Creating Connections and Celebrating Social Prescribing

HIS WEEK, WE HOSTED THE SECOND IN OUR SERIES OF SOCIAL CLUB EVENTS, FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF OUR FIRST EVENT IN LONDON LAST YEAR, WHICH WE HOSTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HOUSING ASSOCIATION POPLAR HARCA IN TOWER HAMLETS.

OUR SOCIAL CLUBS BUILD ON OUR COMMITMENT TO SHINING A LIGHT ON SOCIAL PRESCRIBING AND CREATING CONNECTIONS FOR LIKE-MINDED SOCIAL PRESCRIBING CHAMPIONS AND ADVOCATES. THEY ALSO ACT AS A GREAT WAY TO BRING THE INSPIRING PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS THAT WE WORK WITH ACROSS THE UK TO SHARE GOOD PRACTICE, INSIGHT AND IDEAS AND TO CREATE VALUABLE CONVERSATIONS AND CONNECTIONS.

DESTINATION LIVERPOOL

This time, we hosted our Social Club in Liverpool, where we have a number of growing digital social prescribing partnerships in and around the city delivering a wealth of programmes designed to improve lives and tackle health inequalities.

This ranges from working with Mersey Care where our digital platform is transforming the way that patients are referred to support through its growing Life Rooms centres for learning, recovery and wellbeing, to an innovative partnership with housing association ForHousing across the Mersey in Ellesmere Port, who are piloting an innovative new approach to social prescribing. We’re also developing an exciting new project with Liverpool mental health charity Imagine Independence which we’ll be sharing more about very soon.

CULTURAL CONNECTIONS

What we love about our Social Clubs is that we can shape the format to ensure we bring together the cultures of Elemental’s hometown of Derry with those of the different regions we work in, and so in Liverpool, this could only mean that scouse was on the menu!

Through our partnership with leadership practice, Do-Well (UK), we were introduced to the brilliant team at Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services which provided a great venue their office on Dale Street with views over the iconic St George’s Hall and famous Radio City Tower.

SUPPORTED BY CHAMPIONS

Guests were welcomed with our traditional Guinness and live music, before hearing from speakers including Do-Well Director, Ken Perry who compered the evening, shared his personal view on why social prescribing is so important to tackling health inequalities, and why Do-Well continues to champion social prescribing as part of its wide-ranging leadership work.

Colin Heaney, Co-CEO of LCVS gave an overview of the work of the charity and voluntary sector, before our very own co-founder Leeann Monk-Ozgul shared the story of how Elemental began to where we are today.

Then, it was time for the eagerly awaited scouse which, thanks to the fantastic catering of Liverpool Homeless Football Club, didn’t disappoint!

Through our Social Clubs we try our best to ensure that we are supporting local organisations that are working to do good and we were proud to support the charity in ensuring that all leftover food from the social club went to homeless schemes in the city.

Our now infamous table tennis competition was up next to round off the evening, with none of our Merseyside competitors able to take the crown from our  very own Jennifer Neff who was once again champion on the night and took the trophy back home to Derry.

A great evening was had by all, with new social prescribing connections and conversations taking place that we hope will continue and inspire more social prescribing partnerships and projects to develop.

THANK YOU LIVERPOOL

A massive thank you to everyone that came along and supported us on the night. Have a nosey through a few more pics below, taken by the talented Alan Downes at RoughCut.

We’re continuing to create new connections and conversations around social prescribing and play a part in transforming health and wellbeing in communities, so if you’d like us to bring our Social Club to a city near you, get in touch!