Case Study 1 – HCCT Timebank
Case Study 1 – Kings Cross Timebank, Holy Cross Centre Trust - HCCT
Areas of impact: Health
Social enterprise location: Kings Cross, London
Short description of activities:
HCCT’s primary work involves using timebanking to support mental health recovery and promote the active participation of the homeless, refugees and asylum seekers in the wider community.
It aims to enable service users to take responsibility for achieving their own goals and support other people in achieving theirs through co-production mechanisms like timebanks, befriending schemes, mutual support groups, peer support and volunteering.
HCCT actively pursues a multi stakeholder approach to the delivery of mental health day services across the borough. It continuously develops partnerships and involvement from diverse communities, mainstream and specialist service providers. HCCT formed a consortium that won a £2 million tender to provide day-care services for people with mental health problems
Why it is a social enterprise:
The HCCT’s most successful programme is the ‘Flexicare’ training programme; Flexicare provides opportunities for participants to receive frontline work experience and training. The programme involves vocational training, supervision and leadership experience; members are taught methods of creating new forms of sustainable public services.
HCCT’s long-term plan is to make the organisation and its services sustainable by training clients to become ‘Support Time and Recovery Workers’, recognised by statutory authorities. In this way, even if statutory or philanthropic funding for the service runs out, a local community of self-trained experts in mental health recovery through co-production will have been created.
What is its design aspect?
With the introduction of time as a currency, participants are awarded with time credits for their engagement with the service and for helping others.
These can be exchanged between participants for activities like computer help or landscape gardening. Members can spend credits on a range of trips, events, activities and training with HCCT. By asking local organisations to contribute to the timebank, participants can also exchange their time credits for concert tickets or gym sessions.
Using time as a reward system and with the aid of the training involved with the programme, the HCCT has designed a service plan for a sustainable enterprise.
Main actors and interactions (including stakeholders, networks, services and revenue streams):
- London Borough of Camden
- Holy Cross Centre Trust
- Kings Cross Timebank
- Camden schools and colleges
- MIND in Camden
Social Impact:
- Timebanking provides interaction between groups of people that otherwise would not have met; this strengthens community cohesion
- The training programme integral to the scheme means clients become Support Time and Recovery Workers; this keeps the service running without external funding and provides future support
Economic Impact:
- The HCCT programme builds therapeutic capacity within the community thereby reducing the costs associated with other forms of mental health care provision
- The programme also gives secondary benefits afforded by client recovery
Environmental Impact:
- The benefits of the service and activities taking place locally reduces their environmental impact
Links
www.hcct.org.uk/timebanking/