Around 80 colleagues from across the VCSE and wider system came together on Wednesday 14 June for a morning of networking and discussion at the third South Yorkshire Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSE) Alliance event.
The event showcased the alliances ongoing development journey and its continued progression to bring partners together from across the South Yorkshire integrated care system, strengthening working relationships to help tackle system challenges including health inequalities.
Attendees heard from colleagues leading on key pieces of work across South Yorkshire and discussed opportunities for partnership working and collaboration across the Children & Young People's Alliance, Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Provider Collaborative and the Mental Health, Learning Disability, Dementia and Autism Strategic Delivery Group. During the event, Voluntary Action Doncaster also shared their Digital Inclusion work and Voluntary Action Sheffield with Space to Breathe shared their work on reducing mental health waiting lists. The event concluded with an opportunity to shape priorities to inform a new VCSE Alliance strategy.
Karen Smith, VCSE Lead for NHS South Yorkshire said “Partnership working is key for us to be able to achieve our shared ambitions. These events build on the conversations that we are having across our four places to strengthen our relationships and identify new opportunities for collaboration. It has been fantastic to hear from so many groups about what matters to them and how we enable good partnerships in working together."
Shafiq Hussain, Chair of South Yorkshire VCSE Alliance and Chief Executive of Voluntary Action Rotherham said “Many of us know that the services and support provided by voluntary and community groups are vital for our residents and communities health and well-being. We want to create many opportunities for the VCSE and the Integrated Care System to work better together to tackle system challenges including health inequalities. I see the development of a VCSE Alliance as a brilliant way to help bring some of the change required and am proud to be a part of that journey."
If you haven’t joined a South Yorkshire VCSE event before you can find helpful information and a recap of its journey so far here.
