We sat down for a chat with Cohesion Sheffield and Sheffield Futures to find out about the good work they do in Sheffield and how people can help them.
Name of your organisation?
Cohesion Sheffield.
What is the aim and mission of your organisation?
Making our city a place where everyone feels welcome and valued, in a community where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, through working with organisations on collaborative cohesive actions laid out in plans. It’s really about working towards people in Sheffield, from all parts of the city, getting along together better and being more harmonious for the good of all.
What values does your organisation try to embody in it work?
Treating everyone with dignity and respect and emphasising that cohesion is not threatened by diversity but by deprivation. It’s about listening to what people have got to say and putting them in touch with others who might be able to help make Sheffield a more cohesive city. Sometimes this is organisations seeking training from other organisations or having difficult conversations in a safe space.
Who do you serve and how?
All organisations in Sheffield across sectors. For quite a number of years the community, voluntary, faith and statutory sectors have been involved but now we’re pleased to have a number of businesses on board too. The Sheffield Cohesion Network is growing all the time and we look forward to our Cohesion Network seminar in October where organisations can work on collaborative cohesion projects.
What challenges has your organisation faced recently?
Time capacity.
What have you been most proud of to date?
At our launch in October 2017 it was fantastic to see a couple of hundred people there including primary and secondary school students contributing with music, creative writing and visual art alongside other groups such as Parkwood Older Writers. The Cohesion Conference was completely oversubscribed in March 2018 and we had some very good feedback about the benefits of developing tomorrow’s city leaders. We’re also proud of our level of engagement with all sectors.
How can members of the public help?
Encouraging organisations to participate. Looking at their actions through the ‘cohesion lens’ and considering how things could be done more cohesively. This might mean taking a moment to reflect and think about how we want to get more people involved when it’s not happening – what different approach could we take? Who could we ask to help us work this out? Or it might be working out what skills you have to offer another organisation and letting us know.
What does the future hold for your organisation?
The development of a city-wide cohesion network for organisations to collaborate with one another to create more cohesion in the city.
Name of your organisation?
Sheffield Futures.
What is the aim and mission of your organisation?
Our aim is for all young people and communities to be supported and equipped with the means to achieve their full potential in life. Our mission is to provide mentoring and specialist support for those who need it the most.
What values does your organisation try to embody in its work?
As an organisation, we strive to be:
Innovative: We are creative and enterprising – we think outside the box and are always looking to improve.
Accountable: We understand what we need to do, and how to do it. We have high standards and expectations of ourselves to do a great job.
Focused: Using our local knowledge and expertise we will deliver our services in inspiring and enjoyable ways to bring about positive impact. We will be responsive, adaptable and diligent and make sure that the voice of our service users is at the heart of everything we do.
Act with Integrity: We act professionally at all times, respect the rights, differences and dignity of others, and make sure we observe confidentiality.
Collaborative Working: We understand the value of working in partnerships and seek opportunities for positive collaborations with organisations and individuals wherever possible.
Who do you serve and how?
We are here for everyone, but in particular we give help and guidance to disadvantaged young people. Not everyone gets the same start in life. Some people grow up in a safe, supportive environment, while others’ circumstances may not be quite so straightforward. Regardless of a person’s background, everyone deserves the opportunity to be the best individual that they can be. Sheffield Futures exists to provide those opportunities: to help everyone make good life choices.
Sheffield Futures is here for as long as it takes, at whatever stage in someone’s life: from the big problems to the small stuff. Our approach is about prevention, education, support when it’s needed, practical help that changes lives and builds better communities.
What challenges has your organisation faced recently?
We continue to see a rise in demand across our services with more young people requiring our support. Young people’s needs continue to change, often becoming more complex and inter-related, this requires us to refine and adapt our approach to ensure young people get the specialist support they need.
Funding for our organisation through the traditional methods of contracts and grants continues to be challenging, with increased competition for limited resources available. The funding available is often of a short-term nature, creating challenges with regards to sustainability and demonstrating long-term impact.
What have you been most proud of to date?
We are particularly proud of how we have been able to grow our services and increase our support for young people, recognising that there needs to be a joined-up approach with partners to ensure the help that is required is available to everyone when they need it.
As an organisation we have been central in developing a one-stop-shop of support for young people based at our city centre location. This has helped young people navigate their way through support from different services to get their lives back on track.
What does the future hold for your organisation?
Our ambition remains to improve on and grow the support available for young people within Sheffield. Particularly we are currently developing our one-stop-shop of support and young people’s services in the city centre, with the inclusion of a health and wellbeing zone. This will help us to further meet the ever-changing needs of young people. We will continue to maintain the support available in communities across the city.
We endeavour to develop innovative solutions for the issues faced by young people growing up in today’s world ensuring the right support is available and that every young person can fulfil their potential in learning, employment and life.
