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Charity No. 1106520
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Community Information and Drop in Centre
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First Focus needs you
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We are currently in search of volunteers to help with the expansion of our activities. We have already added another opening day to our programme of events which means that,we are now open on Tuesdays as well as Thursdays. We shall be open all morning from 10am 1.00pm.
To become one of a caring, dedicated and helpful group of people, ring us on:
01328 855083
or go to our website, or send an e-mail to:- info@firstfocus.org
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Fakenham drop-in centre praised
CHRIS HILL
01 April 2009
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Government officials visited First Focus in Fakenham to discuss issues about elderly, isolated people in the community. Pictured: far right are The Social Exclusion Task Force (LtoR) Robin Hewing, Bonnie Whang and Tim Crosier.
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Statutory bodies should "put their money where their mouth is" and help sustain a Fakenham drop-in centre that has earned the praise of a government task force, it was suggested yesterday
The cabinet office's Social Exclusion Task Force, headed by Tim Crosier, has been travelling the country to form proposals for the government's new "ageing strategy", expected to be published soon.
Yesterday, the team visited the community information centre at First Focus, which was set up in 2003 to give elderly people and those with disabilities access to a range of social, health and voluntary services.
Since then, the service has expanded, and it now opens twice a week, drawing up to 80 people on Thursday market days.
The drop-in centre in Cattle Market Street also gives visitors the chance to join art and gardening groups, use computers, make new friends and chat.
Mr Crosier was told that transport was a key problem in rural Norfolk and that the successful centre could be in danger of closing unless funding support was given by bodies such as the NHS and adult social services. He said: "One of the issues we are looking at is how we learn from the good practices and people around places like this, dissimilate that information and translate it to other places.
"There is obviously a need here for people who are not eligible for statutory services but have a low- level need where they are not getting support. This resource is able to plug that gap, and it is a really exciting development."
Terry Read, a development worker with Norfolk's adult social services, conceived the First Focus project in 2003. He said the centre was run by two full-time employees and a team of volunteers, but the Big Lottery grant that made up nine-tenths of its funding had almost run out.
He said evidence gathered over the past six years showed that it was very much needed and welcomed.
"But, while we are still looking for independent funding, we feel it is now time for the statutory services to recognise the fantastic job that is going on and put their money where their mouth is.
"There is a danger it may not be sustainable unless we can get the money," he added.
The task force also visited Wells and Cromer before meeting council officers and other age-related agencies at County Hall in Norwich.
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