17 October 2006
I travelled to Knowle West Health Park to meet with Cheryl, the Healthy Lifestyles Coordinator at Knowle West Health Park Community Interest Company, (KWHPCIC). We were also joined by Vicky Morris, chief executive for KWHPCIC, Sue Partridge, Operations & Development Manager with KWHPCIC and Louise Kane who is a Counsellor with Addiction Recovery Agency, Bristol.
I told the group about the work I am doing and about the digital challenge bid. Cheryl said that she thinks that digital storytelling is a great way of using digital media because of the impact it has on people when they see such stories, where the content of the story is in some ways similar to their own. Vicky then talked about the plasma screens with community info on, which are situated in various venues in Knowle West. Vicky said she thinks it would be useful to have a screen in the café at the Health Park as people in the café are a static audience. She added that there is an absence of any health info on those screens and that it would be useful to add such info. She suggested that people’s own stories might be included in the info on the screens, for example, someone’s story about how they manage to ensure 20 minutes of exercise in a busy day, or how they manage to eat healthily on a day to day basis. She said that having ordinary people telling their stories on the information screens would be very useful. She also said that the plasma screens had further potential in terms of how they could be used to stimulate activities, or as part of an activity e.g. training people to use the Life Trail equipment. She suggested that in this way the content of the plasma screens, if extended to include examples such as those cited, could bring more people into the café at times when it isn’t busy.
Vicky added that there were also commercial opportunities in terms of using the plasma screens to get people into the café. As the screens aren’t intrusive the information could still be viewed by some people, even when others may be involved in an activity in the café. Also the screens could be used to tempt new people onto the park.
Vicky then gave another example of how the screens could be used by giving people information about other places they may need to visit outside of Knowle West. Many people locally are referred for secondary health services to major hospitals in other parts of the city and attendance rates for these appointments are quite low. For a trip to Frenchay Hospital, which is north-east of the city, there may be issues because it isn’t somewhere they are familiar with, transport may also be an issue, so a virtual tour of Frenchay Hospital showing where they need to go in relation to car parks or bus stops would be another useful piece of information.
Vicky and Cheryl agreed that there is a big gap in terms of the information that isn’t on the plasma screens. Cheryl added that other stories would be very useful, such as people’s accounts of how counselling has been helpful to them, or how walking has changed their lives. Cheryl underlined that when local people produce such material the resultant content is more accessible and has more impact. Vicky said that she also thought there were opportunities for learning from other parts of Bristol.
Everyone agreed that there could be far more opportunities for young people to be involved in producing content so that they have a real sense of meaningful involvement in the activities of the health park and with other local organisations. Cheryl said that by developing connections with young people in this way there was a greater chance of them not causing issues, as they will have sense of being listened to and included. Vicky added that digital storytelling would be one way of working with young people, so that they can articulate what they do, as well as using the opportunity to talk about their aspirations and hopes for the future. Furthermore, by showing their stories to a wider audience, for example on the plasma screens, we would support the young people involved to feel included and listened to. It might also reduce the fear of young people among other groups.
Cheryl underlined how important it is to show the outcomes from such participatory activities. She added that Knowle West Media Centre is an award winning resource for the community, which enables the production of such outcomes, but that there is a need for more platforms and opportunities from which to show those outcomes both to local people and to wider audiences, both nationally and internationally.
Vicky talked about a trip that Mark from Youth Moves organised, where young people from Knowle West went to St.Pauls. She underlined how significant such experiences are in stimulating young people to consider themselves in a wider social and cultural context than that of Knowle West.
Cheryl highlighted the potential there is for digital storytelling to address issues of community cohesion through the sharing of different experiences. She suggested that there could be more joint art projects whereby young people could make things together, across different cultural experiences, in ways that might emphasise their similar experiences as being more significant than their different ones. Cheryl underlines how such work can help to establish an understanding of difference; as something that is not necessarily right or wrong, but just different. Vicky added that such interventions might help young people to see beyond their own community, which can be difficult for them to do.
Cheryl then talked about how there are many local people with really interesting experiences that would be valuable to share. She said that many local people have similar experiences, but that some people have tapped into existing opportunities to make positive differences to their lives. She said that by sharing their stories these people could inspire others to tap into similar opportunities to positive ends. She said that such digital storytelling can show other people how to access such opportunities and how to build on their individual talents.
Cheryl added that many projects take place on a one–off basis and that there is a need for more sustained activities, not just ‘tasters’. She said that the only limit to many projects is the timeframe, which is often dictated by funding. Vicky added that there are far more short term initiatives happening, and therefore there is a need for more strategic, long term project work. She said that permanent projects or strategies, such as the Duke of Edinburgh award do exist, but that such approaches can often be seen as exclusive, in that many young people would identify the Duke of Edinburgh award as being for the ‘chosen ones’ or just for the young people who are ‘keen’. She underlined how such schemes can thereby lead young people to feeling left behind.
Cheryl talked about the need for approaches to project work to be non-prescriptive. She said that it is hard to tailor funding to the needs of the local community and that there is not enough time to be able to find out what exactly the community wants or needs, because such work is not funded. She said that one thing that is obviously needed is the time for someone to do research into what the needs and aspirations of the local community are, and how to fund work that addresses those needs and supports the pursuit of those aspirations. In addition to this Cheryl said that it was apparent that lots of work happens with a small number of young people who are engaged and that there is the need for more work to take place that is aimed at the invisible young people in Knowle West. She suggested a need to question funding structures that prescribe outcomes because such structures can limit what is possible.
Vicky suggested that there is some benefit to prescribed outcomes as the saying goes, “what gets measured gets done”, and if there are no targets there is a risk that lots of money might get poured into an aimless project and get wasted.
Cheryl said that she thought there were ways around this, by the funders simply insisting that, for example, the actual learning that takes place during a project be documented and evidenced. In this way projects would importantly evidence the value to the public, whose money it actually is.
Vicky highlighted a need for more opportunities to share experiences of project delivery, in order to compare outcomes and outputs, and develop best practice.
Cheryl underlined an ongoing need to listen to young people and what they want. She said that much work in the sector is about policing young people. She said that she thought there are ways of using digital technology much more effectively to communicate with young people in order to find out what it is that they want to do. There was general consensus amongst the group that creative engagement is a very productive way of ‘consulting’ with young people.
Cheryl said that communication with the local community as exists through the newsletter could be extended through the use of digital media.
The group then talked about the festival day as an example of the type of event that takes place locally, which could be used to informally gather information, whilst other activities are going on. Consultation in such a context could be a by product of other activities.
Vicky agreed and added that it was important to get people involved through the ‘leisure’ ticket. She said that if people can be encouraged to engage on the basis of a leisure experience they can then be informed of all the support that is available. For example, at the health park, people might come for a line-dancing session but may get their bunions treated at the same time. She said that creative activities using digital technology could be similarly used, to get people in on the ‘leisure ticket’ and for them to get information about other services available while they are here.
Cheryl also added that people are often asked questions or consulted in the community, but rarely get any feedback. Therefore, consultation should take place as part of a wider exchange.
Everyone agreed that group activities are important but that often the health focus is on individual services. Vicky added that there is a critical tension between what people who use the services at the Health Park think they need and the needs that are addressed by the services that are at the Health Park.
Cheryl also highlighted a need of different organisations and agencies in the Knowle West area to know what different activities are going on, or are planned, to avoid clashes, but also to ensure that different agencies can work together to utilise the opportunities that other organisations’ activities might stimulate. In this way activities could be joined up to ensure that the opportunities are extended. Vicky agreed and added, for example, the idea of a post-fifty film club, where people might come to the Health park to watch a film, which could be linked to an afternoon of relevant health related opportunities such as chiropody, diabetes clinics etc. She said that if there was a plasma screen in the Health Park café it could be used to many such ends.
Cheryl talked about the opportunities presented by the groups that already meet at the Health Park, such as the walking group and the lunch club, whereby those people could easily do something about the facilities to promote what happens and what they do at the centre, in order to promote it to others.
