Realising Our Potential Together?
There is a striking irony in the similarity between the values espoused between Argyll and Bute’s strap line:
“Realising our potential together”
and Neighbourhood Networks’ mission statement:
”Working with people in our neighbourhoods to support each other, to live independently in our own homes and to follow our dreams - A Springboard to Anything”
This is tragically where the similarity begins and ends.
On Friday 30th May, Neighbourhood Networks received the news from the local authority of the termination of its contract in the Argyll and Bute area, to take immediate effect. This was seven short days after a meeting where this intention was first expressed verbally by local authority officers.
Over the course of last week, Neighbourhood Networks has issued numerous statements to challenge this position and criticise the appalling conduct of the local authority in this matter. There is irrefutable evidence that this decision was reached without consulting with people or effectively assessing the outcome of such a decision on individuals.
As part of this process we find ourselves in the situation where the local authority has only now asked us to work in partnership to review people’s support needs over a three month period and to work together to minimise the impact of this decision by signposting people into community resources like “Zumba classes” – “so we don’t abandon people” as a local authority officer told us. Sadly this is exactly what the local authority is intent in doing.
The stark reality is that many of the people who have benefited from the service for over 9 years will be left with nothing. They do not fit into Argyll and Bute's “strategy” of “providing nothing to people in Category 3 and 4” and waiting impotently for the time bomb of social isolation to go off.
As one of our members in Oban says:
“Before Neighbourhood Networks I had no one to turn to. Without Neighbourhood Networks to turn to there would be nothing”.
Neighbourhood Networks is so much more that a social club (a charge often levied at the organisation from people who simply don’t understand, or care to understand, or who don’t value the ethos of the organisation). It is a service that responds effectively and flexibly in times of crisis, and provides a lifeline to people who are socially isolated and vulnerable because of age, mental health issues, physical and learning disabilities.
It is also an opportunity to gather strength from a collective spirit, belong to something where your contribution is valued and everyone is different-but-equal in terms of having an influence and making a contribution for the common good of community. The old adage of “there is strength in numbers” is certainly true in Neighbourhood Networks.
Sounds like utopia. Certainly not and it would be naive and dishonest to say that it works for everyone. Being in a Network can be challenging, as people who have never had their views valued or considered before vie to express themselves. There inevitably can be conflict at times as people develop the skills to be part of a Network, but membership is nevertheless intensely empowering. This can be very threatening to professionals as evidenced by one local authority officer who volunteered a view held by some of her colleagues that people in the Networks were “getting carried away with exercising their rights”.
This is where the fundamental issue of power arises.
It seems that it is easier for this local authority to support a group of passive recipients of care who remain grateful for any crumbs of traditional support that are thrown their way. It seems all too convenient to keep vulnerable people in the dark, and act against any collective expression of their views that challenges the status quo and demands better services that are flexible and responsive when people need them.
Easier and convenient, maybe. But in terms of outcomes for people in relation to their general wellbeing and self worth there is no comparison. People with enhanced wellbeing and sense of self-worth are generally better able to contribute to their communities and less dependent on social work resources. Simple sounding, but also absolutely true, given the body of gathered evidence about the value of preventative work and peer support models. Neighbourhood Networks also has a body of monitoring and independent evaluation material that demonstrates its value to the public purse. The truth is that Neighbourhood Networks saves money.
Thankfully, not all local authorities act in this way. Others continue to actively invest to ensure that layers of preventative support are available for people in their own communities as they recognise the impact a short-sighted policy will have down the line for scarcer public sector resources. They are actively developing such strategies now to meet these challenges of the future.
SO WHY THE DECISION TO STOP THIS SERVICE IN THIS AREA?
Only those in the local authority, with their whisperings behind closed doors, know the truth to that. But the collective power of the members of the Networks, and their gathering body of friends and allies will not let them wriggle out of a straight answer without a fight. Power to the people we say!!