Hope, power and prevention: The future of GM Live Well

Hello and welcome to the Greater Manchester live well podcast. This is about the live well vision where everyone has access to great everyday support, where everyone has the opportunity to live well no matter who you are or where you're from. We'll take you into our communities sharing stories that will leave your spirits and spark action. It really is about us devolving how our resources to our communities and helping them to flourish by removing the barriers. I think Greater Manchester could do a great service to the rest of the country by helping people see and understand that system change to see how you create a sustainable, livable city where you have the kind of economy where people are included, not excluded. We are growing a movement and it's buzzing with energy, hope and trust because this isn't business as usual. This is about doing things differently. We'll share what's working, what's shifting and how you can be part of the growing live well movement. Frogging! Get inspired and reflect on the role you can play. This is Greater Manchester. This is live well. Let's do this together! Hello and welcome to the final episode of the Greater Manchester Live Well podcast. I'm Tabs and I'm Annette. We're part of the live well team working alongside public services and communities to bring the live well vision to life. In this episode we're reflecting on everything that we've heard across the whole series, the insights, the challenges and the breakthrough moments. For some of this we'll be looking through the lens of good work and good jobs and then we'll think about what's next for live well. The future is a big focus of this episode. What will it take to make this way of working that every day reality across Greater Manchester? Across the series we've heard how funders and services are doing things differently with Greater Manchester's communities. Shifting from fixing to partnering, building trust, rethinking, not just what they do but how or they do it. We've heard about how this shift isn't just good for people and communities, it also leads to better support, smarter public service spending and real lasting sustainable impact. In our previous episodes you've heard about what happens when systems enable community action, community power and community wealth to grow. The previous episodes give the big picture what our people and communities say they need to live well and how systems can work with them to ensure that everyone has the access to great everyday support in every neighborhood across Greater Manchester. So what can we learn from all of that for the future of our live well vision? Let's go right back to where we started with Fola Shade from GM Shapers. She's part of our community accountability group helping to co-design live well and keep it grounded in what really matters. Here's what she had to say about live well. Live well is about making sure everyone across Greater Manchester have the resources and the connection to be healthy, connected and able to live well. And this includes people being connected to wider activity, support and information. People have been heard and are enabled to contribute to make communities healthier and happier. People and communities have the resources to make this change happen. And our Mayor Antiburnum sums up his vision for life well. Greater Manchester is home to 2.8 million wonderfully diverse people who are known around the world for their warm character. But over 500,000 are out of work, 137,000 are long-term sick and 490,000 live in absolute poverty. Food bank usages soaring and mental health issues are on the rise. So it's time to reimagine the state, the way it works and critically, the way it works with our communities. As a city region, Greater Manchester has committed to rethinking the broken benefits system. Providing personal and local support, improving health and well-being, reducing public service strain and helping more people into good work. We call this live well and everyday network of support that will be available consistently to all of our residents. In terms of what's next, our Mayor has a big ambition for live well centres as places that bring together the very best of our public services with the voluntary community faith and social enterprise organisations that support people to live well every day. He talks about how these could be the future of job centres. A trailblazer that will inform development across our entire city region and national government is watching too. Imagine if we turn job centres into live well centres. Imagine if they could break free from narrow punitive base models that erode people's confidence. Imagine if they were places of hope not places of fear. To lift people up instead of tripping them up, that's our radical proposal. We would unite sustainably funded voluntary and community sector organisations with the support provided by public services, health, housing, well-being, welfare, skills, social and employment support, all under one roof. The most essential services for residents re-imagined and co-designed with our communities. We believe this will deliver better outcomes without additional costs. This hasn't been done before, this prevention at scale, but we have the ecosystem and the leadership in place to deliver it. We are at the forefront of this movement for change in the UK. We are ready to radically re-imagine everyday support, to rewire our public services, to put people and places at the heart of growth. Let's ensure the kids who can see the skyscrapers of modern Manchester from their bedroom windows have a path to working there. This way they will start well and everyone in the future in our city region can live well. But what should the live-well centres look and feel like? One great example comes from Chris Stabs at a limited potential, a social enterprise base in Solford. Chris and his team ask communities across greater Manchester this very question. One of them is about live-well centres feeling like home or like a living room, a place you want to be with people who really understand what you're talking about, and somewhere that feels welcoming and not corporate. And then the other thing is really about how the place actually feels. So what we often think about is how does it feel through the five senses that we all have. So people talk a lot about the colours, how it sounds, maybe even how it smells, and thinking about live-well centres being outside as well as inside. So how can we make them green and light and airy. So how can we turn this concept of a live-well centre into something that's actually real where people want to come and the basic concept to finish off is how can we move from places of fear to places of hope. That shift from places of fear to places of hope is really important and something that came up time and time again with the people that Chris and his team spoke to. What Chris and the team also found out through the community engagement was that it was important to start with people strengths and talents, to create space that builds belief, trust, hope and dreams, to support gradual growth, especially for those starting from tough places, to link life chances directly to health and well-being, to break down stereotypes and challenge the norms about who can do what, and to offer personalised inclusive support, highlighting the power of connection because as the people they spoke to said it's who you know. People also told them that they'd want live-well centres to be social, not just individual. They wanted spaces that helped people build confidence and places that offer practical support for real or sometimes perceived barriers. We heard from Andy Burnham earlier about transforming job centres into live-well centres, moving away from narrow punitive models that cannot people's confidence and instead creating welcoming inclusive spaces that build people up to succeed. So now let's zoom in on employment support because having a good job and a sense of purpose is a key thread that people have told us that they need to live-well. But right now, too often the system just isn't working for them. Andy from the Elephants Trail, our community reporting partners, told us. I went to the jobs at the Fumelstack. You go in their light box and come out depressed. But there is another way. Thanks to devolved funding coming into Greater Manchester from the Department for Work and Pensions, we're getting the chance to establish and embed brand new ways of supporting people who have furthest away from good jobs, helping them move towards training, good work and brighter futures. Greater Manchester is just one of eight trailblazer areas named in the government's Get Britain Working white paper. And we're using that opportunity to think about work as part of the live-well model. To explore what that could look like in practice, we turn to the elephant's trail once more. The team of community reporters you've heard throughout this series and key partners on the live-round journey. They hit the road in their film, Hope, and visit three places to explore how we can create a more community-rooted system that builds on people's strengths and aspirations. The first stop is Stretford Public Hall in the heart of Triford, a building that the community rescued from disrepair. It's such a beacon, isn't it? It's a landmark building, I think, that really attracts people to come in. We've got this community hub model in Triford, so services come to us to help people, rather than people having to go to them. People want in a space where they can have face-to-face people and not have to kind of retell their story. It was kind of born out of this just idea of discussion and relationship. It's our facility, it's a community facility, as loads goes on here. It's very informal, it's very relaxed. I mean, there's obviously some full-time stuff here, but it's mostly volunteers because people want it to work. I look forward to it every week, coming here, and it gives me something to wake up for, something to go out, you know, meet new people, because I do stuff with the anxiety, but not here, not here, you know, it's good. It all goes away when I come here. Next, they head to the Lighthouse project in Middleton in Rochdale. It supports its community in many practical and social ways. On the day of the Elephant's Trail visit, it's quiz day, and there's a really lively atmosphere. If you're like, you're that old, uncomfortable, it's like you mean so much to people, I'd say. Hi mate, see what I mean? This is an example lesson, it just comes in your heart, which is, you even know your name and that, but you also get this, you know, like I can use a computer and that, looking for the job, you know. Happy days mate, yeah. I like it, like, three cup of coffee, and these are going to help me. These guys have helped me to accept who I am, and made me feel myself again, and made me feel worth something when I was really feeling down. We need to get up on one of the purpose, and this brings the purpose to people, you give them hope. And then to help each other as well, and that's really how it felt that. It's the hope they need, and the value, because if you feel valued, it will motivate you to do better. When I first started coming to Iran, you know, right on the ground, no job, anxiety or rest of it, and gradually over the years, this sort of bottom confidence. They can come, they can get help for whatever it is. There's no judgement, you know, there's just love really, and I'd say what we try to do is love people back to life in some cases. You know, it's a place of hope, it's a place of family, it's a place of belonging. From Trafford to Rochdale, and now to Wigan, the final stop for the Elephant's Trail, here they visit Platbridge Community Zone. Everything we've delivered over the past 25 years has been led by what the community won. Even though they have that social passion, they don't know if they can actually set up their own business. And it's getting to realise you can do that. One of the businesses, their support is called Embrace. It focuses on drawing out the potential of the disabled community. 70% of our staff, however, have lived experience, are they've got a disability in the cells and we encourage people with disabilities to be come implied by Embrace because everybody's got different skills. It's about empowering people. I am autism, I help support people, young people and adults to learn and develop skills to be able to use public transport independently. It's a really good place and everyone are kind, warm, gives support to me and I'm not really knowing everything in the community and I will ask them and everyone will help me teach me. The volunteers go on to get jobs as well, so they give them confidence based on what they can do and depend on, give some of their work and we can achieve that. That's all we all need, something to believe in. Three places, dozens of voices and one shared feeling that when people feel valued, they thrive. Whether it's through a community hall, a quiz afternoon or a volunteering opportunity, what we've seen is that real power of belonging, purpose and everyday support. But it isn't just about the present, it's also about what's possible next. The elephants trail reflect on what they've seen, heard and felt on the road. We have witnessed making this film welcoming environments where people are being built up to thrive. They feel valued and worth something and this is driving them on to new heights. They may come in with a particular need but often end up finding something so much more. They can easily say, "If lift well centres are being designed, these should be the very people who are shaping them." You are listening to the Greater Manchester Live World Podcast. A journey through great everyday support across the city region. Across Greater Manchester, the live-on movement has been gathering stories, insights and data about what really makes great everyday support possible. And if you want the evidence, it's here. The report, growing GM Live Well, a UK evidence for community power, brings together over 50 pieces of UK research. The report shows how community power can reduce inequalities, boost prevention and save money. And it's already happening across Greater Manchester. The data backs it and the stories bring it to life. Definitely give it a read, we've popped a link in the show notes. So now let's bring this evidence to life. Next you'll hear from people with direct experience of navigating challenges and what they found makes a real difference. So here's Christine. She's a parent who knows all too well the challenges of trying to return to work. From the cost of childcare to transport issues and digital barriers, she's navigating a system that just isn't built with her reality in mind. Hi, I'm Christine and I'd like to talk to you about the barriers of going back into work for families. The first one with the job centre is the barriers of communications between families and the person at the job centre. They have no consideration. They don't speak to you as if you're a proper human being. They don't acknowledge that you're vulnerable, that you're upset or anything to do with your families or what's going on behind scenes. Traveling. You're travelling. Not many people go to cars to travel because job centres are out of the areas. They haven't got bus fare. So going to organisations or job centres or job clubs that have been moved to a different area because they've shut down in yours, that's the second barrier. You're childcare. Not many people can go to work because they haven't got family to depend on. Or can pay for childcare if they're gone more than one child. Or even two. It's the summer holidays, there's nowhere to cover them. They think families can do it, but not a lot of people got families or even go. Anyone that they can pull their children to, friends, they might be alone on their own. They might not have no family. Going to job centre appointments, you're not allowed to take your children because of their rules and their regulations. Where you're supposed to put your children, then you get sanctioned so they're left with no money, no food. Christine's story really brings it home, just how tough it can be to find a way through. And she's not alone. For so many people across Greater Manchester, the system isn't working. Especially when it comes to finding and keeping good secure work. And Keegan's experiences highlight the everyday barriers that hold people back. But also the small steps that can help move them forward. It'd be nice if there would be a crash so you could put your kids in the crash. When you do go, it does make you feel intimidated because there's big security guards on the door. And barriers to work. When you're out in the community and you're helping as a volunteer, I think that should be classed as sort of looking out for work as well at the same time because you're getting experience, you're doing training. Keegan reminds us that the best solutions come from truly listening to what people need. That's why Restart takes a different approach. Here's Jamie, sharing how Restart has made it easier for her to find work, while juggling caring for her family. Restart is a bit like the job centre. I went there through the job centre because I was struggling to find work, go to work. I've got a disabled son. So with me trying to look for jobs, it's hard. So Restart, they work around you, work around your children, they don't sanction you. So Restart, they're less intimidating, they're less overwhelming, you've allowed children. They make you feel really welcome in like they'll make you go on courses. Lifting people up, not tripping them up, that's something our mayor Andy Burnham says time and time again. Communities are all about focusing on strengths, not problems, and working with people, not doing to them. This theme was alive in the conversation between Andy Burnham and Alison McGovern at a live well-movement building event in early 2020. Mae'r i'n gwneud. Mae'r i'n gwneud ymwyr i'n gwneud sy'n gwneud ymwyr i'n gwneud ymwyr i'n gwneud ymwyr i'n gwneud ymwyr i'n gwneud. Mae'n yw i'n gweithio yn yw i'n gweithio wedi'r gweithio wedi'r gweithio wedi'r gweithio wedi'r gweithio wedi'r g Mae'r rydym yn gweithio, mae'r gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod ymgylwyd. Mae'r rydym yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn ymgylwyd. Mae'r rydym yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod yn gweithio bod ymgylwyd, Mae'n hynny'r hynny'r gwybod hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny ond y bywch i'n bywch yn bywch i'n bywch i'n bywch i'n bywch i'n bywch i'n bywch i'n bywch i'n bywch i'n bywch i'n byw i'n ni'n ni'n ni wneud i'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni' Ym ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni'n ni Mae'r gweith i'n gweith i'n gweith i'n gweith i'n gweith i'n gweith i'n yn ymwch chi'n ni'n ymwch yn ymwch i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i'w i oeddwn i'n ffordd o'n ffordd o ffordd o'r ffordd o'r ffordd o'r ffordd o'r ffordd o'r ffordd o'r ffordd o'r ffordd o'r ffordd o' yn yw'r ysgweithio, ac mae'n ysgweithio'r fwy'r ysgweithio'r fwy'r ysgweithio'r ysgweithio'r ysgweithio'r ysgweithio'r ysgweithio'r ysgweithio'r ysg yn ymwch i'n gweithio'r ymwch i'n gweithio. Mae'r gweithio'r ymwch i'n gweithio. Mae'r gweithio. Mae'r gweithio'r ymwch i'n gweithio ymwch i'n gweithio. Mae'r gweithio. Mae'r gweithio. Mae'r gweithio'r gweithio. a strong connected community working together. A cross-greator Manchester, we've heard how connection, trust and local community leadership can truly transform lives. But too often, years of disinvestment, in buildings, in relationships, and in the time needed to nurture them, have made that much harder. Rachel, from local trust, yng Nghymru yn yw'r fawr sydd yw'r yw'r yw'r yw'r yw'r yw'r yw'r yw'r yw'r yw'r yw' i'r gwybod yn gwybod sy'n gwybod yn gwybod yn gwybod yn gwybod yn gwybod yn gwybod yn gwy yn ymwch chi'n gweithio'r ymwch chi'n gweithio'r ymwch chi'n gweithio'r ymwch chi'n gweithio'r ymwch chi'n gweithio. Ymwch chi'n gweithio'r ymwch chi'n gweithio'r ymwch chi'n gweithio'r ymwch chi'n gweithio. a'r dwi'r yng Nghymru yn gweithio'r i'n gweithio'r ymddwyr a'r ymddwyr a'r ymddwyr a'r ymddwyr a'r ymddwyr a'r ymddwyr a'r ymddwyr a'r ymddwyr a'r ymddwyr a yn cymuno'r activityu yn y rhesol. Mae'r yw'r ymw'r ymw'r i'r cymuno'r cymuno'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw'r ymw Mae'r ffordd, mae'r ffordd o ffordd o ffordd o ffordd o ffordd o ffordd o ffordd o ffordd o ffordd o ffordd o f Mae'r ffordd o'r ffordd i ffordd oeddwn i ffordd oeddwn i ffordd oeddwn i ffordd oeddwn i ffordd oeddwn i ffordd Yn gyda'r yng Nghymru'r gyda'r yng Nghymru'r gyda'r yng Nghymru'r yng Nghymru'r yng Nghymru'r yng Nghymru'r yng Nghymru'r yng Nghymru'r yng Nghymru'r Nghymru'r Nghymru'r Nghymru'r Nghymru'r Nghymru'r Nghymru'r Nghymru'r Ng oeddwn i'n ddechrau. Mae'n hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hynny'r hy yng Nghymru i'n gweith i'n gweith i'n gweith i'n gweith i'n gweith i'n y gwybod i'n gwybod i'n gwybod i'n gwybod i'n gwybod i'n gwybod i'n gwy Mae'n bywch chi'n ei beth o'n bywch chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi Mae'n yw'n gwybod yn ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch ymwch Mae'n gwaith yng Nghymru yn gwaith yng Nghymru yn gwaith yng Nghymru yn gwaith yng Ng yn ffordd yn ffordd yn ffordd yn ffordd yn ffordd yn ffordd yn ffordd yn ffordd yn ffordd yn fford Mae'r yng Nghymru yn ffordd o'r ffordd o'r ffordd o'r yng Nghymru yn ffordd o'r yng Nghymru yn ffordd o'r Nghymru yn ffordd o'r Nghymru yn yng Nghymru yn ffordd o'r Nghymru yn ffordd o'r Nghymru yn ffordd o'r Nghymru yn ffordd o'r Nghymru. It's a really good place, and everyone are kind, warm, gives a pot to me. Oh, I love our community, absolutely loving to know why we stick together, nobody's better than when we're now. Nobody's better than when we're now. So where next, more live our spaces, more support built around people, not process. Let's make it about feelings, not just features, and what's strong, not what's wrong. It's about doing with, not too. We say it often, but it's worth repeating. What Greater Manchester does today, the rest of the world does tomorrow. Now that quote's been around for a long time, but it feels more relevant than ever. Because live well isn't just about new centres, new spaces, or new projects. It's about creating something deeper, a culture of prevention, a mindset shift, trusting relationships. It's about neighbourhoods where everyone, services, councils, communities, businesses, pull together in the same direction, thinking differently about community support, and tear down the old barriers so that we are truly working together in a live well alliance. And the time is now, devolution gives us more power and funding. So how do we make sure that these resources flow to the people who are already making it happen? The ones creating the opportunities for people to live well. This whole journey has shown us what can happen when communities are trusted to lead, and systems step up to support, not control. Because let's be clear, we can't talk about great everyday support, without talking about the power and the wealth needed to make it real. Over these eight episodes, we've heard what's possible when people come together with courage, creativity, and care. So what do these stories mean for your place? And how could you be a part of making great everyday support, a reality, wherever you are? We're looking forward to you staying with us for the journey, hearing more from you in your neighbourhoods, organisations, and communities in your live well partnerships and alliances. As together, we bring community action, power, and wealth to life. You can find out how to join the live well movement and stay in touch in the show notes. This has been the Greater Manchester Live Well Podcast. We'll see you soon. Thanks for listening to the Greater Manchester Live Well Podcast, and thanks to everyone who shared, shaped, and brought this episode to life. We couldn't have told the story without you. If you're feeling inspired, then get involved. You'll find links and ways to connect in the show notes. Let's grow the movement. Share with your friends, colleagues, and labels, and on your social media. Use #GMLiveWell to join the conversation. We'll see you next time. Stay connected!