The Maryvale Project in Birmingham

In 2005 at the request of the Parish Priest a small committee was formed, of interested members of the parish community, who wanted to be involved in a project that would benefit the wider community.

Everyone was aware that the parish had a Centre that was in a poor state of repair and much underused.

The Father Hudson’s Society Community Projects manager was invited in to facilitate these meetings.

After meeting monthly for a year the Committee had written a constitution and carried out a number of surveys of need .Subsequently the group designed a set of services including both Outreach and use of the Centre that would contribute to meeting those needs. What became clear in the surveys was that elderly people living on their own, and adults who have disabilities, were two main groups who would value support. Young people too responded positively, wanting more activities and support.

Whilst a grant application was being prepared for the Lottery the parish was keen to keep the momentum and invested considerable resources in refurbishing the Centre. By December 2007 the Centre had been transformed internally.

New ceilings, lighting, carpets and floor coverings, windows and a new kitchen were all completed. 

During this period the local extended School Cluster was looking for an office space for their Coordinator and Family Support worker, and also a place where they could run events and have meetings. The Parish Priest saw this as a way of helping to meet the needs of young people, identified earlier on. He welcomed their involvement and with funding from the cluster an office was made ready .The Launch took place in November 2007.

Parishioners who were involved in running the parish youth club actively sought funding to develop this work and received generous support from the local council to make the field by the Centre usable, and to tarmac the back of the Centre for use for games and for resources .

The Management Committee continued to refine the project and decided that ideally a Community Development worker was needed and a part time worker to support the elderly and adults who have disabilities .These would work with a large group of committed volunteers, some of whom have been running a club for adults who have disabilities and weekly meetings for the elderly for many years. This will depend on securing successful external funding.

In the meantime the project Management Committee and Father Hudson’s Society are discussing the possibility of joint funding a part time Community worker for two years in order to increase the range of services available.