Events and conferences
2021 Help Through Hardship Crisis 5th Annual Conference
Tuesday 13 July
How we were, How we are, and How we want to be; learning from service delivery during a pandemic.
At our 5th Annual Conference (and second annual conference held online), we were joined by over 80 staff and volunteers from Wandsworth organisations and groups to share our learning from delivering services during the pandemic and think about the way forward.
The leader of the Council, Cllr Ravi Govindia, spoke about the Council’s experience during the pandemic period. And we heard presentations from Dr Mike Lane Deputy Clinical Chair, SWL Clinical Commissioning Group and Isabel Oakley Chapman from Wandsworth Digital about the partnership’s aims to make Wandsworth the most digitally inclusive borough in London by 2024.
We also watched a short film about service provision during the pandemic, and one of our client films about accessing services during the pandemic.
We are currently drafting a Conference report, and will present this to working group members in autumn 2021. If you would like to join the working group, please contact us.
Crisis in the time of Covid-19
Help Through Hardship Crisis 4th Annual Conference – Online
On 16 July 2020, we held our 4th annual conference, online for the first time, in partnership with WCEN. We examined the hardships and inequalities experienced in Wandsworth due to Covid-19 and lockdown, the responses, challenges, and how these lessons and insights could inform what the ‘new normal’ should be.
Over 120 people joined the online conference. We watched films of community leaders and service users sharing their experiences, and listened to speakers including Paul Martin, Chief Executive, Richmond and Wandsworth Borough Councils, James Blyth, Managing Director, NHS Wandsworth, Shannon Katiyo, Director of Public Health, Wandsworth Council and Charlotte Harrison, Medical Director, SWLSTG Mental Health Trust.
Please watch these three films of Citizens Advice Wandsworth service users sharing their experiences during lockdown, which were first screened during the conference.
Help Through Hardship Crisis Third Annual Conference
Advice and Change
10 July 2019
Our third Annual Conference, hosted in partnership with Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network, explored issues of hardship and crises that have emerged through the second year of this project. We heard from service users, partners and the project team on their experiences in the last year, how they have developed the project within their communities, and in what ways the different systems that we work with can help co-produce smarter pathways towards support and services.
We also heard from Public Law Project and Trust for London.
Click here for the Conference presentation.
See a short film of the Year 3 Conference
See a short film of the Year 2 Conference
Universal Credit Network Event
7 February 2018
In partnership with Wandsworth Foodbank, Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network and the Department for Work and Pensions, we hosted an Advice Network Event focused on the roll-out of Universal Credit in the borough.
Over 60 attendees heard details of the roll-out from DWP representatives and had the opportunity to ask questions. We then held group discussions on the expected impact of Universal Credit roll-out on residents of Wandsworth, and how we can best work together to support them and reduce negative impact on our clients.
Help Through Hardship Crisis First Annual Conference
26th July 2017
Our first Help Through Hardship Crisis Annual Conference, held in partnership with Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network, was held on Wednesday 26th July, at Springfield Hospital, Tooting.
Over 80 people from across our network attended, providing us with a collective opportunity to share and understand the barriers and opportunities to become more collaborative. The conference closed with Paul Martin, CEO Richmond and Wandsworth Borough Councils, speaking on 10 points he had noticed in from the changing environment we live in, and offered some reflections on the challenges and opportunities for system change.
Help Through Hardship Crisis Network Event
6th December 2016 | Balham Library
The event was introduced by Beth Rattigan, Citizens Advice Wandsworth Help through Hardship Crisis Project Manager, Phil Jew, Citizens Advice Wandsworth Chief Executive and Malik Gul, Director, Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network.
Over 50 people representing community, voluntary and statutory organisations participated, including the Big Lottery Fund, South West London and St Georges Mental Health Trust, Be Enriched, Thames Reach and South Thames College.
Project partners, Elays Network, S.T.O.R.M and The Hope Project, and Citizens Advice project advisers presented case studies to 5 groups of participants and facilitated discussions on what does not work well in the system and how we can better support people facing hardship crisis as a network.
Participants also heard from Mandy Skinner, Assistant Chief Executive, Customers and Partnerships serving Wandsworth and Richmond Councils, who spoke about hardship crisis and highlighted Wandsworth council’s commitment to working in partnership to build effective systems to support communities facing hardship in Wandsworth.
View the short film of the Network Event below along with notes from the network event. For more information, see ‘About the Project’ below and use the Contact form to contact the project team.
Project Launch
12th July 2016 | Balham Library
See the presentation slides from the Launch Event here.