Archives for January 2022

Our after school clubs support struggling children and teenagers by offering further education to improve their life chances. Many local families cannot afford these opportunities, and without support for these classes, this education cannot take place.

We’re delighted to announce John Lyons Charity has agreed to unlock £90,000 in new funding over three years to support our team. Their support helps protect much-needed services for local residents.

Also, through the London Community Foundation, Peabody Housing has promised £30,000 in support of a new Under-Five Stay and Play in Harringay and Islington.

To our funders, thank you for your support to HNCP.

We’re open on Christmas Day and Boxing Day!

Christmas Day
Being alone at Christmas for many can be upsetting and uncomfortable. Many people may have lost loved ones or simply have no family close to home.

In our new stunning Community Hall, a lunch will be provided for 150 people from the local community on Christmas Day, with our caring staff and volunteers on hand to ensure all have a fabulous day.

Boxing Day
A range of children’s entertainers will join us for a fun morning.
For more information on upcoming events, our new building or to volunteer over Christmas, get in touch.

The 17th of December was a special day for the Highgate community. GEM – Camden Council’s main mechanical and electrical contractor – teamed up with Highgate Newtown Community Partners to put on a three-course Christmas dinner for the community.

Tables were neatly laid with Christmas treats and GEM goodie bags for each person, and each resident enjoyed a starter, followed by a main with all the trimmings and finishing with a delicious dessert. Laughter and happiness were at the forefront of the event, with live music, entertainment and raffle prizes for all to enjoy.

Natasha Sterling Resident Liaison Officer at GEM stated,
“We were so moved by new Highgate Newtown Community partner and what they are doing for the elderly residents. It was a pleasure to be part of such a fun day and seeing residents enjoying the festive season with their friends whilst having the opportunity to meet new residents within the community. Christmas can be a lonely time for some, the Christmas dinner was a remarkable highlight for the season”.

By working with Highgate Newtown Community Partners, GEM helps make a difference to the lives of older people living alone, not just during the Christmas season, but for the rest of the year too. Gathering residents of the Highgate community together for events like the Christmas Dinner helps foster a strong sense of diversity, and GEM looks forward to rolling out more inclusive events throughout 2022.

“We wanted to do our bit to make a difference and help a local charity provide good memories over the festive season to the residents. Some people may feel lonely at Christmas since Christmas is portrayed as being about families coming together and we wanted to bring the elderly together to enjoy Christmas”. Keith Harris Director

Positive Futures is an employment project at HNCP for people who are either out of work or in low-paid or insecure work.

We aim to help people achieve employment that grows with their life and moves them away from insecure contracts and low wages. Our project welcomes those who are often excluded from employment, such as people with criminal records, people from BAME communities, people living with disabilities or long-term health conditions and those who speak English as a second language.

We offer a mix of 1:1 support and workshops to help people think about longer-term work and support them to take steps to secure ‘better work’. We support participants in their search for training and employment opportunities, help with applications and interviews and support them through the first few weeks of work or training where possible. We also ensure that those living on lower pay maximise their current income by claiming the full amount they are entitled to in state benefits and fuel poverty grants, etc.

For this pilot, we will register ten people who are:

• Unemployed or in jobs that are either on zero-hour contracts or low-wages that qualify for in-work benefits such as Universal Credit, housing benefit, etc.
• Keen to explore options for securing longer-term, better paid, secure work with prospects for growth

We welcome referrals from local schools and organisations to ensure we reach those who will benefit the most from the programme.

Through our partnership with local churches in Camden, we’ll help support those in crisis and those struggling to make ends meet by providing our essential food box.

Opening Autumn 2022

The early days of the Highgate Newtown Community Centre and the present developments.

As the demolition of the old HNCC has been completed and we look forward to a modern building replacing it, it’s interesting to look back to its early days and see how it came into existence.

The redevelopment of the Highgate Newtown area was part of a drive during the 1970s to get rid of substandard, run-down housing and replace it with modern social housing. Most of the first phase of the scheme involved replacing the small, badly-built Edwardian terraces, unlike the more substantial Victorian terraces further south such as Chester Road, Doynton, Winscombe and Balmore Streets, which were extensively rehabilitated.

The Early History
The area was under great stress, with people being rehoused from their substandard homes, squatting of empty properties, closing of local shops, demolition, dirt and noise.

Demolition and rehabilitation disturbed the rats and local resident Moya Denny persuaded the council to open a record in Highgate Library for sightings of rats so that they could be dealt with speedily.

Any unoccupied house that was due for demolition or rehabilitation would almost instantly be taken over by squatters, who came into conflict with the local residents. This had been a tightly-knit community, and they did not care to see their way of life disturbed. The squatters tended to have noisy parties late at night, and the failure to put out dustbins for collection was a source of much aggravation with refuse piling up on the pavements and in basement areas.

During the redevelopment, a staff member of one of Camden’s voluntary organisations was given an office in the space now occupied by the shops and doctor’s surgery almost opposite the library. From this base, Jane Cooper acted as a voluntary adviser to members of the local community requiring access to services, housing advice and other Concerns.

She persuaded me, in my role as one of the three local councillors for Highgate Ward, to support the Women’s Aid and Refuge service in Camden.

It became obvious that there was a need for a community centre which could coordinate services and provide space for meetings, clubs and other activities.

One rainy afternoon in April 1978, my fellow councillor John Crouch and I were shown the derelict building at the end of Bertram Street. We were amazed at its size, the enormous hall that had been a tank repair workshop, the offices, kitchen and other rooms being used as workshops for Pentonville Prison. We agreed that John Crouch should immediately get on his bike and go off to Pentonville to find out more about the use of the building. He did so and discovered that the prison authorities no longer intended to use it for workshops.

We suggested to Camden officers that it would make a good community centre, and after discussions, it was agreed that the council would repair the roof, make the building weatherproof and appoint a coordinator to set it up. With council support, we were fortunate to be able to appoint Berrell Jensen, who had considerable experience in similar enterprises.

This patient, dynamic and practical woman worked with a committee of local people and councillors to prepare activity programmes for the centre, covering sports, advice sessions, craftwork, entertainment and sessions for pensioners, mothers, and babies. Professional circus acrobats rented the hall as a practice venue. The hall was perfect for sport – football at first, with weekly training sessions for different age groups; and later for Judo. As a newly qualified class 3 football referee, I was pleased to be able to run the five-aside football sessions on Friday evenings. Parents picking up their children from nearby Brookfield School began to get involved in the centre, and other activities were developed.

Later, Berrell Jensen moved to the Hampstead Community Centre, and Nick Roxan was appointed to take her place. I served two terms as a councillor and decided not to stand for a third term. I also stood down as chair of the HNCC, leaving it in the competent hands of Nick and the local committee. Under his leadership, it went from strength to strength, developing many new activities. The building was always a source of concern as it was expensive to maintain and heat, but no decisions were made about refurbishment, and it served the neighbourhood for more than forty years.

The recent decision to demolish and rebuild the centre was taken after a review of the costs and sustainability of a refurbished building. This was found not to be a viable option, and it was decided to replace the old building with a purpose-built community centre and some Camden-sponsored housing.

There were lengthy discussions over architectural plans for the new building over several months. The Highgate Newtown Regeneration Project Construction Working Group has been set up, chaired by senior council officer Ms Cornwall-Jones, with the demolition and building contractors attending.

The group meets regularly with representatives of the local community, who are able to ask questions of those responsible for the demolition and rebuilding, and make suggestions. These include concerns about traffic management, as well as local environmental issues, such as noise, dirt, damage to local roads by heavy vehicles and dangers to pedestrians – particularly children and parents at Brookfield School and users of the Highgate Library and local shops.

These issues have been raised at meetings, and answers have been provided by the representatives of the companies involved, who have acted upon immediate concerns that could not be left to be discussed at the next meeting. Updates on progress have been
published and are available in the library. I have represented the trustees at these meetings and report back to them.

In the last few months, the architects have been working on the internal layout of the new building, so suitable spaces can be provided for the various activities and services planned for the centre. Attention to detail in this part of the project is intended to improve the quality of life of local residents and other users, along with providing a common meeting place to enhance the sense of community for all who use the centre’s services, including volunteers and professional staff.

There are still hurdles to overcome in the next eighteen months or so, but with the support of the local community, local Camden councillors and officers and the professionalism of the architects and builders, as well as the support of the trustees and Andrew’s strong leadership, we look forward to the successful completion of a much-needed facility based on a spirit of partnership and cooperation.

John Carrier
Trustee
17th August, 2021

Mind in Camden is delighted to be partnering with Highgate Newtown Community Partners.

We aim to work alongside HNCP to provide mental health information and support for local residents by helping people access services that meet their self-defined needs. Within this, we recognise the strengths of local communities in supporting wellbeing and the  value of peer support spaces where individuals can find companionship in sharing their vulnerabilities, developing shared interests and using their personal strengths to support themselves and one another.

One of the foundations of how we work is to enable people to define what matters to them and find ways of creating this in their lives. This inevitably means meeting and living with personal challenges, but not being defined by them. We’ve found that participation is one of the ways people can see themselves beyond their mental health needs – so we emphasise supporting people to find ways of contributing in personally meaningful ways.

In working with HNCP, we aim to provide peer support and activity groups focused on local residents’ wishes. Additionally, we’re seeking ways of providing a regular Link Worker to provide drop-in support to help people understand their options for accessing services for their mental health, developing their interests or finding ways to participate. We understand that taking the first step is often the most challenging, so the role of the Link Worker would be to assist with attending a first appointment. More broadly, we’re committed to working with HNCP to help staff understand the local mental health landscape and ways of supporting residents with mental health needs.

Opening Spring 2024

Citizens Advice Camden is committed to working collaboratively and generously with local partners, and we look forward to working together with Highgate Newtown Community Partners.

Citizens Advice Camden empowers people to make informed decisions about issues that affect them directly and to take positive and independent action to improve their own lives. We do this through providing independent, impartial, confidential and free advice and information services advising on issues including debt, welfare benefits, housing and employment. At the same time, we work to improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives.

Citizens Advice Camden

Visit our website, or call us on 08082787835