Social Enterprise Durham Boost has helped dozens of County Durham social entrepreneurs start up and grow purpose-led enterprises over the past 18 months.
Providing business support, workshops and grants to entrepreneurial individuals striving to make positive social change, the programme has improved community cohesion across the county.
We caught up with a handful of those who have benefited from the programme so far to hear how they are helping boost their communities…
Vicky set up Glory Days CIC to enrich her own wellbeing and help others.
Hosting activities and events that boost self-esteem and wellbeing, the organisation is on a mission to deliver wellbeing activities and make positive life experiences more accessible to women across County Durham.
Vicky set up the Community Interest Company (CIC) in December and hundreds of women have participated in its activities and events, from paddle boarding to yoga, foraging, forest bathing and arts and crafts.
“Being a parent carer was a big motivator for me,” Vicky said. “I wanted to enrich my own wellbeing, but I also recognised that there are a lot of people out there in a similar position, especially after covid.
“Over the last few years, it’s been quite an experience for all of us trying to find new pathways to enrich our lives and improve our mental health and the activities and events we host can really help those who are feeling the strain.”
Becoming a social entrepreneur not only helped Vicky explore a new career, but it has also seen her give back to the community she loves and achieve a better work-life balance.
“I’ve always been good at doing things for free, so setting up a CIC was a great way for me to set up a business which, instead of creating excess profits, instead enables me to invest back into the community. I’ve never looked back.”
Tracy set up Hiyed CIC to help others, like her, who had to break down barriers in the workplace.
A mental health nurse of 30 years, Tracy loved her job, but it wasn’t until she was diagnosed with autism late in her career that she began to better understand the challenges she’d faced during her career.
Thankfully, she had great colleagues and family surrounding her, however the realisation that others may not be so fortunate dawned and inspired her to launch Hiyed CIC.
Supporting disabled people and those furthest away from the jobs market, the social enterprise provides advice, training and support to help re-integrate them into the workforce.
Fast-forward nine months and Hiyed CIC now employs 20 members of staff, with lived experience of disability themselves, and has helped numerous people with physical or mental health difficulties, learning disabilities or neurodivergent needs, get back into work or build up the confidence to succeed in paid job roles.
It is also working with dozens of employers, from the NHS to Karbon Homes, Durham County Council, Northumbrian Water and smaller businesses to ensure their workplaces are inclusive and accessible.
“County Durham has one of the worst disability employment gap statistics in the country; however we’re hoping to change that,” Tracy said. “Since we set up in November, we’ve helped over 100 clients and have onboarded numerous businesses to support our cause by becoming Disability Confidence.
“I know from my own experience just how daunting certain tasks can be for those with disabilities, however if we all had more of an understanding of the challenges they face, then we could make the world of work better for everyone.”
Shocked by the scale of the mental health crisis among the UK’s farming and rural communities, Bernie and Sue set up Ikigai Hub to support those in need in rural County Durham.
Ikigai, named after the Japanese word meaning ‘the thing that gets you up in the morning’ aims to help others find what motivates them and improve their wellbeing.
Many of the 300 people it has supported, primarily from hard-to-reach backgrounds, said they felt isolated prior to receiving support, however the support from Ikigai and the chance to meet others with shared experiences has allowed them to open up and find themselves.
“Farming and life in rural communities can be a very isolating job,” Bernie said. “Families also often experience isolation, so we’re giving them a chance to meet others sharing similar lived experience and talk openly about their worries.”
Ikigai hosts its personal and group sessions in community hubs around Barnard Castle but is also in the process of renovating an old school room to launch its own community hub and reach even more people from across the lower Durham dales.
Sue added: “Opening our own community hub will allow us to increase our service offering by hosting events designed by those we support, providing grief counselling and giving people somewhere where they won’t feel judged and can really find their life purpose.”
Ikigai’s support has figuratively and literally proven such a lifeline that it now has over 30 volunteers supporting its efforts to establish a community hub, and with further plans to increase its support in the pipeline, it is already proving to be a vital community asset.
Nestled away in a bucolic cabin in rural Weardale, The Wiggly Path CIC offers the perfect respite for those seeking to boost their health and wellbeing or simply just want to have a try at a new experience.
Set up by husband and wife duo, Colin and Sarah Wilson, the social enterprise helps people learn new skills, meet new people and feel better by practicing heritage crafts.
Woodcraft, weaving, stitching and printing are just a few of the traditional skills that participants can try their hand at, as well as joining the group for informal catchups to discuss everyday rural life.
The enterprising duo, who hail from nearby Witton-le-Wear, both worked in the design department at Northumbria University prior to setting up the community interest company, which has allowed them to use their shared love and experience of the arts to give back to their local community.
Colin said: “At first, the idea was to have people pay to attend workshops, but then Covid and the cost-of-living crisis hit, and gradually, different institutions began asking us to run classes to help those struggling with isolation.
“That is where it really took off. We didn’t realise just how big the mental health crisis actually was. Now the majority of activities we do are classes to help people who feel isolated or simply want to boost their wellbeing. We even host children’s classes where rural parents can participate alongside their kids while taking a break from the everyday routine.”
The Wiggly Path CIC only began delivering workshops in October, yet it has already attracted over 180 participants. With additional activities in the pipeline for the winter months, including team-building workshops for small businesses, Sarah and Colin are excited to continue expanding their impact well into the future.
https://www.thewigglypathcompany.com/
Social Enterprise Durham Boost is being delivered by the North East BIC and is one of six pilot initiatives being delivered across England, funded by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.
To find out more or to get involved, visit www.ne-bic.co.uk/social-boost-durham or call 0191 516 6138
