Redditch launches new way to connect residents with vital services

A new ‘shop window’ for people to drop in and reach a wide range of groups, activities, and services in Redditch is launching in the New Year.

Over a dozen local agencies have joined forces to create the new weekly and monthly advice sessions at the Old Needle Works and Redditch Library from January.

Staff will be on hand to offer support and advice and connect visitors to the right help, and no appointments will be necessary. 

Redditch Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for community services, Cllr Monica Stringfellow, said: “Whether it’s money advice, social activities that are on offer, health, housing, or all sorts, dropping in to one of these sessions will get you into contact with helpful people and groups that you might not otherwise have known existed. You can just speak to someone who can point you in the right direction.”

The weekly drop-in sessions will be held at the Old Needle Works, on Britten Street, every Wednesday from 9.30am to 12pm.

Elaine Grant, CEO of The Old Needle Works Foundation, said: “We are so pleased to have such a range of support readily available to people in one place on a weekly basis and have already had positive feedback about the help this has provided.”

Expanded monthly sessions will be held at Redditch Library, off Market Place, on Mondays to coincide with the monthly NHS ‘Your Health’ outreach bus visits to Redditch. The first two of these monthly sessions are set for January 27 and February 24, from 11am to 2pm.

Michelle Campbell, Redditch Library Manager, said: “We are thrilled to be a part of this exciting initiative. These sessions will help connect our community to valuable services and create an accessible space for people to seek support in a welcoming environment.”

The sessions were developed following discussions at the Redditch Partnership’s Community Wellbeing Group, which brings together local organisations to work in the public interest. Agencies supporting the work include Citizens Advice Bromsgrove and Redditch, Starting Well family hubs, the Worcestershire Association of Carers, Bromsgrove and Redditch Network, West Mercia Police, Seetec, Act on Energy, and the district and county councils.

The Leader of Redditch Borough Council, Cllr Joe Baker, added: “So much great work goes on across Redditch by all sorts of people, and this is an example of how with a bit of local community leadership we can work together to multiply the benefits for our residents.”