About the service and what to expect
Community Connectors is a Social Prescribing service run by Southdown, working in partnership with GP Practices across East Sussex locations like Hastings & Rother, and Eastbourne, Seaford & Hailsham, supporting you to improve your health and wellbeing. They help you to develop personalised and practical solutions to everyday issues.
A member of your GP Practice team may suggest a referral to Community Connectors. They can send a referral directly to us, with your consent, or you can self-refer by completing our online referral form here.
Community Connectors will be in touch within seven days of receiving your referral
Am I eligible?
The service is available to people living in Hastings & Rother, Eastbourne, Seaford & Hailsham areas, aged 18 and over, who are experiencing issues affecting their physical or mental health and wellbeing.
What is Social Prescribing?
There are times when we all need support to address life’s challenges. Knowing how to access available support locally can make a big difference. Social Prescribing helps you to explore services, groups and activities that can support you to improve your health and emotional wellbeing. Addressing difficult issues needs extra time and support.
Who are Community Navigators?
- Someone you can talk to confidentially
- Someone who is practical, helpful and who will not judge you
- Someone who can help you decide what you’d like to do to improve your health and wellbeing
- Someone who can find you support and activities that will suit you
- Someone who can give you support along the way
Community Navigators can help by
- Giving you the time to explore and identify what is important for your health and wellbeing and the issues you’d like to address
- Providing support and encouragement to connect to services, groups and activities that can help
- They can speak with you on the phone or meet face-to-face. And, they will work with you to create a personalised plan to help you to connect with services in your community.
Areas you can be supported with
- Healthy lifestyles and active lives
- Arts, music, outdoors and creativity
- Befriending, counselling and other support groups
- Housing, benefits and financial support and advice
- Employment, training and volunteering
Education and learning - Getting involved in local groups and activities
- Accessing specialist services and support
Buddy Scheme
As a client of Community Connectors, once they have worked together to identify your priority needs for your wellbeing, if you need support to help you access a service or activity in your local community, they can match you with a Buddy Volunteer who can support you to attend.
If you are a student of the Sussex Recovery College (East Sussex Campus), we also have Buddy Volunteers who can support you in attending a course.
Buddy Volunteers are selected and trained to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge necessary to support people who might be daunted by some of the obstacles they face when accessing things in the community.
Further Information
For more information and to discuss accessing support from Southdown Community Connectors, please call 0808 196 1768 to speak to a member of our Central Access Point team. Alternatively, if you would prefer, you can arrange a callback.
https://www.southdown.org/
