Earlier this year, we partnered with local people to capture their stories from the pandemic and share their hopes and priorities for the future, and now we’re sharing the findings from this project with the community.

The purpose of our Voices for Change research project was to improve our insights into how Covid-19 has affected our neighbours, and how we can support Newham’s recovery.

Through a total of almost 400 online questionnaires, face-to-face activities and in-depth conversations, our neighbours shared their concerns and fears, hopes and dreams, tears and laughter. It’s reassuring that one of the consistent messages from this research is that people in Newham have a strong hunger for community, something that fits well with our mission at BDCA. The research also highlights a number of key challenges where Newham residents would welcome more support and you can read more about these in the panel below.

Now BDCA is making the research findings available to local residents and partner organisations, at a special exhibition and networking event on Wednesday 21 July.

We invite you to join us to learn more about the research at a special event at The Well Community Centre in East Ham on Wednesday 21 July. There are two event options as follows:

– Evening public event open to all Newham residents from 5-7pm. This will be an informal event with an exhibition of the key findings and time to network together over free refreshments. We’ll also be showcasing some poetry and music that local people contributed during the research process!

– Lunchtime discussion event open to partners from local voluntary organisations from 1-3pm. This will be a more structured event, featuring a panel discussion and opportunity to share and learn from each others’ experiences as we plan and evolve our respective community services following the pandemic.

Thank you so much to everyone who took part in our research. Whether you contributed or are simply interested in exploring the findings in more detail, I hope you’ll find the report interesting and that you’ll join us on 23 July!

Advance registration is required, and you can sign up quickly and easily here, choosing either the public or partner event as appropriate.

More about the project

The National Lottery Community Fund is funding our Voices for Change project. It is being co-led by Tonte Lawson as Activities Co-Ordinator and Steve Bynon as Consultation Co-Ordinator, along with a panel of volunteers who are helping to facilitate our conversations with the community.

Steve and Tonte say: “Voices for Change will capitalise on our borough’s great community spirit, helping local residents to reconnect with each other through positive health-boosting activities and empowering them to build a brighter future together.

“We are extremely grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund and the government for recognising the great need we have in Newham right now and for partnering with our community so generously to make this possible.”

Funding has been provided by the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund.Edit