Blog | Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency

A tablet to mask the pain

11 March 2019 - 5:11pm

Prevention is the word on everyone's lips for health and wellbeing, yet why do my experiences suggest we still look to mask symptoms rather than cure them?

The current health and social care agenda has a focus on prevention, the Care Act 2014 stated that there will be ‘A greater emphasis on prevention ‘ - local authorities and providers of support would encourage and assist people to lead healthy lives, reducing the chances of them needing more support in the future’

Losing control

7 February 2019 - 3:56pm

So… this week I have spent two days in Birmingham being energised, inspired and challenged with bells on* by the people I met at Losing Control (a conference hosted by Practical Governance and the Social Change Agency).

Movement building (wearing L plates)

8 January 2019 - 2:27pm

If you’ve been on any leadership training in the last few years or love a good TED talk you may be aware of the following video:

‘Leadership is over-glorified… It was really the first follower that transformed the lone nut into a leader’

How can we reduce transport barriers for Middlesbrough residents?

20 November 2018 - 3:43pm

Transport means a lot of things to a lot of different people. But how much of an issue is it for some people? For me personally, it is quite a big component of my daily living and how I go about my life. I rely on public transport to get to work, to visit family and to do the activities I want to do. I regularly use buses or train services to get to where I need to be, luckily for me I do not have any barriers preventing me from using public transport so largely this isn’t a huge issue. It has its good days and it has its bad days.

If only I had the money!!

12 October 2018 - 3:46pm

In times of austerity, we all feel the pressure whether this is within our own organisation, the people we serve or personally. No matter how we feel this pressure, we are all aiming for the same goal – to improve our organisation, the lives of others, our family, friends and ourselves, however challenging this may be.

We know there are major funding issues facing many local authorities across the country which have had serious consequences for the voluntary and community sector, local people and their communities.