We are here to support, promote and develop voluntary and community action in Middlesbrough
Blog
No Two Days the Same: Connecting South Tees for Positive Change
23 September 2025 - 4:12pm
One of the things I love most about my role is the variety – no two days are ever the same. At the heart of my work is making sure we truly understand what local communities need, and then supporting the voluntary and community sector (VCS) to provide safe, relevant, and effective services.
Men: it is okay to talk...
3 August 2023 - 3:29pm
From time to time in this job, I encounter people whose lives have been turned upside down by unfathomable circumstances. I spoke with Suzanne Julian at the Headlight Project last week and it just reminded me of how important it is to pause and think about how we are feeling – men in particular are much less likely to speak about things that are troubling them.
Founded in memory of Russ Devereux, the Headlight Project aims to reduce the number of deaths by suicide in the Tees Valley area through therapy of those bereaved by suicide and preventative education and training.
Making Caring Visible, Valued and Supported across the South Tees
23 June 2022 - 3:45pm
Last week, Carers Week, was up there with being one of my favourite weeks as the Project Lead for We Care You Care. It was fantastic to get out in the local community and meet some really interesting people both carers and professionals. Despite working closely with professionals from a range of local organisations over the last two and a half years, this was the first opportunity I have had to meet many of them in person, after forging our working relationship online because of the pandemic.
Going Green Together
2 February 2022 - 1:17pm
Guest blog by Georgia Goncalves, Partnerships and Projects Support Officer at VONNE
If you type 'climate action' into Google you get millions of results – there’s so much information out there it’s hard to know where to begin and hardly any of it is aimed at supporting VCSE organisations.
Minority communities, people with learning disabilities and Annual Health Checks – what next?
3 November 2021 - 1:52pm
If you’ve been following my series of blogs about this project you'll know I was getting excited about a forthcoming ‘Roundtable’ meeting which I had organised for commissioning staff and community groups and leaders, to come together to discuss and agree what needs to happen over the next few months.
The desktop research report which I wrote initially was considered as a good starting point, but the consensus was that action needed to be guided at a local level. Those around the table agreed with the themes I had outlined:
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