Presentation to the Creating a Mentally Healthy City Forum in Birmingham on Social isolation and Loneliness

1. Social isolation and
loneliness
Creating a Mentally Healthy City Forum

2. • Why social isolation and loneliness is important and what we
know about it
• What’s happening in Adult Social Care to prevent and reduce
social isolation and loneliness, e.g. NNS, new grants
investment, community navigators, community engagement
and investment
• Some of the “wicked” issues which have been identified,
some ideas for tackling them and some initial steps taken

3. WHY SOCIAL ISOLATION AND
LONELINESS IS IMPORTANT AND
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT IT

4. National context
Community Life Survey
• There are lots of people who feel lonely across
the country, with subsequent negative impacts
on their day to day wellbeing;
• There are lots of people who are isolated but
don’t feel lonely – however they’re unlikely to
have access to any support networks as and
when things “go wrong”;
• There is a key difference between loneliness and
isolation. People who are lonely are motivated
to connect to others, but are probably unable
to. People who are isolated aren’t motivated to
connect to others and don’t necessarily see the
benefits from doing so
Some of the drivers behind loneliness and
isolation include:
• Trust of other people
• Regular contact with neighbours
• Self-awareness of situation
• Being a carer
• Illness or disabilities
• Connections to the neighbourhood in which
people live
• Cohesion and people’s perceptions of this in
their neighbourhood
• Contact with family and friends
• Volunteering show’s no link to loneliness and
isolation (because perhaps people who
volunteer are neither)

5. Life events
• Relationship breakdown, e.g. divorce
• Death and bereavement, e.g. losing a partner, spouse or close family
member
• Retirement and redundancy
• Moving, e.g. to the UK, to another city or place in the UK, new school or
university
• Changes to physical health, e.g. reduced mobility
• New parents, e.g. significant changes to social activity and contact
It’s not necessarily about age but older people are more likely to be
effected by death and bereavement, retirement and close family members
moving away

6. Mitigations
• Economic advantages – having
expendable income which
creates leisure opportunities and
options
• Social and cultural advantages –
living in places which have a
broad and diverse range of
community groups, organisations
and networks
• Cultural norms – extended family
networks, approaches to older
people
• Community places – regular
meeting places, particularly faith
centres
• Places to go
• Things to do
• People to meet
• Family, friends and loved ones

7. Priorities
• People – trigger
points around life
events
• Places
• “Social deprivation”
• Economic deprivation
• Demands on statutory
services, e.g. adult
social care
1. Billesley (Selly Oak)
2. Stechford and Yardley North
(Yardley)
3. Weoley (Northfield)
4. Acocks Green (Yardley)
5. Bartley Green (Edgbaston)
6. Brandwood (Selly Oak)
7. Erdington (Erdington)
8. Shard End (Hodge Hill)
9. Tyburn (Erdington)
10. Stockland Green (Erdington)

8. • Edgbaston – Bartley Green
and Quinton
• Erdington – Erdington,
Tyburn and Kingstanding
(50-64yrs)
• Hall Green – Sparkbrook
• Hodge Hill – Shard End
• Ladywood – Soho
• Perry Barr – Oscott
Handsworth Wood, Lozells
& East Handsworth (50-
64yrs)
• Northfield – Northfield
• Selly Oak – Billesley and
Brandwood
• Sutton – Sutton Four Oaks,
Sutton Vesey, Sutton Trinity
• Yardley – Acocks Green

9. Refugee and
migrant
communities

10. Developing acommunityapproach–whatworks
• Being more creative and flexible in funding activities which can support care and health needs,
particularly looking towards arts, culture, physical activities which people can enjoy;
• Community networks, peer to peer opportunities and people’s connectedness to other people and
places where they live (or communities of interest);
• Coordination of activity across agencies and stakeholders within the prevention agenda. This is
becoming an increasingly busy area of work with risks of duplication and counter-productive and/or
competitive activity between agencies;
• Coordinators, connectors, navigators, mentors and similar types of roles which can connect and
encourage citizens to access appropriate and relevant support and activities
• Coproducing models and approaches with citizens, communities and providers, taking an asset based
approach for better outcomes and systems;
• Digital inclusion and capability to provide accessible information about community assets, ideas,
activities and groups for both citizens and practitioners working with citizens;
• Evaluating and measuring the impact/value of community based activity on traditional social care
and health outcomes, but linked to this both citizen and community wellbeing;
• Individuals, assets, micro-enterprises, small charities and little ideas which can cumulatively make a
difference and enable social action in neighbourhoods;
• Places having different needs and dynamics, which require different types of support and investment.
This is particularly acknowledging the differences between places with high social action and those
with low social action;
• Joint approaches with regional and national funders to address shared problems, outcomes and
aspirations;
• The trust and credibility issue between the VCSE sectors and the Council, particularly ensuring that
strategic messaging is reflected in how the Council operates.

11. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN ADULT
SOCIAL CARE

12. PreventionFirstvisionandoutcomes

13. Our principles and pillars for delivery
Principles:
• Investing in prevention and community assets
• Strengths and assets based practice – citizens
and communities
• Partnership approach across the Council and
external stakeholders
• Place based approach around
neighbourhoods, Constituencies and localities
• Evidence base for what works and the impact
of prevention
Community Social Work:
• Three Conversations Model to implement a
more strengths, assets and community based
approach to practice
• Constituency and Locality based working and
teams to increase the visibility and presence
of social workers in the community and
community networks
• Neighbourhood
Network Schemes
• Local Area
Coordination
• Prevention &
Communities
Programme
• Information Advice &
Guidance Services

14. Older people already with social care and health
needs and already receiving services.
Alternative ways of supporting people and promoting
quality of life.
Older people coming to the attention of social
workers and GPs for the first time or “at risk”.
Working with people and connecting them to their
communities.
Older people who are living independently and
don’t need any help from social care and health.
Creating the conditions and options for as many
people as possible to live happy, healthy,
independent lives
Older people (over 50 yrs) and the communities in which they live
Financially
investing in
community
assets and
activities
Supporting
community
groups and
organisations
Bringing
communities
together –
visibility and
accessibility

15. What are we
commissioning?
• Activities not services
• Developing aspiration, not servicing needs
• Developing human and social capital , as well as
independence
• Citizens make communities, not consumers

16. Approximately 1,200
community assets
now included within
the scope of
Neighbourhood
Network Schemes
Neighbourhood Network Scheme status:
• Fully up and running in Erdington, Ladywood, Perry Barr, Selly Oak, Sutton and
Yardley
• Starting up in Hall Green and Hodge Hill
• Starting up in Edgbaston and Northfield but with a different model, which help
promote integration with the NHS

17. £5,496,000
£4,956,059
£1,300,000
£5,400,000
£11,656,059
£0
£2,000,000
£4,000,000
£6,000,000
£8,000,000
£10,000,000
£12,000,000
£14,000,000
Third Sector
Grants
Programme
Prevention &
Communities
Programme
Home from
Hospital, IAG
and DA
Neighbourhood
Network
Schemes
Total
New investment
Comparable BCC investment pre and post
2018/19
Prevention & Communities Grants:
• Advice and support (including peer
support)
• Affordable warmth and fuel poverty
• Arts and culture
• Bereavement
• Capital projects
• Community/day opportunities
• Digital inclusion
• Employment, volunteering and skills
• Housing and hoarding
• Partnerships
• Sport and physical activity
• Transport and mobility
Financial investment:
• More than doubled from the existing
Third Sector Grants programme
• More funding
• More diversity
• Greater focus on citizens,
communities, happiness and wellbeing

18. Successful
resettlement
and
integration
Services which
support
resettlement
and integration
Individual
strengths,
assets and
aspirations
Relationships
Commissioning, funding and delivery
of services and support which can
help overcome disadvantage,
inequality and barriers facing newly
arriving communities
Enabling a culture within
Birmingham’s communities, statutory
and voluntary sector which is open,
welcoming and supportive of newly
arriving communities
Promoting a culture across the
statutory and voluntary sector which
focuses on the strengths, assets and
possibilities for newly arriving
communities rather than their needs
and problems
Refugee and
Migrant
communities

19. “WICKED” ISSUES

20. Communities
“Transport”
Information,
Advice and
Guidance
Accessibility
“Befriending”
Cohesion
Older men
Dating and
companionsh
ip
Employment
Bereavement

21. Issues which need a one-Councilmulti-
agencyand cross-sectorapproach
• Investment in voluntary and community sector support (otherwise referred to as
“Local Support Systems”) – general absence of other council or public sector
investment in local support systems.
• Transport and accessibility for older people – issues concerning bus routes and
availability, digital inclusion (online information and Uber) urban design, planning,
highways maintenance and community safety represent significant barriers.
• Cohesion and inclusion – people feel excluded on the grounds of ethnicity and faith,
which reflects issues around segregation and exclusion in communities.
• Employability – we don’t have the same employability support and strategies for
older people as we do for other groups. Getting older people into work is likely to
lead to a healthier, happier population, as well as some inter-generational benefits.
• Isolated and “hidden” communities – there are potential missed opportunities
across council and wider public sector activity across registry offices, revenues and
benefits and neighbourhood based staff to identify people much earlier than at crisis
points.
• Information and advice – a fundamental part of any good prevention strategy is
ensuring that people have access to good timely advice about a whole range of
issues. However, the Council’s advice strategy is now over four years old and the
funding to advice has been significantly reduced over recent years.
• Property strategy – looking at the whole public estate so we can build up the offer
for communities where it’s needed most.

23. NhoodNetworkSchemes:Findoutmore,getinvolvedetc.
Neighbourhood Network Schemes –
visit the blog
https://brumnns.wordpress.com, which
includes:
• Information about Nhood Network
Schemes
• Contact details (to be updated in
October)
• Asset directory (to be updated in
October
• Collections of evidence and studies
Neighbourhood Network Scheme notes:
• Each NNS has a partnership steering group – if this is of interest you can get in contact with the
relevant NNS to contribute to local plans.
• Asset directory – this is not a referral tool, but provides information about what we know exists,
not who it is necessarily appropriate for. It is to facilitate introductions and conversations to find
out what is possible, when and where.
• Innovation projects – we’re also testing how to broker business sector involvement and
investment (time and skills) in community development; an impact app for community groups to
record citizen outcomes/qualitative data; peer to peer skill-sharing; inclusive cycling hubs; social
prescribing and arts activity; music and dementia; community cooking and eating together.