Living Well Partnership

Background
The Community Assets for Living Well workstream began in early 2022, bringing together partners including TSI, HSCP, Macmillan, and LiveArgyll to promote wellness over illness. This collaboration led to the amalgamation of the Living Well group and the Prevention board, forming the Living Well Board, a unified platform for supporting and strengthening local community assets, with a focus on prevention, collaboration, and sustainability.

The Living Well Board oversees two key subgroups:

• Community Assets for Living Well Subgroup:
  Focuses on identifying, supporting, and strengthening local assets to empower communities, foster resilience, and promote health and wellbeing.
• Community Rehabilitation Subgroup:
  Aims to enhance access to physical activity and behavioural change programmes, supporting individuals in improving their health and quality of life through community-based rehabilitation initiatives.

Community Assets for Living Well Subgroup-Current Projects

1. Art of Hosting:
We have been implementing Art of Hosting training to empower local leaders with participatory leadership skills. This approach enables communities to tackle local challenges collaboratively, fostering resilience and self-sufficiency. Participants from partner organisations and community groups have been trained to lead conversations, facilitate workshops, and co-create solutions. This will help us to collectively strengthen community activism, address shared challenges, and promote local leadership. Plans are in place to expand the reach of these workshops and deepen their impact at a locality level. We aim to build a Community of Practice, where participants can share knowledge, experiences, and strategies, creating a sustainable network of support across Argyll and Bute

2. Walking Development Post:
This part-time post is designed to promote and coordinate health walking initiatives across Argyll and Bute. Walking is a powerful tool for improving physical and mental health, reducing social isolation, and raising climate awareness. The Walking Development Officer will work closely with local groups, mapping existing walking routes, promoting walking opportunities, and identifying gaps in provision.
The role also involves building cohesion between walking initiatives, climate action efforts, and active travel projects, fostering collaboration across the region. This post will help establish a Community of Practice for health walks, offering peer support, training, and shared resources to ensure the sustainability and growth of walking initiatives. Recruitment is currently underway, with the position supported by funding from partners such as Paths for All and the Living Well Board.

3. One Front Door to Wellbeing for All:
The One Front Door project is developing a centralised system to simplify access to health and wellbeing services across Argyll and Bute. The current landscape of services is extensive but fragmented, making it challenging for individuals to find the right support quickly and effectively. This project aims to overcome these barriers by:

• Mapping services: Creating a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of available services and resources.
• Streamlining access: Ensuring information is accessible to all, including those in rural areas or with limited digital skills.
• Enhancing collaboration: Working with stakeholders such as Living Well Network Coordinators, community link workers, and third-sector organisations to provide accurate signposting and reduce duplication.

This initiative will not only improve service navigation but also help gather data on unmet needs, inform service planning, and support continuous improvement. Engagement with key stakeholders and service users is ongoing to ensure the system meets the diverse needs of the community.

Get Involved

• Art of Hosting Community of Practice: If you are passionate (or curious) about participatory leadership and community-led change, consider joining our Community of Practice to explore how these methods can benefit our region.
• Community Assets for Living Well Subgroup Meetings: These bi-monthly meetings provide an opportunity to shape and support the development of this workstream.

If you are interested in joining any of these initiatives or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to get in with Mahailia Kateryna, the Wellbeing Development Manager at the TSI – [email protected].