They became a Social Action Hub in 2017 after their manager, Eve, trained as a community organiser on the original community organiser programme between 2011-2015.
They have used organising to engage with and actively listen to residents which has resulted in the establishment of a variety of community activities and groups as well as support for families who struggle with food insecurity.
They provide easy access to food, through their partnerships with Wirral Foodbank , but they have also built collective power in the community to look at long term change to food insecurity.
This led to them taking local families along to The Houses of Parliament to give evidence in an enquiry into Holiday Hunger.
At the start off 2024 they decided to go deeper in their listening to understand what is most important to their community, what they loved about where they live, what concerns they have and what their hopes and dreams are for their area.
In May 2024 with a general election looming they hoped this would be the time to put some of their dreams into reality. So over two months the community came together, over cups of tea and cake, in workshops, cafes and at school gates to talk about what mattered most.
They worked with and listened to mums and dads, nans and grandads, teachers, health care providers, social workers and labourers, people with homes, people without homes, those new to the area, those who had been there for a generation.
There were lots of things people loved about their community.
And the top ranked responses were community spirit, good relation with neighbours, the support offered by the community centre and access to shops and transport.
They were also asked about their concerns and top priorities, which were cost of living, health and the NHS and education.
But the things that they felt needed to be done to make life better in the North End were
- reduced crime and safety (safer streets, more police officers, somewhere safe for the children to hang out and less drug use)
- housing and pride (cleaner roads and streets with more public bins and help for those who are unable to keep their gardens and houses looking clean and tidy)
- education and opportunity (a safe and accessible park for those with additional needs, better school curriculum giving children range of experiences and more communist and adult education in interesting subjects and in different places across the area)
All of the responses and information collected can be found in their Manifesto which you can read in full HERE
This Manifesto creates a mandate for action and their first stop was Westminster where they took their Manifesto to Parliament and met with Alison McGovern, MP for Birkenhead and Minister of State for Department, Work and Pensions. This gave them the chance to table their concerns and aspirations and enabled the voices of local people to be heard.
This ability to not only listen to the local community and support them on a local level, but to amplify their voices on a national level is what makes the work of the Social Action Hubs so unique. It is also what leads to change in communities on a local level and systemic change on a national level.
