What are we?
We started in 1996 when a group of local people got together, fed up with the way Stockwell seemed to be in a spiral of neglect. We aim to be a community forum that represents the interests of Stockwell and its residents. We provide support to Stockwell's thriving community and voluntary sector and advocate for the area in the wider world. We aim to ensure that the voice of the local community its wishes, concerns, needs and priorities is expressed and taken fully into account during the development of the area.

Who are our members?
Local tenants and residents, community groups, voluntary sector agencies, ward councillors, Lambeth Council officers, the police and probation services, the health authority, schools, housing providers anyone and everyone, individually or as a group, with an interest and involvement in the community in Stockwell.

How do we consult our members and generate a dialogue?
Public forum meetings are held every quarter, which deal with the full range of neighbourhood issues and include presentations on topics of special interest to the community (e.g. transport, health, planning, new initiatives and projects).

What is our corporate status and operating structure?
We are a limited company with charitable status, run by a management committee that is elected at an Annual General Meeting. Our Chair is Lucy Annan, our Vice Chair is and our Treasurer is Nick Hardie.

We employ a Director, a Company Secretary, a Portugese advice and capacity buildings worker and Bi-lingual Advocates

How are we funded?
Our funding comes from a variety of sources including Lambeth Early years. the BIG lottery, Lambeth Community Fund and the Active Communities Unit of Lambeth Council.

What have we done?

• supported over 5000 parents and their young children in 8 community languages, as part of our 3-year, £610k bilingual advocacy contract with Lambeth Early Years which encourages use of children centres
• secured an Advancing Assets for Communities bid with Lambeth Council one of 22 national pilots —which is enabling us to work with the council and the voluntary sector on the transfer of buildings to the local community
• provided welfare benefits and advice to over 2000 people (c.85% Portuguese speakers) from our offices on South Lambeth Road, accessing over £800k in benefits
• attended the steering group for Wilcox Road Environmental Improvements
• facilitated debate between the Stockwell community and key agencies and councillors through the Stockwell Forum
• produced the Stockwell Neighbourhood Action Plan and the Future Stockwell Framework, now incorporated in Lambeth's Local Development Framework

• Secured funding for, and played an active role in putting through, improvements in the neighbourhood by:
• helping develop the bid for the Connecting Stockwell SRB, which brought in £4 million of government money
• installing 5 CCTV cameras at Stockwell Cross linked to the Town Hall - providing free personal alarms for local elders
• re-designing street nameplates and directional signage, leading to a widespread signage replacement programme
• installing new street furniture painted in "Stockwell Green"
• local landscaping, tree planting and providing tubs and hanging baskets
• demolishing the redundant public toilets outside Stockwell Tube, and providing improved crossing and cycle parking facilities there
• providing new lighting for the Memorial Gardens, as part of the overall improvement of the Stockwell Cross junction, carried out by the Transport for London and Lambeth Highways in close consultation with Stockwell Partnership
• commissioning phase II of the Stockwell mural in memory of Violette Szabo G.C. and the other Stockwell residents who gave their lives in the Second World War
• playing a key role in the development of the successful Stockwell Urban II Community Initiative - a £12 million programme that aims to give local people the opportunity to get involved in the future development of their neighbourhood
• organising the annual Stockwell Festival a series of events for all ages that has been held each June/July since 2001
• producing the Stockwell Masterplan - a document which has helped to lever in funding several projects; most notably £1 million from the Department of Transport to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists on Wandsworth Road. The Masterplan is now incorporated into Lambeth Council Unitary Development Plan and will act as the first reference point for future decisions taking place in the Stockwell neighbourhood
• opening the Stockwell Women's Refugee Centre - a dedicated centre for women primarily from Horn of Africa countries - to meet and socialise.
  
  What do we want to do?
  In 2010-11, we will focus on:

• improving community cohesion in Stockwell, by developing a new programme which capitalises on our extensive links with the local community
• supporting clients who come to us for advice and assistance to undertake ESOL classes and improve their skills and confidence to gain jobs
• supporting community environmental improvement projects
• increasing engagement of Stockwell's diverse communities with the Stockwell Forum, as a means of increasing cohesion and participation in decision making
• continuing to deliver our Early Years Bilingual Advocacy programme
• developing our bilingual Portuguese advice service to include group work which will increase support networks, help beneficiaries gain jobs, and build community cohesion
• attain premises which are fit for current and future activities, and which convey a high quality, professional image
• produce a Sustainability Strategy
• continue to improve our performance, using PQASSO