Our Greater Together Resilience Fund for 2025 was focused around building healthy communities. One such organisation that we’ve been working closely with in our East Region over the course of this year is Healthwatch Sheffield, who we granted £10,000 to work in our key neighbourhoods of Richmond Park and Wybourn.
There, they have been a consistent presence offering a range of advice and signposting to key support, as well as providing drop-in sessions and a community fun day.
One of over 150 branches of Healthwatch England (which was set up by the Health and Social Care Act 2012), they are contracted by Voluntary Action Sheffield to work within the city to ensure local people’s health needs are met. They work with residents of all backgrounds to gather their feedback and support them to access local services, GPs and care homes.
Our contract with Healthwatch Sheffield comes to an end at the end of March 2026, and the group continued their commitment in Richmond Park right up to Christmas time, with weekly health, wellbeing and breakfast sessions running at Richmond Park & Birklands Community Centre every Thursday morning through November.
Each session had a different theme, tailored to the needs of the community as identified through engagement activities throughout the year. The sessions welcomed a range of guest speakers so residents could learn about their services and how they can access them, and also included wellbeing activities such as mindfulness colouring, guided breathing exercises and various arts and crafts activities (such as making lavender bags and Christmas baubles). Residents could engage in the group sessions whilst also speaking one-to-one with Healthwatch representatives to receive personalised information and advice.
Breakfast was also provided, and the arts and crafts sessions were child-friendly to include parents with children below school age. Attendance increased over time, reaching over a dozen participants by the final session, and attendees came from a range of backgrounds, which is positive to see.
How were the sessions received?
Feedback was excellent, and many attendees signed on to further support on the back of the sessions, which also served to highlight the potential of the centre as a community space.
Some commented that they did not realise they could use this space and enjoyed the welcoming environment as well as the chance to talk to specialists. For some parents in attendance, the mornings were a welcome respite after a stressful school run.
Richmond Park is one of our key neighbourhoods in Sheffield, but it is also one that has always been a challenge to engage residents with the work of Great Places and our partners. Partnering with Healthwatch Sheffield has been highly valuable for reaching out to our customers and other residents and building stronger relationships whilst also supporting the health needs of the community. For the remainder of our contract, they will be focusing their work fully in the Wybourn area.
Reflecting on the sessions and the end of our partnership, Winnie Lutakome, Community Outreach Lead for Healthwatch Sheffield said:
“Those were our final sessions and work at Richmond Park and Birklands Community Centre, but we hope the work we started will continue, given the positive response from residents and the positive impact it has had – and will continue to have on the community… A lot of effort went into encouraging participation, so maintaining this engagement is vital.”
Felix Dyer, our Community Partnerships Manager, commented:
“Healthwatch Sheffield’s work in Richmond Park this year has been invaluable, both in engaging residents and in assisting with revitalising of the area’s wider development plans. From their work residents have received the bespoke health support they require and the groundwork has been laid for future vital projects in the area. A new support group for parents of young children, which starts this month and will run fortnightly in Richmond Park, is a prime example of this.”
Recently wrapping up in Wybourn…
Ahead of the end of their contract in our anchor neighbourhood of Wybourn, Healthwatch recently delivered two wellbeing events at the Pat Midgley Community Hub during February half term. As with Richmond Park, these were tailored to what Wybourn residents told Healthwatch they most wanted support with, using feedback from their consultation sessions earlier in the year.
The sessions provided the chance for customers and residents of all ages to drop in and receive useful guidance around different aspects of wellbeing, with a particular focus on mental health. Representatives from local services that could provide further support were also on hand to meet with attendees, and continue to build awareness in the community of what residents can reach out to should they need it.
The first session focused on ‘Healthy living’, tackling nutrition, oral health, children’s mental health and young people and adults’ drug and alcohol support.
The second session focused on ‘Healthy minds’, giving a more in-depth view into mental health support, as well as dementia support.
These sessions were family-oriented, taking place during the school holidays, and free refreshments and activities for children were on-hand. These included face painting, exotic animal holding, temporary tattoos, crafts and a prize wheel!
Whilst this was a great way to end their time in Wybourn, the work does not stop there. Our partnership in both Wybourn and Richmond Park has achieved some great groundwork to gain valuable insight into what wellbeing provision is currently available, where the gaps are, and how we can maximise our community spaces and partnerships with local support services to help build thriving, healthy communities. Watch this space!
