Holy Trinity Community and Partnership Centre

Read the Holy Trinity Community and Partnership Centre blog

About the approach

The method applied will be the 'Root Solution - Listening Matters' process, an animating and organising model developed by RE:generate that catalyses community-led, networked action and drives broad-based transformative change in those communities. Through a 1:1 listening process that aims to build trust and nurture relationships, it seeks to build solid foundations for project and enterprise development starting from local people's own experiences, interests and agendas.

Parishioners will be trained to meet and carefully listen to people on the streets, in homes, shops, pubs, clubs and faith centres and find out what really matters to them. The listening process will help them develop new relationships and activate local networks of people who want to create new projects or enterprises.

People will be supported to understand how the currencies of trust, relationships, knowledge, skills, money and votes can be organised and used to deliver practical solutions and effective campaigns. New leaders that have emerged from the listening process will then attend a 'Transformational Training' course which aims to provide them with the confidence and skills they need to develop self help activities, jobs and opportunities through social enterprise.

Ensuring volunteering and active participation continues long after the project funding ends is a critical part of the approach. Participants will be trained to engage assertively with infrastructure organisations and the local Council to create a platform and voice for the area's voluntary sector.

About the organisations

The lead: Holy Trinity Community and Partnership Centre

The Holy Trinity Partnership comprises the Parish of Holy Trinity RC Church, the Holy Trinity School and the Community Centre that is run as a community enterprise providing services and facilities for the wider surrounding neighbourhoods and communities. Formed in 2002, the Partnership has a wealth of community organising experience and a strong ethos and approach to involving and energising neighbourhoods.

Expert Partner: RE:generate

RE:generate is a charitable trust whose objectives are to tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality. It takes an enterprising approach and specialises in community organising through a specific 'root solutions - listening matters' method of organising. The trust has been working with UK communities for 20 years using listening and animation to build social capital, and empower people to resolve intractable problems. A systematic listening approach is used by 'community animators' to engage individuals and animate communities to develop and deliver creative, enterprising solutions to the problems they face. RE:generate supports and delivers personal and local development programmes that aim to have a transformative impact on behaviours, public services and organisational structures.

RE:generate will train and mentor parishioners and members of the local community to co-deliver the engagement process.

About the neighbourhood

The Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Parish includes Newark and the surrounding former mining villages. Newark town has a stable and diverse population with a high level of Eastern European residents and a large permanent Traveller site. It has strengths and challenges around community integration, education and training for marginalised tightly knit groups and communities. People remain in the area, have loyalty to it and retain strong community bonds. Yet this cohesion also features tensions, cultural conflicts and barriers to trust and engagement by 'outsiders' and/or professionals. Activity will focus around wards that experience difficulties associated with multiple-deprivation and low income.