The Helping Hands team have collated a list of key contacts and useful resources on the following topics. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a list of recommended training providers.
Helping Hands Partners
Cumbria Deaf Association is an independent local charity that helps deaf people and their families living in Cumbria to achieve educational, physical, social and spiritual well-being. They provide a wide range of specialist services and support. They believe in equality for deaf people and promote understanding and respect within the community.
Email: office@cumbriadeaf.org
Prism Arts was established in 1987 by a group of five artists committed to developing opportunities for people facing barriers to the arts. For over 35 years Prism Arts has been delivering inclusive theatre and visual art workshops for people with learning disabilities and/ or autism. They are based in Carlisle but work throughout Cumbria. They deliver programmes for learning disabled and/ or autistic creatives to drive their own journey and develop as artists, leaders and advocates for change.
Triple A Project – All About Autism
Triple A is an autism charity working across all of Cumbria. It was set up in 2016 to provide better support among autistic adults living in Cumbria. Autism awareness training is an important part of Triple A’s offerings. They provide tailor-made courses about autism for individuals, groups, employers, NHS staff and other professionals across Cumbria.
Email: info@tripleaproject.org.uk
Local Organisations
- Triple C: Disabled Artists Networking Community is a community that brings together disabled artists and decision makers in the industry.
- Aupeer CIC is an organisation that provides non-clinical peer support for autistic adults.
- Autus Cumbria support autistic children and adults by offering social opportunities, support, training, and advocacy. info@autuscumbria.co.uk
Allerdale Disability Association is a user led organisation providing a range of quality services to people with disabilities across Allerdale and the West Coast. people@adanet.org.uk
- Carlisle Mencap provide life-long person-centred support for people with learning difficulties and their families in Cumbria. enquiries@mencap.co.uk
- Carlisle Society for the Blind offer services including advice, equipment, and empowerment for visually impaired people.
- Sight Support provide a range of assistance for people who have sight loss.
- South Copeland Disability Group raise funds for projects to support disabled people in their local area, from the installation of handrails to the setup of friendship groups. scdg1@btinternet.com
- BID Cumbria provide support to d/Deaf and head of hearing adults across Cumbria. This includes advice and training around specialist equipment.
External Resources
- Access Toolkit for Artworkers: practical information on how to plan, produce, and exhibit accessible art projects including information on access riders, financial planning, slow production, display, and creating an accessible workplace.
- StageText are a deaf-led charity with loads of easy to follow guides, checklists, and resources to improve your accessibility practices.
- Ability Net: A range of services that can guide you to improve your accessibility practices. Their newsletter rounds up online training opportunities, advice blogs, and other accessibility news.
Helping Hands Partners
Cumbria Youth Alliance are a membership organisation, supporting, engaging, and working in partnership throughout Cumbria, to deliver a range of needs led programmes so that young people can reach their full potential.
Age UK Carlisle and Eden offers many services to support and enable older people and their carers to remain active, independent and linked into their local community.
Inspira is a leading employability skills expert, providing free professional careers advice and guidance. Over 21,000 people from Cumbria and Lancashire access their services each year.
Local Organisations
- Drop Zone Youth Project provide safe and supportive opportunities for young people across Furness. Their projects enable young people to develop, have fun, and socialise in a positive way.
- The Phoenix Youth Project run community-based youth activities in disadvantaged areas of Copeland and supports young people’s work experience.
- North Allerdale Development Trust is a Wigton based charity that works with young people/youth services.
- Carlisle Youth Zone provide a safe and fun environment where the potential of young people is developed and fulfilled.
- Egremont Youth Partnership provide activities for the young people of Egremont and surrounding areas. egremontyouthpartnership@gmail.com
- Keswick Youth Centre Services have meetings at three different sites a week, offering space for socialising, arts and crafts activities, creating music, and enjoying canoeing.
- Wigton Youth Station run youth groups and a range of projects for young people aged 11-19. wigtonyouthstation@hotmail.com
External Resources
- Centre for Aging Better has a number of guides that offer advice on how to create age-inclusive volunteering opportunities.
Helping Hands Partners
- AWAZ empower the voices of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) people and communities across Cumbria. They have a directory of Cumbrian support contacts too: Directory | Equality Cumbria (awazcumbria.org).
- Anti Racist Cumbria tackle and end racism through action and education to create a forward-thinking and actively anti-racist Cumbria. hello@antiracistcumbria.org
- Multicultural Cumbria focus on sustaining and sharing the heritages, cultures, values, beliefs and perspectives of diaspora people that have origins from different cultural backgrounds and promote inclusion throughout the wider community. info@multiculturalcumbria.org.uk
Local Organisations
- Furness Multicultural Community Forum deliver inclusive youth and community work in the Furness area, working with people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, promoting and celebrating multi-culturalism. info@furnessmulticultural.org.uk
- Carlisle One World Centre aim to raise awareness of how individual actions can affect the wider world, to support the economically and socially deprived, and to campaign for justice throughout the world. contact@cowc.org.uk
External Resources
- Race Equality Matters provide resources and events to provide solutions to tackling race inequality.
Helping Hands Partners
- Cumbria DWP Work and Health Services can provide a comprehensive advice service on the whole range of benefits provided by the Department for Work and Pensions, Cumbria County Council and Carlisle City Council.
Local Organisations
- Cumbria Action (ACT) champion community and rural communities, supporting Cumbrian communities to plan for the future, develop projects, work with others, and influence policy changes.
- The Howgill Family Centre provide support for disadvantaged families in West Cumbria, coordinating centre-based activities, home support, and community outreach projects.
External Resources
Social Mobility Commission have created a set of guidance and practical advice for employers to attract and retain talented people from poorer backgrounds. Some of this information could be transferable to volunteer managers too. They also have a toolkit specifically for the Creative Industries.
Local Organisations
- Pride in North Cumbria provide social and support services to LGBT+ people aged between 13 and 25. pinc-cumbria@hotmail.co.uk
- Kendal Pride increase the visibility of LGBTQIA+ people in the South Lakes, support people to make meaningful connections, and introduce them to the arts and the outdoors.
- Furness LGBTQ Youth Group bring together people to celebrate diversity and give young people a voice in the local community. Their projects include delivering the first Furness Youth Pride event, and Barrow Action for Trans Awareness.
External Resources
- Stonewall campaign for equal rights for LGTBQ+ people. Their website has a wide range of best practice guides, toolkits, and resources to make your workplace more inclusive.
Local Organisations
- Women’s Community Matters Barrow offer a range of support and services to women in Barrow and the surrounding area. These range from emergency support for people suffering from abuse to fun activities like knit and natter.
- Active Cumbria aim to increase participation in physical activity and sport across Cumbria.
- Always Another Way provide preventative mental health support services for children, young people, and adults in West Cumbria.
- Every Life Matters promote suicide safer communities and suicide bereavement support across Cumbria.
- The Joy app enables health and social care providers to link clients to local services and demonstrate outcomes.
- Blue Sky Trust support and connect people in Cumbria at every step of their HIV journey.
- CADAS provide advice and solutions about addiction support across Cumbria.
- Calderwood House is a Homeless support Service in Egremont.
- CAfS (Cumbria Action for Sustainability) are Cumbria’s climate change charity, helping Cumbrians to reduce their carbon footprint and prevent climate change.
- The Freedom Project West Cumbria are a service that offers free, long-term, community-based support in the area.
- The Well give support to people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction through therapy, peer mentoring, employment training and social activities.
- Women Out West offer support to all women in a safe, welcoming, and women-only space.
External Resources
- Blackdog Outdoors are a platform for re-connecting people with the great outdoors. info@blackdogoutdoors.co.uk
- GamCare is the leading provider of information, advice, and support for anyone affected by gambling harms.
- Groundwork support local communities and businesses to tackle hardship and achieve a just transition to net-zero.
Helping Hands Partners
- Cumbria Arts and Culture Network is a network for arts and cultural organisations and individual creative practitioners based in, or connected to, Cumbria. They host training and networking sessions and have a fantastic weekly zoom call to celebrate local arts news and to network with a friendly community.
Local Organisations
- Museum Development North provide advice and support to regional museums. Their newsletter does a great job of showcasing their opportunities, from training to networking to job adverts.
External Resources
- The Heritage Alliance provide roundups related to networking, funding opportunities, and industry events.
- MuseumNext put on events that bring together organisations and individuals in the arts and heritage sector to share learning.
- Digital Culture Network provide practical help to the creative and cultural sector through resources and 1:1 support from their tech champions.
Helping Hands Partners
- Cumbria CVS offer help, advice, training, and support to third sector groups across Cumbria. Their website has guidance related to volunteer management, draft policy documents, and a new directory of volunteer opportunities.
External Resources
- NCVO have free online help and guidance about the whole volunteer management process; this includes writing volunteer role descriptions, getting volunteer insurance, and accrediting volunteer learning.
- Reach Volunteering both advertise volunteering roles and provide guides on how to identify what roles your organisation may wish to consider hosting.
- Getting On Board supports charities to recruit and retain a diverse range of trustees, and they support people into charity trusteeship. Their website has a broad range of free resources and guidance on this topic.
- Anti Racist Cumbria – are committed to tackling and ending racism through action and education to create a forward thinking and actively anti-racist Cumbria; free from prejudice and systemic inequalities. Their introductory training sessions are an opportunity for staff and volunteers to begin to understand how anti-racism is relevant to them and the organisations they are part of.
- Chris Van Schaick – Great Writing to Inspire Volunteers – BBC editor Chris van Schaick shares his knowledge on creative, concise writing that inspires! chris@chrisvanschaick.co.uk
- Cumbria CVS – offer training for staff, trustees and volunteers, from ‘Basic Principles of Good Practice in Volunteer Management’ & ‘Basic Principles of Volunteers and the Law.’ To discuss any of the sessions listed call 01768 800350, or email info@cumbriacvs.org.uk.
- Cumbria Deaf Association – Deaf Awareness Training – The sessions are delivered in person by a qualified BSL interpreter, accompanied by one of CDA’s regionally based d/Deaf Community Coordinators. Between them they share a balanced perspective of the experience within the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. The training includes:
Learning about different types of hearing loss and the impact the loss has on the individual
Learning about differing communication needs (somebody who has lost their hearing after having acquired language is different to somebody who is born profoundly deaf and has no English language).
Learning about barriers to communication and tactics to support communication
- Curious Minds – ‘I’m a Teenager, Get me Into There!’ training programme aims to support public-facing staff to feel more confident in their interactions with young people and better able to create a welcoming, inclusive environment for the young people they invite into their building.
- Hub 62 – offer a range of training including ‘Welcome Host Training’ which covers the following in an engaging and supportive environment:
How to make a great first impression and radiate a warm welcome
Handle difficult situations and turn negatives into positives
Listen to customer feedback and bring about positive change
Make a difference to the business through your own actions and approach
- Ramps on the Moon (Michèle Taylor) – Disability Equality Training – Michèle has over 25 years’ experience working in the arts and disability sector and is herself a disabled person. This informs her approach to learning, to evaluation and to inclusion. This interactive session builds confidence so that staff can have appropriate conversations and manage situations to achieve a good outcome. Key content includes looking at stereotypes, statistics, the social model of disability and a brief overview of legal context.
- Triple A – Autism Awareness Training – This session, delivered by the Triple A team, will help you learn more about autism; look at how to recruit and work with the often untapped talent within the autistic community; equip participants with a practical knowledge that can be applied within your organisation.
- The Proud Trust – LGBTQ+ Awareness Training – covers some of the popular and appropriate terminology used to describe different gender identities and sexual orientations. Explores the common myths and misconceptions about sexuality, gender and trans identities. Helps you to identity ways to make your practice and organisation inclusive and accessible for LGBT+ young people, giving you confidence to ask the right questions.
- Helping Hands has also been working with Prism Arts & People First to develop Learning Disability Awareness training – The session aims to raise awareness and understanding of Learning Disabilities in a supportive, informative environment. Co-delivered by a team with lived experience of learning disability and autism this training emphasises the importance of working with and alongside people with LDA.