This summer, Allerdale Local Focus Hub partners joined forces to deliver four community day events across Allerdale as part of an ongoing multi-agency collaboration known as Operation Respect. 

The Allerdale Local Focus Hub is a partnership between various organisations such as Cumbria Police, Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, Family Action, Cumbria County Council, and local housing associations, Riverside, Home Group, Westfield and Castles and Coasts. 

The events were held at the following locations:

•    Hillside, Maryport – led by Castles and Coasts Housing Association
•    The Oval Community Centre, Salterbeck – led by Riverside
•    Greenacres, Wigton – led by Home Group
•    Windsor Road, Workington – led by Westfield Housing

Representatives from housing associations were on hand at each of the events to provide advice and guidance surrounding housing, homelessness, and financial advice. In addition to this, those who attended the events had the opportunity to discuss how they could access financial support and budgeting advice. 

The housing associations provided skips at each of the events to enable residents to dispose of bulky items they were struggling to get rid of, such as sofas, garden furniture and mattresses.

Representatives from the partnership litter-picked at each of the events, collecting numerous bags of rubbish – creating a cleaner, greener environment for those living in the area. 

At each event, representatives from Allerdale Waste Services and Tivoli were also on hand to help residents dispose of household waste and bulky items. 

There was also a focus on food and fuel hardship at all of four of the community days. 

Representatives from the Hub and Cumbria County Council’s Healthy Start programme issued 50 families with free children’s vitamins and provided further information about how families can benefit further from the programme. In addition to this, 13 women benefitted from the free vitamins initiative across all four events.

Councillor Alan Pitcher, Allerdale Borough Council Executive Member with responsibility for Allerdale Local Focus hub, said: “I’m delighted to see how successful the Operation Respect Community Days have been. They have been a fantastic opportunity for residents to speak with members of Cumbria Police, Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, Cumbria County Council, Allerdale Borough Council, Riverside, Home Group, Castles and Coasts and Westfield about the issues they are experiencing in their area, how they can access financial advice, and how the partnership can help them in resolving the issues they are experiencing. 

“Having skips on hand at each event has enabled residents to get rid of bulky waste clogging up their homes. Activities and community days such as the Operation Respect events are incredibly important and make up part of the council’s pledge to create a ‘cleaner, greener Allerdale’.”

Emma Thompson, Allerdale Borough Council’s Senior Manager for Community Safety and Resilience said: “All four of the Operation Respect events have been incredibly successful. It has been fantastic to see partners from across the Allerdale Local Focus Hub coming together and engaging with members of the public about fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour, housing, homelessness, financial advice, and health and wellbeing.” 

“I would like to thank all our partners for their overwhelming support across all four of the Operation Respect Community Days held this summer. The Allerdale Local Focus Hub have engaged with hundreds of members of the public across all four events, including multiple groups of children from local schools, providing important advice and guidance regarding the partnership’s services and how they can better care for their communities. 

“Events of this kind really benefit our communities and I’m incredibly grateful for the help that all of the partner organisations provided to ensure that we reached as many people as possible. Operation Respect has been an ongoing initiative, lasting over 18 months. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to engage with members of the public and I look forward to working with the partnership in continuing the promotion of positive behaviours throughout the borough.”