Advice Support Knowledge Information

Engage to Change

Funded by the Sutton Fund the project will support 20 people from a range of BMER communities living in Sutton to undertake an Open College Network course in Health and Social Care. Participants will undertake 10 days training along with submitting a portfolio of their work. Participants will be referred to Job Center Plus and a range of agencies so that they can find long term employment.

Walking and Cycling Grants London 

Physical activity.

Being active promotes mental health and wellbeing. It improves self- perception and self-esteem, mood and sleep quality, and it reduces stress, anxiety and fatigue. Physically active people have up to a 30% reduced risk of becoming depressed, and staying active helps those who are depressed recover. In older people, staying active can improve cognitive function, memory, attention and processing speed, and reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

The ASKI Walking projects  is one of the ways we improve physical activity amongst older people.

Walking is the most accessible physical activity, and already the most popular. It has the greatest potential to grow, particularly among people disproportionately affected by low physical activity levels and poor health.

Walking is a free, gentle, low-impact activity that requires no special training or equipment. Almost everyone can do it, anywhere and at any time. It is easy to start slowly and build up gradually, as well as being the ideal exercise to fit around everyday life. It therefore addresses many of the reported barriers to being more active, such as lack of time, money, poor health and physical limitations. It is also accessible to people from groups who could most benefit from being more active — such as older people or those on low incomes.

Walking is an effective form of exercise

As a form of moderate physical activity that contributes towards achieving the guidelines set by the UK’s Chief Medical Officers (CMOs)iii, walking offers all the benefits of physical activity to health and wellbeing, while remaining accessible to the majority of the population.

Walking is cost effective

Promoting walking is a ‘best buy’ both for health and active travel. Well- designed walking initiatives are recognised as excellent value for money. They deliver benefit-to-cost ratios of between 3 to 1 and 20 to 1, and with costs per quality year of life gained that are considerably less than those thought reasonable for clinical interventions20.

In addition, promoting walking can simultaneously help in achieving many other worthwhile objectives besides health. As a form of active travel, it is the most sustainable form of transport and has a key role to play in reducing congestion, pollution and climate change. More people walking would bring economic benefits to both urban and rural areas, can help increase social interaction, reduce crime and fear of crime, and help develop social capital21.

“Walking is the most likely way all adults can achieve the recommended levels of physical activity.”

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)19

Exploring the lives of Caribbean Elders from 1960 to present day

All About Me!

‘’All About Me” will be an innovative user led project initiated by older Croydon residents with a Caribbean background. They aim to produce a short film showing how the local heritage is a blend of social economic and political influences by reflecting upon their memories from arriving in Croydon in the 1960’s up to the present day. These people have lived through a period of significant change for the Borough becoming such an integral part of the fabric of modern Croydon that the impact of their Caribbean origins is often overlooked. A film, and a small exhibition related to its making, will showcase their personal stories comparing the experiences of these 1960’s immigrants with their lives today. Many of those who arrived in the UK between the late 1940s and early 1960s did not intend to stay permanently. At the time, political independence from Britain seemed within reach for Caribbean territories, yet life under colonialism left many people feeling torn between two worlds. Once in Britain, hostility and prejudice – at all levels of Society – thrust many migrants into a daily struggle for their rights as citizens.The passage of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act in 1962 made social exclusion a political reality. Widely viewed as racially motivated, the Act introduced new restrictions on immigration from British colonies based on one’s ‘prospects of employment’. Those who had once entered Britain legally as ostensibly equal members of British society were now under the scrutiny of the state as unwanted strangers.

 In homes, workplaces, and public spaces adversity became a catalyst for new expressions of community and identity. Looking back we can see/with hindsight it is clear/anecdotal evidence from our interviews shows that a large proportion of Caribbean people who arrived in the UK before 1960 did not come with the intention of making this their permanent home. The 1950’s were a time when the Caribbean Territories were inching towards independence from British colonial rule, but economic migrants were, in theory, able to enter the UK to live and work as equal members of British society. In reality, people were faced with hostility and prejudice, which made daily life a struggle. The 1962 Commonwealth Immigrants Act, which was widely seen as being racially motivated, underlined this social exclusion by placing restrictions on immigration based on an individual’s “prospects of employment” thus making changing former “British Caribbean” people into unwanted strangers. Somehow/ unexpectedly/ with amazing resilience the migrants used this adversity as a catalyst to find new ways of expressing their identity, and that of their community, at home, in their workplaces and in public spaces. The accounts that follow have been deliberately left in the contributors own words and not edited I believe it is essential that people use their own words to tell their stories.

J Jeffers Director ASKI 

ASKI Exibition Booklet 

All About Me Short Film October 2018

ASKI COMPILATION from Signature Pictures on Vimeo.

 City Bridge Trust

ASKI has been funded by the City Bridge Trust for three years starting 2018 to deliver a range of dance/movement classes for older men and women. ASKI uses dance as a tool to reduce social isolation. The project will work with people from all communities and will aim to engage more men in dance. The project will be led by J Jeffers who holds a both a Degree and Diploma in dance that specialises in teaching dance to older people. ASKI will aim to target some of the work to people living with dementia. Everybody   and ‘every body’ has the capability to move. We dance to celebrate, to mourn and to give thanks.

‘’I am always surprised when people say I can’t dance, or I don’t dance, dance has the ability to lift our spirits and make even the darkest day bright’’ J Jeffers 

Tai Chi with A.S.K.I.

Trust For London

The BME leadership 50+ programme will support people from BME communities to think and operate strategically so you have the competence and confidence to operate effectively in a climate of change.

Participants will gain an effective toolkit of concepts, knowledge, strategies and key transferable skills that will strengthen their ability to manage their move to a leadership community champion role.

The Leadership Course will offer 180 hours of training designed to inspire and engage participants. Delivery will be a blend of group/classroom learning and supporting people to work on their individual portfolios. Topics and activities will include;

Personal skills development • Board/senior level exposure • Shadowing opportunity • Stretch assignments developing service leadership competencies including a visit to at least one other organisation • Three Action

Learning Set meetings • Different perspectives on leadership from service users • Managerial support and supervision • Networking with other participants on the programme.

Outcomes

1. Marginalised Communities are more active in local decision-making. People will understand the process of building alliances and be better able to  plan a campaign project ensuring that their opinions are taken into account as part of the local strategic decision making process.

2. Minority Communities are better informed about local strategic agendas. Project participants will receive training on how to involve marginalised groups in local strategic planning processes.

3. A new peer support network, the Margin to Mainstream Forum will be launched. Local organisations will gain an understanding of the key steps to planning and undertaking a successful campaign; including how to form strong working partnerships with the local authority.

4. More people from BME communities can take up strategic roles in the Borough. Previous project participants have become school governors and trustees of local VCS groups.

University Engagement Project 

ASKI delivers a number of projects that engage young people by the provision of meaningful activities as well as raise awareness of  older people in the community by the provision of Intergenerational projects. We have just completed work with Kingston University on a project that engaged students in supporting ASKI to develop a fundraising strategy. We currently provide placements for students from the UK and Abroad. Having developed good practice in working with older people we identified a need for  work that actively brings both groups together. As part of our strategy over the next three years we intend to develop more provision for this model of delivery to be developed. In summer 2018 we worked with a large number of young people who are disadvantaged and who needed support in developing life skills a number of our older clients who had undertaken leadership training as part of our Trust For London delivery were able to work with the young people and help develop their communication and confidence levels. 

Kingstonhub Students and ASKI Director of Operations

Mercers Charity

The Mercers charity has supported ASKI over the last two years. The grant provides ASKI with the opportunity to provide a wide range of services that together support a reduction in Isolation, reduces inactivity and creates opportunities for older people to take responsibility for the types of services ASKI provides. The approach allows for older people to be involved in the development of monitoring and evaluation for the delivery, in the planning and range of activities that are provided. The project has exceeded the planned outcomes both in terms of the number of people who have/are taking part in the project as well as the age range and cultural backgrounds. Activities has included trips, educational visits, arts and crafts as well as a volunteering and befriending project that has been supported by other funders. We provide a wrap around services that is person centered and at all times seeks feedback from those taking part.