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The Interlink Foundation
was established in 1990. It provides infrastructure support to the
Orthodox Jewish (Charedi) voluntary and community sector throughout the
UK.
Our overall aim is to develop the capacity of this sector so that its
Voluntary and Community Organisations (VCOs) are able to engage with
and provide services to people in the community, particularly
hard-to-reach people in need.
We are active nationally, especially in areas with large concentrations
of Charedi people, including several inner and outer London boroughs,
the North West and the North East of England.
The Charedi community in the UK is a fast growing Jewish minority
numbering 60,000, characterised by its own significant social and
cultural mores. Our main activities are:
Policy and Regeneration
- Supporting and facilitating the involvement of Orthodox
Jewish (Charedi) voluntary organisations in local
partnerships/regeneration initiatives and ensuring that the concerns
voiced by these organisations are fed into service planning and provision.
This year, we ran 12 thematic strategy forums, where community
organisations met senior managers of statutory organisations, leading to
the improvement of services for the community (see below).
- Informing and influencing policy-making processes
affecting the Orthodox Jewish community sector through participating in
key strategic networks and working parties and by representing the
sector's concerns with statutory and voluntary agencies.
- Developing and assisting in the development of voluntary
sector initiatives to address unmet need within the Orthodox Jewish
community. We are in the process of
developing a project to tackle worklessness in the community, working
collaboratively with community organisations and Hackney council.
- Providing cultural awareness training about the Charedi
community. We have produced a training package, including a DVD about the
Charedi community, and have piloted training with Hackney social services.
If your organisation would be interested in our cultural awareness
training, please visit the Contact Us page.
Award for partnership work recognises community
organisations
The Adult Services department
of Hackney Council in conjunction with Interlink have been awarded for
innovative partnership working, winning the prestigious London Compact Award at
a City Hall ceremony in November 2008.
For four years, Interlink has
run an adult services ‘strategy group’ for community organisations and senior
members of Hackney adult social services.
This group has enabled collaboration across the Charedi, mainstream
Jewish and statutory sectors and resulted in reconfiguring services to improve
outcomes for Charedi people.
The first London Compact
Awards were set up to celebrate strong working relationships between voluntary
and public sector organisations in London. Melanie Danan,
who runs the Adult Services strategy group at Interlink, expressed how pleased
Interlink was that the community’s work has been recognised. “This group has led to an ongoing dialogue
and relationship with the senior managers in Hackney responsible for providing
social care to the most vulnerable people in the community - adults leaving
hospital, those in care homes, frail people in their own homes and disabled
people,” she says. “Through this group,
the council can learn about how their services are experienced by the people
that use them and can find innovative ways of making improvements. It can also
lead to greater funding of services for people in the community.”
The Adult services strategy
group has led to a number of very positive developments. One example has been the creation of a new
contract (valued at over £250,000 per annum) to provide ‘floating support’ to
Charedi older people living independently, by Hackney Adult Services and City
and Hackney PCT. The strategy group has
also led to increased recognition of the work of Tikva, a relatively new
organisation providing services for adults with special needs and their
families and/or carers.
This model of joint working
between the council and community organisations has now been replicated in
other parts of Hackney as well as in different boroughs where there is an
Orthodox Jewish population.
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Development and Information Unit
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Community Organisations are on
the frontline of tackling poverty and disadvantage. They provide a range of services for all
age-groups and varied needs including education, care, advice, advocacy, health
services, leisure and sports facilities.
Our team of Development Officers are committed to giving organisations
the skills, information and support they need to achieve their aspirations
and respond to community needs.
- We offer consultancy and advice to over 100
organisations, ranging from starting a new group to preparing business
plans. Last year our development staff
has helped organisations to raise more than £700,000.
- We run a variety of training courses on different aspects
of relevance to organisations such as legal implications and good practice of
setting up a charity, managing finance and accounts, and grant writing
workshops.
- We launched the Fundraisers’ Network with 20 member
organisations participating.
- We publish monthly mailings, keeping our members up to
date on current funding and training opportunities.
Step by Step
In just over a decade, Step by
Step, an out-of-school provider for disabled children has developed from its
modest beginnings on a £5k budget to a robust, multifaceted organisation
offering a broad range of services.
Operating since 1996, Step by Step initially ran an after-school
swimming group for 10 disabled children from the Orthodox Jewish Community in
Hackney.
As a grassroots organisation,
established in response to a need in the community, Step by Step’s antennae
were constantly on the alert. And the
vibes detected were thick and strong. Requests were pouring in for more places and
increased services. Interlink was
consulted for support with capacity building and fundraising. Genuine concern for the community’s needs,
coupled by Interlink’s continuous professional advice and support, catapulted
the organisation towards a new level.
Step by Step has snowballed into
an Ofsted registered provider with a 3 year strategic plan and a budget of
over a quarter of a million. It now
offers a range of activities including; after school sports and leisure
activities, school holiday playschemes, Sunday programmes, residential
holidays and trips and excursions for close to 100 disabled children and
young people. In 2005, it spearheaded the
development of a sister organisation, Step North West, to meet the needs of disabled
children in North West London.
Step by Step also took part in
the children and young people services ‘strategy groups’ run by Interlink
with the goal of bringing community organisations and Hackney council representatives
together to address problems and improve provision for children and young people
in Hackney and Haringey. This has led
towards greater awareness of Step by Step’s provision and a contract with
Haringey social services, bringing Step by Step one step further on the road
towards sustainability.
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