What is it?

This toolkit (shared here in draft) was developed by colleagues in Hackney and Newham teams and seeks to share the methods, approaches and outputs delivered as part of the ‘Preventing Residents from Reaching Crisis’ project, to make it easier for other boroughs wishing to emulate this approach.

Why did we create it?

During the Covid pandemic, many residents’ needs were exacerbated and boroughs experimented with a range of new ways of working within their organisations and with local and voluntary organisations to address those needs before escalating.

The ‘Preventing Residents from Reaching Crisis’ project sought to explore the role and effectiveness of a range of solutions in preventing vulnerable residents from reaching crisis and build on the range of new and improved relationships with internal services and community partners to identify needs and intervene early.

It was conducted by Hackney and Newham Councils in the first half of 2021 and was funded by the London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI), as part of its Covid Innovation Fund. The fund sought to support the borough’s efforts in tackling Covid related challenges and you can read more about it and what it sought to achieve here.

Who should use it?

The toolkit has been created for use by colleagues in customer-facing roles in Councils.

Each section outlines guidance and practical tips for running workshops with staff, designing technical solutions for finding and signposting residents to relevant services etc.