Gloucester partnership continues to make city safer and stronger
The Stronger Safer Gloucester Partnership brings together key decision makers from the city council, the police, Gloucestershire County Council, and others who are working to make Gloucester a healthier, safer city.
Working with the strengths of partners and communities, the partnership brings together the people who have the ability, resources and commitment to tackle the root causes of some of the city’s social issues.
A report produced for Gloucester City Council’s cabinet highlights the successes the partnership has had over the past year and lays out its plans for the next twelve months.
The partners work on projects such as raising awareness of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), highlighting the signs of domestic abuse and sexual violence, introducing drug and alcohol programmes, and continuing schemes such as Street Aware to deal with anti-social behaviour.
One of the partnership’s successful programmes to date is the Bluelight Project –set up by the county council’s Public Health team with funding from Alcohol Concern. The aim is to engage with and change the behaviour of resistant drinkers in the city who are impacting heavily on their own health, the community, or ‘bluelight’ services.
One woman had been drinking heavily for years due to complex issues including childhood trauma and mental health needs. She had frequently failed to engage with services in the past, but since last summer, she has worked with partners who were able to put in place local support to address the root causes of her drinking. She was given a rehab placement and has been actively engaging with services, even becoming a peer mentor for others.
Cllr Jennie Watkins, cabinet member for communities at Gloucester City Council, said: “Creating safer and stronger communities is a key aim for the city council. By working collaboratively with partners and residents we can do more together than we could alone, so I would like to thank everyone who has worked with us over the past year to make Gloucester a better place to live.
“Our plans for next year continue to build on the programmes we have already put in place, as well as tackling new priorities such as continuing to understand and respond to the root causes of knife crime, increasing the safety and attractiveness of Gloucester Park, and working with local partners to reduce health inequalities in the city – focusing on mental health, obesity and physical activity.”
Additional priorities for 2019/20 include providing tailored, all-round support to a group of up to 16 vulnerable women with complex needs to live healthier and safer lives; continuing support for ‘Street Aware’, which aims to reduce anti-social behaviour such as begging and street drinking; and working with the community in Widden to pilot a resident-led project that develops the strengths and assets that already exist to address crime and anti-social behaviour.