Hope in the Community Westminster is a new non-clinical, mental health support offer with collaboration at its heart.We seek to provide third sector organisations with a free space to use for running services, activities and groups that focus on wellness. As we are ready to launch this hub soon, we invite those who are interested in using the space to share their ideas and proposals with us and apply through this open call for proposals by Thursday 14 December.

See the latest funding opportunities and news from Lond Community Foundation including information about The Phoenix Way (grant-making initiative aimed at transforming Black and racially minoritised communities) - Children and Youth Round, North London Community Fund, Windrush Day Grant Scheme, and Westminster VCS Core funding.

The Mayor of London has activated the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) due to the ongoing cold weather in the city. SWEP activation encourages partners to do what they can to shelter rough sleepers. While there are currently no Weather-Health Alerts for London, you can find guidance and resources on supporting communities in cold weather from the UK Health Security Agency and Met Office.

We are looking for insight from women who live in NW London about women’s health and well-being services and experiences. We want to better understand the unique challenges and experiences that women face in their healthcare journeys. Share your thoughts and experiences through our survey.

For those who were unable to attend the Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster 'Stay with Us' Suicide Prevention Campaign Launch please see the collated essential information and resources we have put together.

Please see the latest newsletter from Young Westminster Foundation including funding news: HELPING HANDS COMMUNITY FUND NOW OPEN and WESTMINSTER BRIGHTER FUTURES FUND; also YWF YOUTH WORKER FORUM WINTER EVENT on 6th November and YOUNG WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION JOB VACANCY as HELPING HANDS PROGRAMME OFFICER.

Action on Disability Kensington and Chelse (ADKC) invite you to read their Annual Report 2023. They are also holding their Annual General Meeting on the 12th December from 4 - 6pm in person at Bay 20, 71 St Marks Road (also on zoom).

National Lottery Awards For All, is changing! You will now be able to: Apply for funding between £300 and £20,000 to support your project, an increase from the previous £10,000 per year; Get your project funded for up to two years rather than one. These changes mean that we have doubled the amount you can apply for and how long we’ll fund your project.

NHS North West London invite you to participate in this brief women's survey that will take no longer than 5 to 10 minutes of your time. Your feedback is crucial in providing valuable insights into various aspects of women's health and well-being. By sharing your experiences, you contribute to a better understanding of the challenges that many women encounter in their healthcare journeys.

The Healthier Homes Project is a pilot project funded by the Northwest London Integrated Care System (and delivered by the West London Alliance, WLA) that looks to address health inequalities and poor health outcomes related to damp and mould in the Private Rented Sector (PRS). We are looking to interview people who have faced housing conditions and who are renting privately to help us understand what resources, support and assistance are available to them.

Office equipment available free of charge from Westminster Cty Council's Responsible business Bouygues who would like to donate them to community organisations. They also have 10 laptops up for grabs!

Take a look at Young Westminster Foundation's October newsletter for information on funding including Brighter Futures Grants and Strengthening Communities Grants, and insights into effects of Cost of Living crisis on our communities, and latest news and opportunities including Let me Know FREE professional training programme for frontline staff to help you talk to young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships.

If you are an Asian, Afro-Caribbean, or White woman in substance use recovery living in the UK, I would like to invite you to take part in a research study on Recovery from Substance Use Disorders in Women. Confidentiality will be maintained and your name will be kept anonymous.

We are aware that ongoing, shocking events in Israel and Palestine have led to heightened tensions and emotional distress within our communities and want to remind you that Westminster’s Prevent team are available should you require our assistance; we are able to provide support and guidance for anyone who may be impacted by the current situation. If you or someone you know is feeling distressed or overwhelmed due to the recent events, there are resources and support available to help you navigate through these difficult times.

NEW OFFER OF FREE SUPPORT – fundraising strategy and bid writing help available now! Concentrated help from one of a panel of external fundraisers whose direct skills and expertise will be offered to Westminster VCS organisations (including CICs) for free.

Voice 4 Change has recently launched ‘Catalyst London’, a 5-year London wide programme funded by the City Bridge Trust aimed at developing and strengthening Black and Minoritised Ethnic (BME) communities and would like to invite you to join our free sessions taking place across London on various dates from 25th September up until 13th December.

North London Forensic Collaborative (NLFC) has recently launched a new small grant programme for Voluntary Community Faith and Social Enterprise organisations based in North London. This is open to organisations who currently work with individuals accessing forensic inpatient or community services, or organisations that are delivering health and wellbeing initiatives in local communities that with additional investment, could extend this offer to individuals accessing forensic services.

Please read further for details of four key aspects of the Council’s Council Tax Ethical Recovery process including Pro-active promotion of the Council’s 100% Council Tax Support scheme, Long-term payment arrangements, Increased use of Council Tax Hardship (Section 13A) allowances, and ensuring that the removal of goods by the Council’s enforcement agents can only take place for Council Tax debts where the debtor has the ability to pay but is refusing to pay.

Trends in radicalisation and extremism are constantly evolving, and it is essential to stay updated on the latest information. Your local Prevent Team at the Westminster Council holds the local knowledge of the potential risks that your setting and others in Westminster may face, along with the appropriate referral procedures to follow. Please see the latest newsletter with information from the Prevent team at Westminster.

Westminster City Council’s Rent Support Fund has been created specifically to help those in financial difficulty. The money will be used to cover some or all of the upcoming rent increases for households who are not entitled to full housing benefits. Tenants who are eligible for full benefits will receive the increase in their Housing Benefit or Universal Credit payments.

Our A&Es are extremely busy with waits of up to 11 hours. We are seeing many health issues related to the current warm weather – please do share the link below which gives advice on looking after yourself in warm weather, especially if you have asthma or hayfever. It also provides information on where to go if you need help so we can keep A&E for life threatening emergencies. The leaflet is also available in a number of different languages.

Apply for free mobile connectivity to support your charity. If you're a charity that needs support for digital inclusion programmes, you can apply for free Vodafone SIMs, each loaded with 40GB data a month for six months, plus unlimited calls and texts. You can use these however you like - for example, to provide connectivity to your service users or deliver training to people in need. We distribute SIMs through charities and cannot distribute SIMs to individuals.

Quell and Kooth are online digital support services for adults and young people suffering mental health difficulties and have a number of useful resources. guides, and videos that you can access via the links provided.

Depending on what’s involved, the process for gathering useful learning from your project can get called ‘research’, ‘evaluation’ or ‘reflection’, for example. Whatever you call it, the basic steps for gathering learning that’s useful to you are the same. Take a look at the National Lottery Community Fund page for their top tips!

London Ticket Bank is a new scheme for distributing free tickets for cultural events across London for those that need them most. They are especially interested in reaching those experiencing food poverty in the current cost of living crisis.

This Strategy has been developed over a period of months through a collaborative process with the voluntary and community sector and colleagues from across the statutory sector/NHS. It presents a number of case studies from the VCS that illustrate its main goals and offers a set of clear recommended actions.

Please see the Westminster City Council landing page for all upcoming council grant funding opportunities for the VCS.

Please see the following online toolkits and resources from Good Thinking and Thrive London that can help with the following: looking after your mental health in the Cost of Living crisis, Digital mental wellbeing tool for London for yourself, others, guides, self assessments, apps and more, and Thrive LDN mental health conversation starter tool to help you engage with friends, family, neighbours or those you support in your community.

Here is Steve McQueen's EMBARRASSED - a short film created to help raise awareness of prostate cancer within the black community and featuring Idris Elba CBE, Chiwetel Ejiofor CBE, Michael Ward, and Morgan Freeman.. The message is that if you are a black man aged over 45 you should ask your GP for a PSA test. Prostate cancer is generally easy to treat (without chemotherapy) and survivable if caught reasonably early.

Please download and see the House of Commons/ House of Lords Joint Committee on Human Rights report: Black people, racism, and human rights - including formal minutes relating to the report.