- Spice Time Credits are a social currency that allow people to earn credits for volunteering in their community that can then be spent on local activities and services.
- The program is being implemented in Carmarthenshire, Wales to encourage community participation and recognize people's contributions. Several local residents have earned credits for their efforts and spent them on activities to benefit themselves and their communities.
- The Time Credits program has resulted in increased volunteering, stronger social networks, and improved well-being and confidence for many involved residents of Carmarthenshire.
- Spice Time Credits are a social currency that allow people to earn credits for volunteering in their community that can then be spent on local activities and services.
- The program is being implemented in Carmarthenshire, Wales to encourage community participation and recognize people's contributions. Several local residents have earned credits for their efforts and spent them on activities to benefit themselves and their communities.
- The Time Credits program has resulted in increased volunteering, stronger social networks, and improved well-being and confidence for many involved residents of Carmarthenshire.
Original Description:
Check out the Carmarthenshire Time Credit members journeys with #TimeCredits
- Spice Time Credits are a social currency that allow people to earn credits for volunteering in their community that can then be spent on local activities and services.
- The program is being implemented in Carmarthenshire, Wales to encourage community participation and recognize people's contributions. Several local residents have earned credits for their efforts and spent them on activities to benefit themselves and their communities.
- The Time Credits program has resulted in increased volunteering, stronger social networks, and improved well-being and confidence for many involved residents of Carmarthenshire.
- Spice Time Credits are a social currency that allow people to earn credits for volunteering in their community that can then be spent on local activities and services.
- The program is being implemented in Carmarthenshire, Wales to encourage community participation and recognize people's contributions. Several local residents have earned credits for their efforts and spent them on activities to benefit themselves and their communities.
- The Time Credits program has resulted in increased volunteering, stronger social networks, and improved well-being and confidence for many involved residents of Carmarthenshire.
Introduction Spice Time Credits Spice Time Credits are a social currency developed initially in South Wales and rolled out across Wales and England. In Wales, Spice are currently delivering large scale community and housing projects across Cardiff and Llanelli, with smaller development projects currently planned or underway in 12 additional communities in Rhondda-Cynon-Taf, Caerphilly and Newport. Spice Time Credits are supporting organisations to develop new approaches to coproduction, sustainability, service provision and commissioning with professionals, service users, funders, commissioners, communities and the private sector.
How Spice Time Credits work: everyone has something to give People are thanked with Time Credits for contributing time to their community or service. They then spend Time Credits to access events, training and leisure services, or to thank others in turn. The system is sustainable as it is coordinated by existing community facing staff, and because spending opportunities access under-used community resources as well as direct (unmediated) exchanges between people.
Earning Time Credits Services and local community groups identify current and new opportunities for people to give their time. The new opportunities are based on the interests, skills and availability of local people, and are enabled and supported by community services.
Spending Time Credits Public, community and private organisations identify ways for people to spend Time Credits in their services or at events. This can be spare capacity at theatres or swimming pools for example, or for community services a way of recognising and thanking people for the contributions they have made (trips for young people on free school meals become trips for young people who have contributed). Spice spend brochures include a wide range of community organisations as well as higher profile opportunities such as The Barbican and Tower of London.
Why use Time Credits? Time Credits encourage more people to get involved in local community organisations and to give more time, increasing community action and strengthening local networks. Individuals are than able to access new opportunities in the local community, such as swimming, theatre, training, cinema, exhibitions and tea dances. Both earning and spending Time Credits can build confidence and support health and wellbeing.
Using Time Credits also encourages professionals to work in new ways, collaborating with service users and citizens to think about how services can be run in co- productive ways that encourage participation by the whole community, sharing skills and assets. This can encourage a greater sense of community integration and enable improvements in service delivery as they are shaped by those that use them.
Time Credits in Carmarthenshire Spice are working with Carmarthenshire Communities 1 st Cluster and Carmarthenshire Housing Services (CHS) to introduce Time Credits to communities across Llanelli, Taf-Myrddin and the Lower Gwendraeth Valley. The programme aims to enable local people to make a difference in their communities and to local services and to recognise the value of their contributions, as well as to diversify tenant engagement across CHS estates and services. Time Credits support people to develop their interests and unrealised assets to improve individual wellbeing and build strong and connected communities. The Carmarthenshire Time Credits project supports the work of Communities 1sts new programme; addressing the priorities of Healthy, Prosperous and Learning communities.
Progress so far In the first 18 months of Carmarthenshire Time Credits, 600 people in Carmarthenshire have given over 17,500 hours to their local community, across 70 local organisations. Lis Duffy, Taf Myrddin Housing Lis Duffy lives in the Yr Aelwyd Sheltered Scheme and is part of the Taf Myrddin Tenant network. She has earned Time Credits by putting on a monthly film night for other residents in the sheltered scheme, and sharing her views and experiences in meetings with the Tenant Network and Council Housing department.
Last year, with the help of the Carmarthenshire Time Credits Facilitator, Lis hosted a Big Lunch in the sheltered housing complex to encourage a sense of community and get others involved in the Time Credits scheme.
Lis says, Holding a Big Lunch seemed the ideal vehicle to engage the community, break the ice and for people to volunteer and earn credits in the process. It was great to meet so many new people and encourage the tenants to get involved in more events.
We now have a regular film night and are planning more events together including Christmas Fetes and other Big Lunches next year. The more we organise on the complex, the more people come along from all areas of the community. And word has spread fast! Other people I have spoken to have been inspired to hold their own Big Lunches and recently a local disbanded residents association donated 350 to our complex, to contribute toward a free lunch club in January for all our tenants!
Lis has seen a real change in how other people from the housing scheme engage with the community as a result; Using Time Credits to spend and earn at the film night has changed the attitude in the sheltered scheme by having people from outside the facility come to the film night regularly; they accept outsiders more readily now I think. One lady nearby, though physically fit, has previously been quite nervous about getting involved in things. Now she helps with letter drops for our events, using her love of walking to help the community. Doing this activity she also earns Time Credits which she uses for going out with her grandchildren. They now ask whats going on in the complex and if they can come too!
Since setting up the film club and organising her Big Lunch, Liss confidence has grown a lot. Now she will stop people in the street to tell them what events are coming up in the complex and invite new people along. She says: I would never have done that before!
Lis has spent her Time Credits on a wide range of activities, particularly trips out to places such as Castell Coch, The Lyric and Ffwrnes Theatres and Ffos Las horse racing. She feels Time Credits have given me the opportunity to treat my grandchildren to exciting days out which we wouldnt have been able to afford, and allowed me to try new things like the jazz night. They have encouraged me to take neighbours who also had Time Credits to spend in going somewhere not one of us would have gone to on our own.
I love Time Credits and try and encourage everyone to get involved with something to earn and spend. I feel it is money in the bank, saved for a special day to go somewhere nice. It is always a treat to use them.
Derek Hermann, Maengwynne For Change Tenants and Residents Group Derek Hermann has found Time Credits have helped him find a new purpose in his community after a sporting injury changed his life. He describes his experiences;
I used to throw Javelin for Wales; I was at Commonwealth Games standard at age 17. Sport was my life and I trained every day until an accident whilst throwing for Wales when I was 19 years old resulted in me breaking my back in numerous places and damaging my spinal cord. I used to be known as Big Del or Del Diesel; I was strong and helped others. When I broke my back I was no longer able to do the things Id done before, I became isolated, lonely and lifeless, it felt like I was hollow. Trying to adjust to the news that I would be in a wheelchair by 30 has been so tough.
I recently joined the Street Buddy Community Ambassador training course as part of engaging my own community and have become the Treasurer for a new tenants and residents group in Maengwynne, as well as supporting some events with Carmarthenshire Time Credits. Life has turned a corner, I am coming out of myself again and slowly getting back to the person I was before. I have a purpose again and I can help others, something that I did before my injury. I can be involved in my local community, I am valuable.
Derek now has high aspirations for the future of Time Credits and his community;
We want to develop our community, provide activities for the children and older people, improving services and opportunities in a rural area with limited transport links and amenities in the local area. Stella Stanhope, Carmarthenshire Housing Services Stella Stanhope is a local resident on the Park Hall Estate in Carmarthen where she lives with her husband and 3 children. Stella started earning Time Credits at a community clean up event in Carmarthen, and for giving her time to support the local Ty Ni Family Centre, helping with events and activities as well as fundraising for Ty Ni, enabling them to provide services to families living around the Carmarthen area.
Stella was keen to support the Time Credit programme in Carmarthen and became the Time Credit administrator for Ty Ni Family Centre, and has supported earn and spend opportunities. She helped with other events and activities in Carmarthenshire, including a community picnic at Pembrey Country Park and coffee mornings in Carmarthen, and has also run workshops for children and young people.
Taking part in activities across Carmarthenshire has helped Stella to grow in confidence, build new relationships and develop new skills. Stella used her Time Credits to access a 10 week sign language course in 2013 and then went on to undertake a level 1 qualification in British Sign Language at Coleg Sir Gar . She hopes to do the level 2 course next year.
Stella had been out of work since 2007 and has recently started a new job in retail. She describes how her Time Credits experiences helped her with this;
Earning Time Credits has made me want to do things instead of sitting at home doing nothing all day. Its given me confidence to even go to the interview and get the role as being a Time Credit administrator made me feel important and as Ive made loads of new friends. Its made me feel like I can do something useful and I am enjoying my new job!
Stella is still an active member of the Time Credits network and committed to giving her spare time to support community activities in Carmarthenshire.
Jazmin Morgan, Carmarthenshire Housing Services, Taf Myrddin Jazmin Morgan is 18 years old and lives with her mother and 2 brothers in Carmarthen. Jazmin has been earning Time Credits alongside her family since becoming a member of the Taf Myrddin network in early 2013.
Jazmin earned Time Credits for her involvement in the preparations for the Time Credits Big Lunch event at Pembrey Country Park in June 2013. She came to Big Lunch workshops in Cardiff in May to learn new skills and develop ideas for the event in Carmarthenshire, and as a representative of the planning group she met with members from the Ely Time Credits programme to plan activities for the day. At the event in June Jazmin arrived early to help set up and worked hard alongside volunteers of all ages.
Jazmin says, I like meeting new people and doing all the different things that are on offer. It makes me feel happy when I earn Time Credits because I can use them in so many different places. I have spent my Time Credits on a trip to Birmingham, teddy bears picnic and Im going to spend them in the Xcel bowling.
When she is not busy helping her community, Jazmin is studying a level 3 in animal care at Pembroke College. Jazmin has also given her time to support projects in Park Hall, Ty Ni Family Centre and at an intergenerational project in summer 2014 to make a sculpture for the communal garden at St Peters Court and St Johns Court in Carmarthen. She says,
My favourite way to earn Time Credits is just by volunteering to help around the community, I feel more connected to my community. Doing things to earn Time Credits has helped me have more confidence. Lindsey Jones, Communities First and Carmarthenshire Housing Services Lindsey Jones became a resident of Maengwynne 20 years ago, when she moved with her family from the Traveller site in the Morfa, Llanelli. Lindsey has kept her culture and roots alive and ensures her children have their Romany heritage, and she is also keen to share her heritage and culture with her local community. She now lives in her own home in Maengwynne with her partner and two children, two doors down from her parents.
Lindsey earned her first Time Credits supporting Communities First involvement activities. She supported childrens play sessions and then spent her Time Credits taking her children to see the Scarlets at a home game.
Lindsey thinks the best thing about Time Credits is being able to have new opportunities and as a way of engaging the local community, she says, I want to get others involved, I want extra activities to better the community here. Time Credits will enable us to get more people involved in the local community, We want to put on activities for children and clear the gardens of the elderly, and we can now do this.
Lindsey is keen to develop new skills and hopes to put on a street party this summer. She has signed up to do a First Aid course and Food Hygiene and is going to the Big Lunch Extras at the Eden Project. Having completed community development training with Carmarthenshire Street Buddies, Community Ambassadors, Lindsey is keen to continue developing her skills to support the community. Dan Hancock, Carmarthenshire Housing Services Dan Hancock began earning Time Credits at community clean up events on his estate in Carmarthen. He was also giving his time to the Dads Group and the local family centre.
Dan lacked confidence before getting involved in Time Credits and had struggled with education and school in the past. Since earning Time Credits, Dans confidence has grown and he is now always looking for new opportunities to give his time. He recently supported a 40s tea dance spending event at Llanelli Library, where he helped to bake cakes, set up and provide amazing service on the day!
Dan used his first Time Credits to access a taster sign language course in Carmarthen, and he has since gone on to undertake a level one course in British Sign Language. He says, For the first time I can spell. Im dyslexic and could never spell, now I can finger spell and I hope to teach my daughter to spell this way.
Dan is also really positive about the wider benefits of Time Credits, saying, Time Credits is fun. Giving back to your community you make friends, get to spend them in places you would never have afforded to go to and you can use them to learn. Im going on a camping holiday this summer paid for with my Time Credits! Eric Jones, St Johns and St Peters Court, Sheltered Housing Complex, Carmarthen Carmarthenshire Housing Services provides sheltered housing for tenants aged over 65 at St Johns and St Peters Court in Carmarthen. Scheme officer Idfys Raybould was keen to integrate Time Credits to support the work of the tenants committee and to encourage newer tenants to get involved in activities and services within the scheme.
Members have been earning Time Credits for running coffee mornings, cooking group meals, planning social outings and events, gardening and maintaining communal areas and participating in consultation and tenants meetings that shape the service.
The communal gardening project has been particularly successful. Eric Jones has been living at St Peters Court since March 2012 and earned his first Time Credits with other tenants over 4 days removing diseased shrubbery, emptying flower beds, re-lining, filling and planting. Removal of the shrubs was paid for with funds raised by members themselves.
Eric now carries out daily watering at the complex, as well as ongoing weeding and maintenance, and said: I enjoy doing, Im used to doing things, I was doing it at home since I was a small child and I like mixing with the community .
Eric has been able to use his skills and love of gardening to improve the local environment and he now feels that he has something to offer and is valued for the role he plays there. Idfys is keen to support the garden project and the tenants committee has agreed to fund the purchase of a range of tools and equipment. The gardens have a real impact for tenants as many have mobility issues and dont often leave the complex but can access the garden.
Idfys said, Eric is really enjoying living here. Being a tenant at the scheme has ensured that Eric belongs to a community, he would have been extremely isolated living alone. Eric loves helping others and will work to support all aspects of the community.
Michelle Williams, ShelbyArt Creative Mentoring, Llanelli Michelle has 6 children and although from Poole, she now lives with her husband in Carmarthenshire. She has strong links with community projects and disabled rights.
Michelle runs ShelbyArt, an art and craft club which meets once a month in the Llanelli area. People of all ages and abilities come together to practice, learn or just watch arts and crafts activities. The group has developed a community of people that have been mentored to reach their own potential, addressing issues such as low confidence and self esteem, mental health issues, bereavement, physical illness and more. Michelle mentors users through the art and craft activities as well as supporting individuals to give their time to facilitate groups or peer support others.
She says, I wanted to help people see beyond their circumstances & everything they thought was holding them back from making progress in their lives. I wanted to help the wider community come together and help build sustainable relationships.
Michelle hoped to develop ShelbyArt into a business. However she has been a carer for 2 of her children for the past 19 years and her business venture needed to fit in with her commitments as a carer. Time Credits gave her a safe way of testing her business idea and abilities after 19 years of being unable to work, as well as gain confidence herself and balance this with the needs of her children. Michelle has been supporting clients to give their time to help their community and support the growth of her business idea, using an asset based approach. Clients have coproduced business ideas and given their time to help with research, running workshops and developing blogs. They have also been able to increase their own skills & abilities around areas that they are interested in. This has enabled ShelbyArt to support activities across the Carmarthenshire Time Credits network, providing workshops in sheltered housing schemes, youth clubs and family centres. Through these Michelle has been developing her business plan and testing her ideas and methods of working, building her network and business links and plans and gaining confidence.
Michelle has played a vital role in the local Time Credits network, putting on community activities that members can spend at and supporting other groups to put on spend. She earns Time Credits for the time she gives to do this, and she also supports past users of ShelbyArt to co-facilitate sessions, enabling them to grow their confidence and self esteem.
Michelle says: Time Credits have made a massive difference to my clients lives! It has opened up new opportunities for them, which they would never have experienced. They have meant I am able to reward them for their loyalty & input, which has strengthened all of us & our own personal goals, and its also supporting people back into education and employment. Time Credits have given ShelbyArt a great foundation to build from, but also I am now building this into the business plan, so that people can offer their time in return for something that we offer.
Michelle has also experienced a personal benefit; Time Credits have had a wider impact, by increasing my positive family time & drawn all of us closer to the community around us. Jane Gwynn and family Jane Gwynn and her family earn Time Credits through a number of local groups, for activities that have included dressmaking, bunting workshops, planning meetings, Community Ambassador training and running a stall at the Big Lunch. Earning Time Credits has helped Jane and her family gain confidence, enabling them to set up a community group, Create Me Happy, through which Jane will be developing earn and spend opportunities for other community members. In addition, with the skills and knowledge she has gained through taking part in Community Ambassador training, Jane is going to take the lead in engagement in her local community in the Gwendraith.
Jane feels Time Credits offered her an opportunity at a time when she really needed community support; My husband and I are parents and we are unashamed to admit we are depressed parents. Time Credits have come along at a time in our lives where either of us committing to employment is a challenge, I would like to work but also need to offer care and support at home.
Jane is really positive about Time Credits. She says, Not being able to actively seek work due to caring commitments, volunteering through Time Credits gives my husband and I the opportunity to be socially active, inspired, enthused and creative and to try new things. Over the years I had become isolated and leaving the house was becoming an issue. People, friends, are commenting on my growing confidence and it has given my family a common goal to aim for and achieve. Weve tried sewing, textiles, furniture making, community training, my husband has even tried ironing! Weve met maybe 30 new people in 6 months.
To gain a Time Credit is empowering, you know you have done something good to achieve it and that you are going to use it to do something just as rewarding. Time Credits have given us the confidence to put together our family organisation, to meet new people equally as passionate and offer and accept support. Jane has seen impact for her family as a whole. She says, Spending Time Credits for us equals family time, adventures and memories. We are saving for a family camping trip. Time Credits have opened up new adventures for us as a family, we have enough credits now to visit various leisure facilities over the summer holidays, that we would not have otherwise afforded. By having quality family time we build happiness, emotional wellbeing for us all and create happy memories.
Jane has also experienced more personal changes. On a personal level, the opportunities to volunteer with organisations that are partners in the Time Credits system have given me a chance to talk about my situation, meet new people and try new skills. I am also proud that I now know that I can confidently use a sewing machine, something I hadnt done since leaving school, I know how to make bunting for events, I have learnt some new computer and graphics skills. I have realised that I really like learning and I dont want that to stop, I feel hungry for new things to learn.
Jane now wants to play a role in enabling more people to benefit from Time Credits. I hope that with help our little family organisation Create me Happy can spread Time Credits wings and reach out to families like ours that through no fault of their own have found themselves rich in love and time to give but poorer in social activities, stimulation and creativity. I hope that by continuing going on training courses and joining in supporting organisations involved with Time Credits that I will gain valuable knowledge, confidence and skills to bring back to my own community and create a little bit of the happiness we have found all around us.
Sam Williams, Street Buddy Sam Williams is 19 years old and lives in Llanelli with his family. Sam says I became totally blind at age 11. After a time of feeling very scared and worried, mum and dad gave me lots of support and I was able to go to school at New College Worcester, a college for the blind and visually impaired. In September 2013 I stared at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford.
Sam had to return home for health reasons in December 2013 which also resulted in him spending a few weeks in hospital. Since moving home, Sam said, Days have become boring, I hardly have anything to do and I dont know that many people in Llanelli. I rely on my family to go places and never go out without them.
Sam became a member of ShelbyArt, a local arts and craft support and activity group, and has recently become a Street Buddy through Time Credits, where he wants to be able to help other people in my area learn about what it is like to be blind, and give them advice & ideas about how to make things accessible to the blind.
Sam attended the first Street Buddy session with his mum. She wasnt able to make the second session and for the first time Sam felt able to attend something on his own. He said, I felt empowered through attending the session on my own, it was good to meet new people, and its so good to do things by myself.
Sam has only recently started earning Time Credits, but he reports that they have given him the confidence to go to new places and make new friends, and make him feel happy. He says, I have gone to help out at The Big Lunch and made new friends at events I have been to, without my parents, which I havent been able to do before. I like to earn credits. It makes me feel good and lets me help other people. Rachel Dyer runs RED Total fitness, an organisation that encourages the community to engage in body and mind fitness activities. Rachel aims to support all ages and abilities in improving confidence and becoming active and self aware.
Rachel wanted to get involved in Time Credits because I wanted my business to be more accessible to local people, who may have more spare time but less spare cash, to come to classes, because part of my aim is to improve social capital for my customers and myself.
People can earn Time Credits at RED Total fitness by helping Rachel set up before and after classes or helping with advertising and admin duties. Customers are then able to use Time Credits to access classes in Zumba or relaxation and stress management, or for Rachels workshops.
Rachel feels that Time Credits enable me to provide services to those who may not usually come due to cash shortage, and also by allowing them to come they are boosting self esteem and meeting new contacts and engaging in new roles. If they are doing small admin tasks or set up then it is also experience they can put on a CV.
Time Credits have also helped Rachels organisation; Time Credits have enabled my business to reach a broader crowd of customers and to network. I have been advertised via Time Credits for no additional cost which is a big help and also facilitated my meeting of like- minded people. It has enabled my personal confidence to grow.
Time Credits have helped me and my new small business in areas where other people have closed doors. I have been part of various events and meetings which gives you the feel that you belong to something bigger. I think that is what stands out most about Time Credits, it builds bridges, but it also helps you cross them. Rachel Dyer, RED Total Fitness Sian Cook is a full time mother of two daughters, Becca and Ellie. Sian has been taking her children to Ty Ni family Centre for the past five years, which provides a place for her children to play and learn with other children of similar ages. It has also been a place for Sian to meet friends and gain valuable support.
Around three years ago Sian helped to set up the parents committee at Ty Ni. The aim of the committee is fundraise for and support a range of services and activities for children and parents attending the centre. Many of the families would not be able to access services without the support of the fundraising committee. Sian also supports a range of events and activities at the centre, such as play, arts and craft sessions, childrens tea parties and outings to nearby attractions.
Sian has been earning Time Credits for the past nine months for the time she gives to Ty Ni family centre. Recently she has been making the most of having a few hours a week to herself and do some physical activtiy; Using Time Credits at the leisure centre is great for me; its really accessible as it is nearby and has long opening hours. I go swimming once a week while Ellie is in Meithrin - a time to exercise, relax and have me time - to do something I enjoy.
Staff have always been polite and friendly. Carmarthen Leisure Centre is a great facility with lots of different activities on offer for all ages and abilities, modern facilities that are clean and well maintained, its also easy to park. As my children get older I hope they will be able to make the most of it too as part of an active healthy lifestyle and we will be able to use Time Credits to be an active family.
Sian is a qualified Youth Worker. She was made redundant following her maternity leave, and is looking forward to supporting more local projects using her skills and knowledge to benefit the community once her youngest daughter starts school. Sian Cook, Ty Ni Family Centre John Moran and Communities 2.0 John Moran lives in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire with his wife. He started volunteering 3 years ago following his retirement. John is committed to volunteering, giving his time to support a number of local organisations including Communities 2.0, which is a Welsh Government programme supporting digital inclusion in Carmarthenshire. John has been volunteering with Communities 2.0 for the past 2 years. He teaches basic computer courses for over-50s and jobseekers at the local library and at Job Centre Plus.
Communities 2.0 sessions support community members to increase their knowledge and confidence in using digital technology; for shopping, searching for the best banking or insurance deals, using government services, accessing jobs online or keeping in touch with friends and family. Carmarthenshire County Councils Digital Inclusion Team, which is working on Communities 2.0 with four other partner organisations, is already working with Communities First Partnerships and Sheltered Accommodation Schemes, as well as looking at how it can improve access to Council Services through E-Government initiatives.
In May 2013 the Communities 2.0 programme became part of the Spice Carmarthenshire Time Credits network, enabling them to recognise the contributions made by volunteers with Time Credits. Communities 2.0 hope to use Time Credits to encourage more people into volunteering and engage more people within their communities and into social action. John began earning Time Credits in May 2013 and earns on average 4-5 Time Credits per week. Since earning Time Credits John has been using the Ammanford Leisure Centre fitness suite and has been going 4 times per week for the past 3 months. He also occasionally uses the pool.
John says, I had never used a gym previously, but as a result of using the gym I have lost a stone and a half in weight and have already felt the benefits making me feel fitter and healthier. I am hoping to continue using the gym and to lose some more weight. Because I enjoy being a volunteer it is a bonus to earn the Time Credits and rewarding to spend them as I would not normally be able to afford the gym membership. Doctor Mz Youth Centre, Carmarthen Dr.Mz is a youth drop in centre run by Carmarthen Youth Project for young people aged 11-25. It provides a comfortable, safe, informative and stimulating place for young people to meet and take part in activities. In March 2013 Dr Mz joined the Carmarthenshire Time Credits network and since then has been using Time Credits to engage young people in co-producing the service, by giving ideas and direction via the youth forum.
Young people aged 13-19 years have also been giving their time to support the wider community, including to provide a range of activities for clients attending the Myrddin Day Centre in Carmarthen; examples have included playing bingo, making cards, fridge magnets and other arts and craft activities. Time Credits have led to increased participation in the wider community from the young people who attend Dr Mz, improving local perceptions of young people and also enabling disadvantaged young people to gain new skills and access a range of activities that improve their health and wellbeing.
Dr Mz has also experienced exciting new developments that have grown out of their journey with Time Credits. In spring 2013 in partnership with the League of Friends at Glangwilli Hospital, a group of enthusiastic staff and young people spent a Saturday clearing weeds and litter from the hospital garden and planting flowers and plants, returned the garden to a peaceful and pleasant place for patients and visitors. This very positive experience led Dr Mz to seek funding for a growing project as they wanted to be able to teach young people how to grow plants and develop an allotment. They applied to the Big Lottery and following a public vote were successful in gaining 42,000 to develop the project.
Crops grown on the allotment are brought back to the youth centre where older volunteers teach methods of growing and selling food to young people. The project will improve the lives of people in the community by introducing disadvantaged young people to a positive activity and new skills and knowledge that will help them to live physically and mentally healthy lives.
Gayle Harris, Dr Mz Manager says, "Time Credits have given staff at the project a new way of thinking and enabled us to work in a more innovative way. It has been a refreshing project and long may it continue! The networks that have developed have been invaluable to us as a small local project. Joanne Simons, Womens Aid Joanne Simons first became involved in Time Credits through Llanelli Womens Aid and earned Time Credits through volunteering there and taking First Aid and Food Hygiene courses to support her volunteering activities. Joanne had experienced domestic abuse in her past and was keen to give back to the organisation.
Since earning her first Time Credits and enjoying spend opportunities such as trips and outings, visits to see the Ospreys, paying for her children to go to Ramps Skatepark and having her hair styled, Joannes confidence has grown significantly and she has been keen to support other events and activities in Carmarthenshire. She has volunteered her time to support learning events put on by Communities First and with her children and fianc has supported community clean-up activities and large scale events including a 40s tea dance for the older community and a Big Lunch picnic at the local country park.
Joanne says, When I used to help volunteer in Womens Aid before Time Credits I didnt feel worthy or a part of them, but then Time Credits became available and I have done things I never done before - like face painting! I face painted my children but never anyone elses and then got given the opportunity and it was fantastic, I go to events on my own to help and I get very nervous and scared but the opportunity to help has given me confidence. I no longer sit in the house afraid of my own shadow, I am out there with the community and with the people and I am starting to get ME back.. I cant even explain in writing how much these have helped me.
Time Credits are amazing. They bring families back together and give you your independence, and for me my life back. When we go and spend them I feel great knowing I worked for them and now we can have fun as a family. Joanne is a very talented artist and baker and she has always been interested in having her own business that would enable her to work and still look after her young children. Joanne has recently completed a Business Enterprise 2 course with Coleg Sir Gar and now feels she has the skills and confidence to develop her business idea into reality.
The course was amazing, hard, stressful, full of laughter, and most importantly I made new friends and gained confidence. I have done presentations, powerpoints - to some it may not seem a lot, but for me its been a huge difference.
Time Credits have changed my life. After being in a domestic violence relationship, your confidence, your faith, your beliefs, your trust in people disappears and you lock yourself away but Time Credits help so many people out there like myself.
Chooselife Wales Chooselife Wales are a drug and alcohol service in the seaside area of Llanelli, providing a day drop in centre as well as accommodation. Volunteers have supported their work for many years, providing support to service users, assisting in the facilitation of family sessions, running lunch clubs or providing a much needed space to talk. Many volunteers have been through the centre as service users previously.
Chooselife Wales have used Time Credits as a means of engaging everyone at the centre, both service users and volunteers. Service users earn credits by delivering the lunch club, cooking meals, laying tables and cleaning up after sessions, running family centre activities, carrying out litter picks and gardening and maintenance at the services allotment. They also earn for delivering moving and landscaping services for Chooselifes social enterprise that helps fund the service and raises the profile of service users as playing a positive role in the local community.
Chooselife have embedded Time Credits into their service delivery model so that earning or spending run through all activities. Each service user has a 3-point action plan developed and Time Credits are discussed when this is developed and opportunities to earn and spend identified. This has led to service users being more engaged in their support. A staff member reports; Its hard to separate Time Credits and Chooselife; they are part of everything we do. They help to get things going and build support from service users. Time Credits are a catalyst for engagement.
Increased engagement has led to a group of service users taking horticultural courses at the Botanical Gardens of Wales, and staff said that If it wasnt for Time Credits, we wouldnt know who the committed people are, to support them to take the course.
Spending opportunities have also made a difference to service users and their involvement in the service, as reported by Lindy Butler, Team Leader; Thank you so much for last weeks tickets for the Scarlets [rugby game], our service users had a fantastic time and they have become more motivated since their visit to the game.
Chooselife feel that Time Credits have changed the day to day running of their services as users are now asking for activities that they can participate in and staying longer at the centre. They have even had to put on more activities throughout the day. This really supports the work of the organisation as they want to extend their opening hours to provide extended support provision. Home-Start Carmarthen-Llanelli Home-Start is a charity that focuses on families in the community who need support. Support is given by volunteers who support the families for 2 hours a week in their homes.
Home-Starts volunteers are very precious to them and undertake extensive training in order to support families in the community. They felt that the opportunity to recognise the contributions of their volunteers with Time Credits which they could share with their own families was priceless and would also further incentivise people to take up volunteering opportunities.
Volunteers earn Time Credits for the direct support they provide to families. On average a volunteer can earn two Time Credits a week for supporting a family. Lots of volunteers are interested in spending their Time Credits on local leisure opportunities or on family outings.
Time Credits offer Home-Start volunteers more opportunities to spend more time together as a family unit and increase participation. Home-Start also feel that they reduce discrimination in terms of poverty as people can access things they could not previously afford, and reduce stress as they create the opportunity to go places. More widely, Lia Davies, Volunteer Coordinator, reports that being part of the Time Credits Network has given us the chance to participate in events and networking opportunities and to feel part of the community. For more information contact:
Ben Dineen Head of Communities & Housing - Wales [email protected] 07429 313 860
David Russell Head of Health and Social Care [email protected] 074 2946 4265 This programme has been enabled through funding from the Interreg IVB North West Europe (NWE) programme as part of the Community Currencies in Action project (CCIA). CCIA is a transnational partnership working to develop and deliver community currency demonstrations in several member states across the North West of Europe. CCIA will lead the way in sharing knowledge and best practice to enable communities throughout Europe to grow stronger in their ability to achieve vibrant and prosperous networks that are efficient in delivering social, economic and environmental outcomes. CCIA will design, develop and implement community currencies (CCs) across NW Europe; providing a rigorously tested package of support structures to facilitate the development of CCs across NWE and promote CCs as a credible (policy) vehicle for achieving positive outcomes. CCIA is part funded through the INTERREG IVB North West Europe (NWE) Programme, which is a financial instrument of the European Unions Cohesion Policy.