workshop delivered at SMART event please note this presentation was delivered as speaker support material and is intended for reference by attendees not for use as a stand-alone resource

1. What do Good
Neighbours do?
Picture from EDP article on Potter Heigham Good Neighbours Project 22nd
June 2010

2. What does it mean to be a
Good Neighbour?
• Discuss in pairs
• What does it mean to be a Good
Neighbour in your community?
• Are there similar schemes in your area?

3. Good Neighbour
Project
• What do they do?
• Community project run by (Above Glemsford
Good Neighbour
group of local people. Project in Suffolk)
-Groups respond to need of local people
Ie Giving a lift to Drs surgery, shopping,
befriending/home visiting, gardening etc
-Similar projects running successfully in Norfolk in
Potter Heigham, Horsham St Faiths, Wood
Dalling, Four Villages(-Ditchingham et al),
Thurlton and Little Snoring.

4. GNP Aims

5. • The bottom line is that there’s a phone
number everyone can call to get a bit of
help with little things.”
• Mike Hill, Chair of St Faiths Good
Neighbour Scheme, Norfolk

6. Who will benefit?
• Simple answer is everyone in your community
• Project is flexible-each community is different.
• Support may range from supporting a parent to
taking an older person to a Drs appointment.
• Community benefit-create more links between
members of the community.
• Isolated members of community- gives them a
safety net
• Volunteer benefits-feel part of the community

7. How does it work?
• Usually 10-20 local volunteers
• Average 5 requests a week
• Neighbours call the Good Neighbour phone and
request help
• Six or seven local people take turns to keep the
phone, log the calls and arrange a volunteer to
help
• Help with simple jobs, such as a lift to the
Doctor’s surgery, getting to the shops, or
changing a light bulb

8. Role of good neighbour
• Isolated people rely on informal help from
their neighbours
• Local people take on responsibility
• The numbers of older people in Norfolk
needing informal help is growing
• The Good Neighbour project will
strengthen and add to the informal support
already available

9. Schemes relationship
to the Parish Council
• Normally
independent of
Parish Council
• In other villages
often supported to
an extent by the
Parish Council
either financially
( with running costs
(Above) Little Snoring
in subsequent
years) or through
Good Neighbour Scheme
publicity.

10. Case Study-Potter
Heigham GNP
–Client’s perspective
• “Potter Heigham Good Neighbours' are brilliant.
Everyone is very helpful. We are lucky to have a
group of people who give their time to us. The
befriending I get gives me the time to talk through
my week. It is also nice to get out of the house and
go to the shops etc. The Surgery prescription run
takes our worry away knowing that our medication
will be delivered."
This client is in her late 80's and lost her husband about
2 years ago. She has limited mobility and needs help
getting to the Post Office to collect her pension.

11. Potter Heigham
Volunteer’s perspective
• “At the second meeting (of the Project) in January
2010 I tentatively put myself forward as the
Chairperson - I have since met and worked with
many wonderful people in our community and would
not have missed this experience for the world. I
have made firm friends with many of our Committee
members and volunteers and have thoroughly
enjoyed the infancy of this project. It has been
challenging at times but extremely rewarding.”
(Liz Graves-Morris, Chair of Potter Heigham Good
Neighbours Project)

12. Development timeframe
• December 2009 Public Meeting held to promote the
scheme from this meeting a steering committee of
people from the village was formed.
• January 2010 Constitution of group adopted and
committee formed.
• February and March 2010 Volunteers recruited and
trained May 2010 Volunteers CRB checked
• June 2010 Scheme launched in Potter Heigham
• April 2011 Funding from Norfolk Community Foundation
secured
• May 2011 Tea club developed!

13. GNP volunteers
set up a tea
afternoon in their
village

14. GNP Volunteers
support flu clinic
in their village

15. Who is needed?
• Steering committee members
-To co-ordinate the project
-To be the link between volunteers and clients ( via a
communal mobile phone)
-To fundraise and gather community support
• Volunteers
-People that would like to help with occasional gardening,
dog walking, befriending, giving lifts etc
All CRB checked
Volunteers could opt in or our of doing tasks
as their commitments allow.
AND clients!

16. Challenges
1. Recruiting a strong chair person
2. Getting most vulnerable to use
scheme!
3. Development time per project-slow
burn

17. Strategies
• Issue-Recruiting strong chair
-Strength of the scheme is it allows people
to play to their strengths
-Strong chair helps guide group forward ad
acts as points of contact.
-Ensure that chair has support to
mentor/encourage a future successor into
their role.

18. Strategies
• Issue-Getting most vulnerable to
use scheme
• Patience! Scheme develops organically and
develops momentum.
• Tailor project for needs of the village. Ie in Potter
Heigham Luncheon club, Tea afternoon get
community together.
• Word of mouth recommendations.
• Using local press, village newsletter ( regular
updates of the scheme etc), EDP

19. Strategies
• Issue - Development timeframe
• ‘Slow burn’ project
• Project builds gradually which allows
number of volunteers and capacity of
committee to grow with it.

20. Imagine-In pairs/
small groups
• You’re elderly, moved into the village
ten years ago don’t drive and have
recently lost your husband and live in
a rural village. ( No family nearby.)
2. What support might you need?
3. What support do you think you might be
offered realistically?
4. Will there be a gap between the two and
how might this be addressed?

21. Possible scenarios
• 1. Your neighbour mentions her cooker is
broken and she has called an electrician but
he’s going to take 3 days to come. The
weather is cold and snowy.
-What do you do?
• 2.Whilst visiting an isolated elderly client you
become increasing concerned about his
ability to remember appointments and he
seem confused.
-What should you do?

22. More scenarios
• 3. A lady who has recently moved to
your village appears to be isolated and
made unwelcome at village groups.
-What do you do?
• 4. When visiting Pat you find their
house increasingly dirty and cold.
-What do you do?

23. And more scenarios
• 5. Bill is recently widowed when giving him a
lift to hospital he mentions that he is
struggling to keep on top of his household
bills.
-How do you react?
6. You have started befriending Molly as winter
approaches she seems increasingly
depressed and distant. She appears to have
no family or friends to spend Christmas with.
-How do you respond?

24. • ‘Never
doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed it’s the
only thing that has.’
Margaret Mead

25. For further information contact
Lucinda Leonard
lucinda@norfolkrcc.org.uk
01362 698216
Ambassador Way,
Greens Road, Dereham