[cma-l] Guardian Case Study: Sunlight Development Trust

[CMA-L]

CMA member Sunlight Development Trust in The Guardian:

Set among the terraces and tower blocks of north Gillingham, Kent,
lies Sunlight Development trust, a community centre and social
enterprise that for some stands as a future model of how to provide
cost-effective public services in Britain's poorest neighbourhoods.

Its chief executive, Peter Holbrook, has welcomed a string of
politicians over the past few months, including Gordon Brown and David
Cameron, each eager to discover how Sunlight succeeded where
conventional services failed. Holbrook makes no grand claims: success
is simply about building trust with the local community, and creating
services that take a patient, holistic approach to individuals' often
complex social needs.

He speaks proudly of Matt, an unemployed young man who had been using
drugs and alcohol and had been evicted. Sunlight worked with him,
engaging him through his interest in becoming involved in Sunlight
community radio station, training him as a forklift driver, nursing
him though NVQs, nurturing his confidence and self-esteem. He's now
employed as a health trainer.

Matt is not a one-off. The community cafe has spawned scores of
catering "graduates", and the trust runs a network of volunteers. The
statistics, Holbrook says, show progress in areas as diverse as
breastfeeding and academic achievement. There's a palpable sense of a
community becoming more connected and at ease with itself: "There's a
much greater sense of hope and pride."

Mainstream public services, says Holbrook, fail to get results in
deprived areas because they are distrusted by local people. Their
programmes are often too disparate, short term and narrowly focused.
"Sunlight is owned by the community, provides a range of services
identified by the community to meet the needs of the community," says
Holbrook. "It's a different relationship. Local people are partners in
the services they get, not recipients."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/sep/30/sunlight-community-centre

Patrick Butler, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 30 September 2009 00.05 BST

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