Community Circle
What 'good' help might look and feel like in the future in Camden?
Project overview
‘Community Circle’ is a community network in the borough of Camden. It utilises the knowledge and experience of its residents to offer support to families. Support involves listening to and helping families who may be struggling in their day to day lives. Families will feel supported and heard. They will be helped with their decision about whether they need to seek additional support and where that support is available.
Details
Project partner: Camden Council
When: 2021 - 3 months
Team: Claire O’Brien, Fianda van Kuler, Jiaoyan Yang, Liming Ye, Samantha Shannon
Methods: design research (various), insights definition, prototyping, stakeholder management, visual design
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank all the individuals who took the time to speak to us during the project. Their input has been invaluable. We would especially like to thank Becca Dove for her continuous feedback and encouragement. It goes without saying that this learning experience would not have been possible without our tutors. We are hugely grateful to Veron Lai, Megha Wadhawan, Silvia Grimaldi, Hena Ali, Sara Vaghefan and Adam Thorpe.
Context
Through our research we learned that many families in Camden struggle to cope in their day to day lives. There are many reasons for
this, some due to complex issues which could include: mental and physical health conditions, housing problems, unemployment, poor levels of education, crime and anti-social behaviour or addiction issues. Situations have deteriorated further for families since the Covid pandemic which has resulted in a reduction of council services and support as well as increased pressures on family life, like home schooling, unemployment and social isolation. Both families and service providers are struggling to adapt to these difcult circumstances. In the short term, some services have been moved online but this is not always an option. In these unprecedented times we have heard of many informal community groups coming together to look after those most in need in their communities.
​Even before Covid the wider healthcare system had begun to embrace a more holistic view of health. In recent years we have seen changes in Camden’s Early Help system which has become more family focused as opposed to solely focusing on the needs of the child. This echoes a wider change in how the ‘patient’ is viewed. We see in the NHS ten year plan that people are given more choice in decisions regarding their treatment. The wider healthcare system is coming to recognise the greater role people and communities play in health and well-being.
Research
Methods
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Secondary research
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Data collection
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Expert interviews
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Online interviews
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Role playing
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Co-creation activities
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Co-creation workshops
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Map development
Good relationships underpin our health and happiness. The condition of a family’s relationships was also an indicator as to how well a family was doing. We saw that the breakdown of relationships within a family can be the result of many complex factors. When relationships fall apart, often times people’s lives do as well, couples can split up and children can be taken away.
That’s why we have decided to look at relationships at a systemic level. We’re interested in the network of relationships families have in their lives and the strength of these relationships.
Good relationships underpin our health and happiness. The condition of a family’s relationships was also an indicator as to how well a family was doing. We saw that the breakdown of relationships within a family can be the result of many complex factors. When relationships fall apart, often times people’s lives do as well, couples can split up and children can be taken away.
That’s why we have decided to look at relationships at a systemic level. We’re interested in the network of relationships families have in their lives and the strength of these relationships.
We will use our map as a tool to generate conversation with the Changemaker families. We would like to understand and validate the different connections in someone’s life that can help increase the opportunity for Early Help intervention.
With some guidance we would like the family to fill out a blank version of our map to identify the families network, different types of relationships, experiences and barriers in their life. What barriers exactly are blocking or breaking down relationships? This tool could reveal patterns in peoples’ network, and could potentially reveal opportunities in the Early Help referral system.
Problem Statement:
Families don't always have clear access to the right support when they need it.
How might we...
provide support for families which is local and easily available, so help is always there, not just
when the need is urgent?
Solution
Methods
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Concept development
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Journey mapping
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Role mapping
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Storytelling
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User testing
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Video editing
Service Vision:
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With our service, we hope to highlight and build on the network of supportive relationships that already exist in the community and make people realise that access to help is closer than you think. In time we hope this network could grow and organise itself to become an even bigger presence in the community. We see it as a force to promote the idea that a strong, connected, supportive community is good for everyone’s health and well-being. The benefit is that residents always have access to support not just when it is needed.