Purpose

Community Champions is a pilot programme to deliver resident-led
approaches to health and wellbeing, focussed on housing estates in
three areas in Camden (Regent’s Park, Kentish Town, and
Kilburn). Public Health fund a Champion Co-ordinator in each of the
three areas, hosted by a community organisation. The
co-ordinator’s role is focussed on engaging residents to
understand their priorities to improve health and wellbeing, and to
recruit and support a network of Champions to deliver activities
and initiatives to address community needs raised by residents.
 
The projects commenced in 2020, and whilst the
Covid pandemic hampered initial development, Community
Champions provided a key community resource contributing to
Camden’s response. Emerging from the pandemic, the programmes
received a grant of £50,000 each in March 2023 to extend the
programme for a further year to March 2024.
 
Community Champions have continued to develop over the past
year, providing warm spaces, healthy eating and food growing, youth
safety, opportunities for physical activity, and a wealth of
activities that reduce social isolation and increase community
cohesion. The model has attracted a great deal of interest, and
with external funding starting to replicate on other Camden
estates.
 
An external evaluation is underway, led by Collaborate CIC,
which is designed to identify learning, best practice, and
sustainable models to inform the Councillor as commissioner,
Community Champions themselves, and host organisations.
 
We are now looking to fund the projects for a further year (to
March 31st 2025) through three grants of £50,000, one each
per area. During this time, we aim to implement the “quick
wins” identified in the forthcoming evaluation whilst at the
same time design a sustainable longer-term model to grow Community
Champions towards a neighbourhood model.
 
This report is required as the Camden Constitution requires that
any grant award between £25,000 and £100,000 per year
being delegated to the relevant Executive Director or Director of
Public Health in consultation with the relevant Cabinet
Members.
 
 

Content

THAT the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the
Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care:
1.       Notes the
achievements to date for the three Community Champions
projects.
2.       Notes the
potential for the three projects to contribute to neighbourhood
working and the Council’s to improve the lives of
residents.
3.       Awards the
one-year grants to:

a.       The Elfrida
Society in respect of Kentish Town Community Champions
(£50,000);

b.       The South
Hampstead and Kilburn Community Partnership (SHAK) in respect of
the Kilburn Community Champions (£50,000);

c.       Fitzrovia Youth
in Action (FYA) in respect of the Regents Park Community Champions
(£50,000).