A Place that is Safe and Clean

“Our vision is of a place where residents know and feel that they, their families and their homes, are safe and respected as are their businesses and the environment in which they live.

The Community Wardens are a key part of New Deal for Communities’ Community Safety Strategy.
A team of 11 Community Wardens has been working on the 3 Estates since 2002. The team has included one Environmental Warden and one Home Security Handyperson. For the last year of the NDC programme, the warden project will operate with 1 Senior Community Warden and 2 Community wardens plus volunteers who will assist the wardens with some of their daily duties.
The Wardens’ role was initially to patrol the area and report issues, but this has now been extended to include environmental work, youth engagement and graffiti removal.
There was also a Home Security Handy Person, who has upgraded security to over 900 homes since 2003. The Home Security Handy Person has now left the scheme, but for the final year of the project the senior community warden is continuing with the free home security work and lock outs, residents can phone for this service on 0121 303-2127 it operates from 9:00-5:00pm Monday - Thursday and 9:00-4:00pm Fridays.
The Community Wardens also work closely with the Birmingham City Council Environmental Constituency based wardens who are currently based within the Wardens offices at Hawkesley Neighbourhood Office.
 
3 ESTATES COMMUNITY WARDENS -: 0121 303 2127

 

Projects

ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

From 01.02.2006 to 31.03.2010

A key part of the Wardens’ job is to be a visible presence on the 3 Estates to deter anti-social behaviour. Wardens work around the area, monitoring “hotspots” and “hot times”, reporting issues of concern to the relevant agencies and tackling some of the work themselves with assistance from volunteers including young people who live on the 3 estates area.

3 ESTATES COMMUNITY WARDENS: 0121 303 2127

 

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

From 01.08.2004 to 31.03.2007

Funding: £118,025

A Drugs and Alcohol Co-ordinator worked on the 3 Estates between 2005-2007 to look at the way drugs and alcohol services are delivered in the area.
 
A Youth Substance Misuse Worker provides training and support for young people.
More…
 
A major part of the Drugs and Alcohol Co-ordinator’s role was to make links with mainstream drugs services and provide a framework for dealing with drugs and alcohol.
 
Specific tasks included:
 

  • Setting up a substance misuse forum to draw services into the area
  • Increasing and improving local treatment services
  • Training, education and communication programmes to better equip residents and professionals to understand and identify substance misuse issues
  • Maintaining baseline data to better understand local issues
  • Engaging with the community to determine local issues
  • Supporting police with drugs enforcement work
  • Providing leadership/support for developing projects, proposals and obtaining other funding
  • Promoting active networking between the drug/alcohol workers and non-drug/alcohol workers in the area
  • Compiling a directory of local specialist and generic services for subsequent wide dissemination to all health, welfare, criminal justice and helping agencies, including the voluntary sector.

 
A Youth Substance Misuse Worker was employed by HIAH (Holistic Innovative Approaches to Health) to provide training and support for young people and targets those at risk of abusing drugs or alcohol.

ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY

From 04.06.2009 to 01.01.1970

Community Wardens carried out an audit to assess how clean the 3 Estates actually was.
The area was split into 57 “micro neighbourhoods”, and each was given a grade from A-D. One neighbourhood received a Grade A, with 37 achieving Grade B.
 
Wardens will monitor environmental improvements in neighbourhoods and continue to be actively involved in environmental work.

HOME SECURITY

From 04.06.2009 to 01.01.1970

A Home Security Handyperson is also part of the team of Community Wardens Team.

The service improves security on homes, including fitting smoke alarms. This is a free service to 3 Estates residents.

For more information, contact the Wardens on 0121 303 2127.

DIVERSIONARY ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE CRIME

From 01.04.2007 to 31.03.2010

Funding: £250,000 

The project delivered by Crime Concern with the involvement of BCC Youth Service, and will offer activities through 3 elements; sport, learning and volunteering, that will provide diversionary activities for young people aged 10-19 years. The project is a crime reduction initiative aimed at reducing offending behaviour by those young people who are most at risk of making life choices that ultimately lead them into criminal activity. In addition it will support young people who have been victims of crime and offer young adults and other members of the community valuable opportunities to gain accredited qualifications, which could lead to access to further/higher education.     

                                                                         
The project will compliment current activities provided by Positive Futures, which is a national sports based social inclusion programme managed within the Home Office.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

From 01.04.2008 to 31.03.2010

Funding: £105,000

The Domestic Violence Outreach Project works with women - through the Home Options initiative - to assess their immediate and longer-term housing needs and works towards achieving greater safety and security in their homes.

The Outreach Workers will arrange a safe and confidential place to meet, offer a non-judgemental service and assess the woman’s immediate housing and safety needs to draw up a safety plan, which may include:
¨ access to emergency temporary accommodation, via the Single Referral Route
¨ initiating applications for housing/ transfers
¨ application for Sanctuary Scheme measures and/ or civil injunctions
 
For support or more information please contact the Outreach Team on: 0121 685 8687  Ext 249 or 250

Helpline/Refuge: 0800 0782606

Minicom: 0121 685 8519

www.birmingham-solihull-womensaid.org