MULTI-AGENCIES COLLABORATIVE WORK AND PARTNERSHIPS
SIMPLE has since early on been very dedicated to building positive partnerships with many different agencies, especially with the public sector as a liaison agent connecting individuals to those services, supporting those agencies to convey information and connect with the public in the most effective ways. SIMPLE continues to be an active participant in the community life until today. SIMPLE’s members have been active throughout the years, and there have been many instances of collaborative work, and here are some of the most prominent ones:
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Joe Barreto, Carla Barreto and Lady Kay Fisher at the Settling in Conference 2008.
LOCAL COUNCIL COLLABORATIONS
SIMPLE liaised between its service users and local district and town council services. Supporting individuals in different areas including in housing issues and homelessness prevention.
As a result of this partnership some events including awareness events were organized in which SIMPLE’s management either attended or participated as guest speakers.
One of those events was the “Settling In” Conference organized by Breckland Council, for other agencies and councils, to address issues such as housing rights and homelessness in a display of good practice.
POLICE INDEPENDENT ADVISORY GROUP
SIMPLE’s trustees were regular members of the Police Independent Advisory Group, with regular presence in a panel of participants representing many community groups, segments and voluntary organizations, invited by local police and liaison officers, to discuss issues of community interest, public safety, facilitating the release of safety and legal information relevant to the community at large.
This group aimed to achieve positive outcomes by working together in a mutual exchange of services with of agencies collaborating towards common objectives.
Another form of collaboration between SIMPLE and local police was by providing multicultural awareness training sessions to new police officers in the force. This role was taken by SIMPLE’S chairman and the sessions were provided under the constabulary’s invitation. The objective was to better prepare its officers to approach public service in more effective and sensitive ways when dealing with locals from various cultural backgrounds.
Breckland Council representatives, MEP Richard Howitt, SIMPLE Chairman and co-founder managing Director
The event gathered notable guest speakers from many public institutions, such as the MEP Richard Howitt, the Lady Kay Fisher, Gill Green from the Audit Comission , and high management of the police and the council itself. It also included other notable agencies working and supporting the community such as SIMPLE’s management, which was invited at that time as a guest speaker at the conference.
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS
SIMPLE supported many individuals throughout the last few years with either advice or sign-posting to other agencies in matters of employment, workers’ rights, and anti-discrimination cases or regulations.
As part of those collaborations SIMPLE established partnerships with Unions, such as GMB to support workers vindicating their rights and providing protection from working exploration and illegal work related activities.
In order to raise awareness and as distributers of information, SIMPLE’s team has coordinated and organized various ‘workshops’ in partnership with both GMB Union and Migrant Gateway Link, which provided qualified training informational sessions, in employment rights to the public. This was in order to better serve legally inform and guide service users regarding their work status and conditions.
SIMPLE has also liaised with Portuguese diplomatic institutions such as the Consulate General of Portugal in London, and the Portuguese Embassy, bridging these institutions to the local District Councils.
Settling In Conference 28th of March, 2008 Guest speakers group Photo
Throughout the last decade SIMPLE has worked with many other organizations no less important than the ones mentioned above, and we thank them all for their collaboration and efforts to serve the community.
