Stockwell Forum members showed a real passion and creative energy last night to forge new relationships and connections, with the aim of supporting our neighbourhood to thrive.
The event had a special focus on how we can work better together in our neighbourhood. There was a wide range of representation, including the new Stockwell Primary Care Network, a coordinator and Parent Rep from the LEAP Stockwell Early Years Forum, the Lambeth Portuguese Wellbeing Partnership, and the Stockwell Health and Wellbeing Forum. There were also representatives from our local arts anchor organisation Art4Space, the Guys & St Thomas’ Charity, local pharmacies and GP practices, and a local private sector developer. Cllrs Lucy Caldicot and Mohamed Jaser made great contributions, alongside a council officer from the Lambeth Forum Network – as well as several residents from local estates and PPG networks.
After an introduction on the increasing drive towards neighbourhood and preventative working by the chair, Steve Griffin from Stockwell Partnership, everyone introduced themselves and talked about the many fantastic events, projects and activities they are already doing in Stockwell. The session facilitator Will Nicholson then formed break-out groups to discuss whether people wanted to see more collaborative working in the neighbourhood.
There was a great deal of experience in the room, with a good understanding of the challenges involved in bringing people together who currently live and work in ‘silos’. However, the appetite for creatively addressing these challenges was strong, and there was a clear sense that people did want to work together under a shared set of values and objectives to create a Thriving Stockwell.
The second session facilitated by Will involved discussion of how we might do this. Dr Vik Sharma from Grantham Practice made the point that there is a significant opportunity at the moment for us to shape the neighbourhood working and preventative approach currently being tested by NHS England. Forum members agreed that we were in an excellent position to demonstrate the value of this in Stockwell!
Many thanks to the event’s partners, including Lambeth NHS CCG, the Stockwell GP cluster, PPGs, the Lambeth Portuguese Wellbeing Partnership, LEAP Lambeth, Art4Space and Lambeth council – and particularly to Morley College for hosting us at the Stockwell Centre. For more information contact Steve Griffin at Stockwell Partnership (steve@stockwell.org.uk).
Next steps? We will be meeting on 1st August at 3pm (venue tbc) to develop a short vision statement that we can all use to spread the word and to generate opportunities for funding.