In our initial networking and mapping of the local area. It also became clear that there was a wealth of good practice and a wide range of services available to our local community. Yet many of the professionals we spoke to were often unaware of the other services taking place locally.
On further investigation we found that any directory of services was either non-existent, out of date, or missing significant chunks of information. This meant that often opportunities were missed by professionals, and effective signposting could not be given to the individuals they were working with. Recognising the need for this in West Mendip, we made it a priority to do some in depth mapping of community services in our area and have started to collate all the information that we have acquired into a document that can be used for professionals to signpost to the community and individuals they are working with.
So far, we have used the information we have gathered to advise professionals working in local schools, VCFSE organisations, health colleagues, public sector professionals, and in some cases members of the public. We are in discussion with the local parishes, towns and city councils, as well as local schools and VCFSE organisations to explore how this can be made into an official document to be shared far and wide.
