Town & Bridge Project | ActivLives Community Singers | Community Garden | ActivAge
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Town & Bridge project

The Town & Bridge Project was one of the first Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) - One Ipswich funded projects. The project was established to help tackle health inequalities in two of the most deprived areas of Ipswich, the town centre and Stoke area and is currently hosted by Ipswich Council for Voluntary Service (ICVS). In September 2006 a project manager was employed to develop initiatives to help reduce the risk of stroke, heart and lung disease and some cancers and help people improve where they live and feel safer in their community.

The Town & Bridge Project has five strands:

  • Housing – Addressing Fuel poverty & making improvements to people’s homes
  • Community Safety – Improving street lighting & empowering communities
  • Community Development – Setting up social groups and networks, providing opportunities for people to meet and learn new skills, building confidence and self-esteem and supporting people to volunteer to help others in their community
  • Health Promotion – Providing opportunities and information about how to eat more healthily, helping people to increase their physical activity by making it fun and worthwhile, developing social centres to enable people to meet and make new friends and supporting people to stop smoking
  • Improved Access to Welfare Advice – Ensuring that people are claiming the benefits that they are entitled to, helping people to claim and also offering support to people with debt and money problems

The project currently runs three major projects to help meet the aims of the project and have a positive impact on people’s lives both physically and emotionally.

Gardening for All
The People’s Community Garden was funded by the Big Lottery People’s Million’s Award in 2007 and is an inspiring outdoor space where people, young and older, can volunteer and learn to garden and grow fresh vegetables. They can take part in workshops and courses, meet and make new friends and be active working outdoors, in the fresh air, and in a safe and friendly environment.

ActivAge
The ActivAge Project was funded by the Big Lottery through Age UK’s Fit as a Fiddle Programme. Two ActivAge Centres have been established in the town centre and Stoke and provide physical activity sessions as well as hot lunches, health promotion, advice and information and an opportunity to meet and make new friends.

The ActivAge Project also runs other activity sessions such as health & community walks, Aqua Confidence swimming courses, Aqua Circuit sessions for men, movement to music, Nordic walking courses, seated Yoga, Chair-based exercise and health promotion events.

ActivLives Community Singers
ActivLives Community Singers were originally funded by CSV Media to develop an intergenerational music project to involve young people aged 16 – 25 years old and people 45 plus. The aim of the project was to enable people who liked singing and those that could sing to come together to enjoy a wide variety of music, learn voice and breathing techniques, increase their confidence and self esteem, have fun and meet and make new friends.

The second year of the project was funded by Suffolk County Councils, Partnership with Older People programme and Suffolk Foundation. The group is now working to become self sufficient and not reliant on external funding.

ActivLives Community Singers now perform to live audiences across Ipswich and Suffolk.

Other Town & Bridge initiatives include:

  • Fuel Poverty and Debt Advice
  • Stop Smoking Support Sessions
  • Chair-based exercise sessions for Bangladeshi men and women
  • Healthy eating & weight management programme
  • Motivational & Opportunities Team (MOT) – peer mentoring
  • Volunteering & employment opportunities
  • Training & Learning