Happy June to you all, our newsletter is full of wonderfully exciting things that CAPITAL has been up to so please take the time to read through it. Please see details below on how to share things with us for our Capital Creative pages and also please see our diary for all the events that you could join in with this month. 

Coordinator News: 

“Hi to Everyone, hoping you are doing well and enjoying some Spring weather at last. 

This month at the Crawley Hubs we had West Sussex Carers’ Support talk to us about their services. They really wanted to make it clear that many of us who maybe caring for a loved one -family or friend -without necessarily receiving formally recognised caring status and payment -are still carers and are urged to tell their GP so that we can become aware of what support there is for us. 

Carers’ Support offer guidance, signposting, financial advice linked to caring, support and networks for Young Carers and general emotional support for all. 

There are two support groups a month at Crawley Library -please see their website or ring on 0300 028 8888 to find out what is in your local area. 

Awareness of how we are doing, self-care and connection with others who understand are so important. 

Our East Grinstead afternoon hubs are moving from Glen Vue to the Trinity Church, Lingfield Rd. E Grinstead, RH19 2HA. It is a little further up the town toward Felbridge but still fairly central and certainly a centre for many community groups and activities. 

Our evening groups (6-7.30) will be trialled at the Weatherspoons in the Centre of town - we will have a large table in the centre with our flyer on the table. First soft drink on us. All welcome and hopefully local working people experiencing any level of distress will feel comfortable to join us. 

This month we hope to have Jenny from the Co-production side of CAPTIAL talk to us about their tireless work improving the services with West Sussex County Council. 

Hope to see as many happy faces up this way as possible  

Lucy, Interim Northern Coordinator” 

Coproduction

“We are pleased to announce that we have received some funding from The ICB for Coproduction in West Sussex and the Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG) for 2024.  

Thank you to all our LEAG members in West Sussex for your hard work and passion for coproduction and for our East Sussex and Brighton and Hove LEAGS for all your continued support. The Coproduction Team are now in discussions about how we can secure additional funding and we aim to work closely with other organisations so that CAPITAL can provide the best service for Coproduction in West Sussex.   

The June meeting for the LEAG is on Monday 17th June 12-2pm  

SCALE (Sussex Coproduction and Lived Experience Network) our Sussex Wide meeting with Possibility People hosting East Sussex and Brighton and Hove LEAGS is on Wednesday 10th July at 5.30-7.30pm  

If you would like more information on how to join the LEAG or SCALE, please contact Sara: sara.shepherd@capitalproject.org  

 Pauls Wedding.  

I was delighted to be invited Paul and Leanne’s wedding this month.  

Paul is now volunteering for us and co-facilitating the drop ins at Sudley Road.  

Congratulations Paul and Leanne.  

Take Care Everyone, Sara. Interim Coordinator and Coproduction Lead” 

Changing Futures – Update from Janice Moth. 

“Fabulous to take part in The Changing Futures Sussex Summit on 13 March 2024 at the American Express Stadium in Brighton. 

Changing Futures is a £77m national programme focused on transforming the system around multiple disadvantages. Sussex received £4.42m and is delivering systems change across 5 key workstreams: Service Delivery, Governance and Commissioning, Data & Information, Co-Production, Learning & Workforce Development. 

It was a time to :  

• Reflect on the work done to date, what can be learnt from this and how to use these lessons to catalyse even greater impact for those most vulnerable in our communities, especially in the context of budgetary constraints. We will be exploring how collaborative system wide working can enable savings at the same time as delivering greater impact. 

• Draw on our collective wisdom and lived expertise to consider how the legacy of this work will continue beyond the life of the Changing Futures Sussex funding which comes to an end in March 2025, ultimately ensuring that cross-system working is sustained and that the most vulnerable people across Sussex get the support and help they need. 

• Hear from leaders across the system including representatives from our funders at DLUHC and the National Lottery Community Fund, the three Sussex Local Authorities, the NHS, and people working on the front line, as well as people with experience of navigating the complex systems we all work within.  

 Northbrook College Futures Fair - CAPITAL have a stand! 6 March 2024 – Much excitement and so honoured to spend time networking with so many organisations. There was a lot of interest in our work” 

CAPITAL Creative Pages 

Poetry Corner 

Lost Eternity 

Hope surges like the tide, 

Trickles like water 

Down your spine, 

And even lost from sight 

Is always 

With us entwined. 

Ruby blood rushes through my veins, 

Like the whispers 

Of winter, 

Like the echo 

Of steel 

On steel. 

My heart beats 

Like a percussion instrument, 

I am lost 

In its murmur 

Of promise. 

The landscape emerges 

From my blackened mind, 

Like a flood 

Lit with rainbows. 

Rugged, it embraces me 

Like a long lost love. 

Tenderly, the zephyr kisses me, 

And my soul blooms like a ruby flower, 

With eternal petals, 

Never to be shed. 

J.I Robinson  BSc (Hons) (Jenny – Crawley Hub Member) 

A Splash of Art 

By Tom From Crawley. Depicting the tragedy of being an endangered animal. 

Poem and drawing by Sam – East Grinstead and Crawley Hub Member. 

Localities 

Unfortunately due to staff shortage at the moment, there will not be a locality this month for AAW. 

Membership Day in July 2024 

We’re holding our next membership day in July and we would like to have your input as to the location where we shall hold it, please use the link below or the QR code to let us know your thoughts. 

https://forms.office.com/e/Xjxqa5Mj5A