity to become much more involved.
For one of the guys, after five months, working full-time proved to be too much, as a result of a particularly challenging domestic situation, so he went back to volunteering on the farm where he could receive more support. Towards the end of the second project one of the guys received an offer of full-time employment from Kingsway, simply as a result of the commitment and skill he had shown during the previous nine months. Self-employment was the preferred option for the other lad who has gone on to establish his own landscaping business, which he can develop at his own pace.
You cannot tell "who is who" in the pictures above and that's just the way it was on site.