Communities 1st

What is it about?

Communities First is a major, flagship Welsh Assembly Government programme aimed at cutting poverty and helping to improve the lives of people who live in the poorest areas. It is new and different in a number of ways:

It is a long term programme and will run for at least ten years;

Local people themselves decide what is needed and are helped to make it happen.

Communities First aims to:

Get local people involved in improving their areas and their own prospects;

Bring in funding and support from a range of sources to make things happen;

Make sure improvements last;

Encourage flexibility, risk-taking and new ways of dealing with problems;

Involve everyone together to identify and do something about their community's problems.

What will Communities First achieve?

Change will not happen overnight. There is much work that needs to be done before there will be a real change in our less well off communities. Each area included in the Communities First programme has its own particular set of problems.

Anything and everything that is funded or supported under Communities First should be aimed at:

• Building the confidence of local people;

• Involving people in making their communities better places in which to live and work;

• Encouraging education and skills training for work;

• Creating jobs and increasing the income of local people;

• Improving housing and the surrounding area;

• Improving health and well being through an active and healthy lifestyle, and by tackling a range of issues that affect people's health;

• Making communities safe in which people live, work and place

How can I become involved?

Changes are to be led by local people, so you can play an important role. You can become involved in a number of ways by:

Helping to bring people together in your area to start from a Communities First Partnership (a group of people with a stake in the community, who are willing and able to work together to make real changes);

Becoming a member of your Communities First Partnership;

Taking part in discussions, open meetings and consultations about what is wanted and needed in your neighbourhood;

Giving your views;

Asking your community what it wants and helping to make it happen;

Working with projects under the Communities First Action Plans.

Money will be available, through Communities First Partnership and the Community Trust Fund, to give local people the help they may need to get involved.

Who else will be involved?

As well as local people, Communities First Partnerships will include people from community and voluntary organisations, statutory agencies such as local and health authorities and the police and businesses. At least one third of the people on the Partnership should be community representatives like yourself.

The St Illtyds Team

Anna Chard, Communities First Co-ordinator (01495) 354672

anna@stilltydscommunitiesfirst.co.uk

Hayley Brown, Communities First Development Officer (01495) 354670 hayley@stilltydscommunitiesfirst.co.uk

Claire Gardner, Communities First Youth Projects Officer (01495) 354673 claire@stilltydscommunitiesfirst.co.uk  

Nicola Smith, Communities First Support Officer (01495) 354669 nicola@stilltydscommunitiesfirst.co.uk