General

Time to take a new course in life and help those in need with a community enterprise?

By Staff Reporter [email protected]

Published: May 20, 2020 | Updated: 20th May 2020

Has the lockdown affected your view of work and the course your life should take in the future?

Perhaps you feel that it’s time to make a gear change, get off the corporate treadmill and help those most in need of support in the community?

Community Catalysts is a social enterprise working across the UK to ensure people who require care and support to live their lives get that help in ways, times and places that suit them.

It helps people to use their energies and talents to set up community enterprises – very small businesses, ventures or groups that offer help with the care, health or wellbeing of people in their area.

Health and social care, but especially homecare, face particular challenges.

Dorset Council has commissioned Community Catalysts to use its expertise to help tackle challenges around homecare and wider support at home.

The social enterprise is running a development programme to help people set up small enterprises and ventures offering homecare/help at home to older and disabled people across the county.

It is also helping enterprise leaders to work together in peer networks, supporting and learning from each other.

The free service is a two-year pilot which began in October 2018 and is due to end this October.

To date, 25 community enterprises have been set up and are running with a further eight in the pipeline.

They range from providing companionship and creative activities in people’s homes to dog walking, shopping and assisting with gardening and decluttering.

Anita Wingad, Dorset’s Community Enterprise Catalyst, pictured left, said: “We can help people to set up or develop their enterprise, venture or group, to make it safe, legal and sustainable.

“We have limited resources and high standards so are only able to offer this free help to people we believe have the motivation, potential and values to do it right.”

First step in the development programme is to make sure the enterprise or group is viable and sustainable and will not let often vulnerable people down.

The ‘doing it right’ standards also ensure the services, supports or activities offered are safe and high quality and provide the help that people need.

For more information about Community Catalysts, and how it could help you to start up a community enterprise, please email Anita at [email protected] or phone 07407 789131.

Alternatively please fill in the enquiry form here.

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