Talking about community

This week I have been on the other side of the microphone, so to speak, having been interviewed for the Community Development Podcast.

I was invited to talk about the model of Community-Enhanced Social Prescribing which we are currently setting up and evaluating in Sale, Greater Manchester, with Bluesci.

In the conversation with Russell Todd I describe the model and how it brings together Connected Communities and Connecting People to help ensure communities are at the heart of local social prescribing schemes.

I tried to problematize the notion of ‘community’ a little, as I think it’s important to appreciate that communities are not neutral places which have a limitless supply of groups and resources for our wellbeing. They need to be nurtured and it’s important to work in partnership with community development practitioners to achieve this.

In the podcast I briefly talk about the relationship of social work with community development. This is a recurring theme of my work but, with the rolling out of social prescribing schemes in primary care and transformation of community mental health services with a stronger orientation towards communities, it is not going away. Now, more than ever, social workers needs to engage with the communities in which they work.

Episode 32 of the Community Development Podcast on community-enhanced social prescribing can be accessed here.