EC1 Connect is a neighbourhood outreach and referral project that was established by EC1 New Deal for Communities. It works with both partner agencies and residents to ensure that services are appropriate and accessible for the people of the EC1 area. The service has been running for two and a half years, and is growing each year.
EC1 Connect is a referral and advice service which conducts outreach within the EC1 NDC area, and ensures that service providers work with residents in the way that they agreed when they signed up with EC1 Connect. The relationships with partners are built and fostered through regular contact and monthly meetings, and the relationships with residents are built on the doorstep and at community events. It is a service that is designed to connect residents with the services that they want and need, and to help partners work together more effectively in the EC1 NDC area. At the time of writing there are 41 partner agencies, and these include statutory services, charities and voluntary organisations.
Target groups include BME groups, those on incapacity benefits and lone parents, as well as elderly people, and families with child care needs. EC1 Connect was designed to bring together representatives of local service providers in the field of employment and enterprise who then door knock on resident estates in the EC1 area in a planned and recorded way.
