Vision for Community Wellbeing
What do we need for the wellbeing of the community of Sligo? That is the question being posed by Sligo PPN, and they want to hear from all the groups and organisations in the county. Developing a Vision for Community Wellbeing means thinking about what we have and what we need to help Sligo to be as great as it can be for us and for the many generations that follow on from ours.
Getting involved
The first public community consultation meeting will take place on 19th February at 6pm in Radisson Blu Hotel Sligo. If you would like to find out more, or your community organisation would like to participate in the consultation on community wellbeing, please RSVP by Friday 14th February at 4:30pm to ppn@sligococo.ie or call 071 91 41125 to book a place.
One thing everyone can agree on is that we would like our community to be the very best it can be. Sligo PPN are delighted to be rolling out a new National Initiative on Community wellbeing. “Our well being is affected by many things; the economy, the environment, services etc” explained Sarah Wetherald, PPN Network Coordinator “and the wellbeing of the community affects everyone within it. We really want to hear from the groups, organisations and individuals on the ground about what is important to them today.” The process has already started in a targeted approach through conversations with groups around the county such as IT Sligo and Sligo Intercultural Project but the PPN will be hosting an event on the evening of 19th February 2020 to take this important conversation countywide. Groups will also be able to feed in online by taking the Living in Sligo survey on the Sligo PPN Facebook page, emailing or posting through their thoughts and ideas, by engaging with an upcoming social media campaign or by inviting the PPN to attend meetings you organise in your local area. Also keep an eye out for the upcoming Sligo PPN photo competition asking for pictures that you feel represent the challenges and highlights of life in Sligo in 2020.
All this information will be brought together and made available to the public which will be of particular benefit as an evidence base to groups and organisations looking for funding opportunities. The information will also be used to guide the work of the PPN and its representatives in influencing policy, and working towards achieving the community’s goals, and will be shared with key organisations such as Sligo County Council, Sligo Volunteer Centre, Sligo Family Resource Centre and Sligo Leader Partnership to try and ensure that future policy and programme development responds directly to identified community need. In addition, Sligo PPN will be working closely with other PPNs in the North West region to use this information to develop a picture of wellbeing for the entire region and will be presenting a report of findings to national bodies such as The Department of Rural and Community Development, The Wheel and Social Justice Ireland.
What is Community Wellbeing?
Wellbeing is an increasingly common term that can describe wider conditions than good physical and mental health, which we need as individual and communities to have a better quality of life, a healthier environment and increased prosperity. Some of these are things that we can easily measure, like the number of pre-school places, or the speed with which an ambulance can get to a sick person. Others are less easily measured, such as our pride of place, our heritage and the way in which we all look after each other. All aspects of wellbeing are connected to each other. “So, for example, if we think our natural environment is poor, it will affect our mental and physical health as well as our economy. In other words, all the parts of our community wellbeing are interconnected” explained Ms Wetherald.
Under this programme Sligo PPN and the other 30 PPNs in the country will look at community wellbeing under the same headings; social and community development; environment and sustainability; work, economy and resources; health; values, culture and meaning; and participation, democracy and good governance. By using these 6 headings across all the country, we can see whether we in Sligo have the same concerns and causes for celebration as others.
Sligo PPN
Sligo PPN (Public Participation Network) is a collective of all the community, voluntary, social inclusion and environmental groups in the county. Established in 2014 the PPN provides the community voice on Sligo County Council and other committees that make key decisions on behalf of the entire community. It also runs training courses for member groups, shares information about funding and activities, provides networking opportunities and gives a national platform to issues of community concern. For more information or to get involved you can contact the PPN at ppn@sligococo.ie or 071 91 41125 or call in to see them at City Hall, Quay Street or visit the Sligo PPN website.
