Welcome to Heal8 CIC
Heal 8 CIC is made up of three Company Directors (Dr Femi Oduneye, Karl Smith and Eric Gowling). Heal 8 is registered as a Community Interest Company (Heal 8 CIC). You may have been familiar with work done by the previous organisation - Heal 8 Healthy Living Centre. This organisation focused on developing healthy living initiatives within the Liverpool 8 area and successfully ran for five years. Heal 8 CIC has been established as the successor body, a social enterprise building on the work of the healthy living centre, broadening its remit to target small neighbourhoods across Liverpool.
Heal 8 CIC has a focus on working with and supporting people living within small neighbourhoods and other socially excluded groups encouraging them have a greater input in the key, social, health and well being issues affecting them.
To achieve the above, Heal 8 CIC will work in partnership with statutory organisations, providing a delivery vehicle so neighbourhood resources can be targeted more affectively meeting local need.
Our expertise is working with grass root communities with the aim of communicating and converting complex strategic intentions into meaningful on-the-ground actions. All the people working with Heal 8 have a successful track record of engaging people and bringing about change within neighbourhoods. We can support large statutory organisations, such as Primary Care Trusts, Hospital Trusts, Local Authorities or Registered Social Landlord and Voluntary Organisations, etc. Supporting them to develop and deliver interventions that make a difference to people living in small neighbourhoods across the City.
Some of the services offered by Heal 8 CIC include:
Community Food Initiatives.
Here, we would work with communities and partners to encourage a greater level of understanding and participation on diet, wellness and options for healthy eating. We would do this by engaging people in small neighbourhoods; develop healthy eating literature (specific and meaningful to any given neighbourhood). Ensure that they are linked to and benefit from existing healthy eating programmes and work with them to develop their own local healthy food initiatives.
Health Literacy Initiatives
Working at within small neighbourhoods will give us direct access and understanding of the barriers that prevent people from using existing health services. We will do this by researching the issues, liaising with service providers, support and advocate for individuals, develop appropriate navigational protocols designed to encourage greater uptake.
Health and Arts
Working with partners and the community themselves, exploring ways in which local creativity can be used to mobilise and engage communities in identifying solutions to issues of concern.
Community Research
Heal 8 CIC has a well developed research focus, using local people and working with partners, to conduct neighbourhood research. We have a multi disciplinary team dedicated to researching the economic, health and social issues within different neighbourhoods across Liverpool.
Community Projects Incubator Support
Similar to business incubators, we will support small community groups and individuals to develop their ideas relating to either community health or community regeneration projects. In doing this, we will also work with them to identify funding options and support them through the funding application process. In addition to this support, Heal 8 CIC will provide organisational infrastructure and project management support.
Health Promotion Initiatives
Here we will work with partners and the community to identify the key health and social issues, based on the perspectives of those living and directly affected in small neighbourhoods. Once identified we will work with both parties to develop innovative neighbourhood prevention/education programmes this will improve better service utilisation, encourage greater levels of self health care and have a positive impact on the general health and social well being.
Neighbourhood Communications
This is a key component to our work insofar as all communities and agencies, providing services to them need better mechanisms for two way communication. Heal 8 CIC will work within neighbourhoods to research existing networks (parent support groups, youth networks, activities targeting elders, faith networks, etc). At the same time, we will also be researching the range of current services that statutory, private and voluntary organisations provide to that neighbourhood. Once these networks have been identified database and community guides will be produced. Heal 8 CIC will also work with communities and providers to support existing and/or the development of new local news media (newsletters, information flyers, email correspondence, etc). This will play a big part in ensuring that all opportunities for two-way communications are exploited by all concerned.
Facilitating Community Consultation
As our organisation has a focus on small neighbourhoods, we are well situated to survey and mobilise community opinion on any local service developments or change. Heal 8 can support those organisations that have a statutory duty to engage and consult by doing all the preparation work needed to make engagement and consultation meaningful to both communities and organisations needing to consult.
Heal 8 CIC Company Director
37-45 WINDSOR STREET
LIVERPOOL
MERSEYSIDE
L8 1XE
Company registration: 06674062
Tel: 07715-000-517
Email: karlsmith@lycos.com
Web: www.heal8.org