2016 Shortlist | Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust
Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust
Winner – Embracing Opportunity and Harnessing Risk
Who they are
Healthy n Happy (HnH) is a community led urban community development trust working in Cambuslang and Rutherglen, an area of South Lanarkshire which is significantly affected by inequality and deprivation. HnH is a community owned organisation, governed by local people and steered by local priorities. All trustees, all volunteers, all sessional workers and the majority of staff are local people.
HnH takes a positive, assets based, preventative approach, working with individuals and communities to become resilient and healthy. This means they start with “what we have” – enabling people to achieve change using their own knowledge, skills and experience of the issues affecting them.
They deliver their activities under two work programmes:
• Within “Transforming Lives”, they aim to build personal capacity by creating access to a range of services which are designed to support health and wellbeing: creation of resilience and self-esteem, social connectedness, a sense of purpose, giving back, being active and continued learning.
• Within “Transforming Communities” they undertake grassroots community development work aimed at supporting local disadvantaged ommunities to articulate and achieve their ambitions, with the aim of supporting community aspiration, resilience and cohesion.
Everything Healthy n Happy do is built on collaboration. They build relationships with individuals and the organisation works with over 50 organisations locally, including residents’ action groups, community groups and voluntary and statutory organisations. They have significant community visibility and each year 6,000 local people take part in their organisation’s work, delivered out in the community in 30+ different local venues.
What they’ve achieved
In 2012 the board led the organisation to become a community development trust (CDT).
Embracing the opportunity was a big challenge. But, they realised achieving this status would help Healthy n Happy secure a broader role in supporting the health and wellbeing of local communities in Cambuslang and Rutherglen.
It represented an evolution from tackling community-based health improvements to transforming communities, and seizing the chance to, as they put it, “undertake real community development”.
Embracing the challenge
The board played an active role in this transformation by managing risks and focusing on strengths and opportunities. In their entry, Healthy n Happy demonstrated how this process engaged the board in all aspects of the challenge ahead. This included taking the original proposal from the Executive Team as a springboard to look at key issues and opportunities to do more. The board also actively took part in workshops, annual
development days, SWOT analysis and establishing a research and development sub group.
Improving outcomes
Since becoming a CDT, Healthy n Happy have demonstrated exceptional outcomes for their beneficiaries and the community.
They have scaled up the organisation by employing new staff and accessing fresh income streams including trading income and contracts, as well as a new range of funding opportunities.
New initiatives have included establishing a local 24 hour FM radio station, a social enterprise arm working with partners to attract Scotland’s first national road cycling training centre to Rutherglen, buying and refurbishing a local landmark building as a community hub and developing ‘place based approaches to community development and regeneration.
We were incredibly impressed with Healthy n Happy’s entry, which showcased how they’re a well organised and professional grassroots organisation and a model for others.
The board is clearly driven by the organisation’s mission, demonstrating valuable engagement and leadership. Their entry clearly demonstrated how they have harnessed opportunities while retaining their values through excellent governance.
