Welcome to LivesthroughFriends
Taking the Wrong Turning
For how much longer will our policy makers fail to recognise the crucial importance of community work - both as a key strand of social work and as a focus for meaningful participatory democracy - in pursuit of a Good Society? See Bob's analysis in this article penned for The Common Platform and Deeper Democracy
AN OVERARCHING FRAMEWORK TO RE-KILTER THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CITIZENS AND THE STATE
Have your say and help us radically change the direction of community and social services policy throughout the UK.
We would welcome your insights.
Register for Strengths-Based Practice Study Group - November 8th
To register go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/strengths-based-practice-study-group-wales-west-tickets-37808466140
View the Programme here:
Save the Date - Strengths-Based Practice Study Group
Our next Study Group Event will be hosted by Gwent Archives in Ebbw Vale on Wednesday 8th November - 0945 - 1530.
There's still time to add your story/issue to an exciting agenda including social prescribing, work with 14 - 25 year olds with additional needs, and community development in a Carers' context. Registration will be launched in September. As always this is co-produced and free!
SCIE seems to think that Co-production is all about services - Bob Disagrees
We think that co-production is just essential good practice - a recognition that institutions and professionals are there to support and advise but, only in extremis ever take over someone else's life...
Grassroots Community Work - a Parish Council responds to the impact consumerism, and austerity
See Bob's blog - he'll be following the progress of this initiative every couple of months for the coming year.
IS BREXIT AN OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OUT SOCIAL CARE?
See LivesthroughFriends' analysis and proposed solutions at Is Brexit an Opportunity to Sort Out Social Care? | Publications by A-Z | Library | The Centre for
Welfare Reform
Pre-Election Analysis re 'Care'
The Alliance for Camphill asked Bob to write something for their blog. You can view it at https://www.facebook.com/allianceforcamphill/posts/447819992229230
Enjoy!
THE GREEN BOOK - Caring for Each Other Sustainably
Written by Bob Rhodes, with emotive contributions from Colin Campbell and Ken Davies, it explores the crisis in care in the UK through the media of stories, questions, opinions, poems, rhymes and songs. It strives to get beyond reason - to make you laugh and cry. Describing the book, Richard Davis writes: We are at many crossroads, we need above all to change the way we think. As Ackoff said, we won’t make progress by doing the wrong things righter. This book is a challenge to current thinking but neither is it a prescription for the warm and woolly. The consequences would be a better society and a cheaper one. Do you want to be strong and different or weak and similar?
To purchase a copy simply CLICK HERE TO Buy Now using PayPal
Much More to Life than Services is available in ebook format - from all the usual on-line sources.
You could download it now at
Have you read Much More to Life than Services?
by Bob Rhodes, LivesthroughFriends Co-Director, Much More to Life than Services was published in 2010:
Much More to Life than Services...asks our social care professionals to use their skills, resources and knowledge to help people to come together and "visualise, plan and implement their own support". The book is a means to an end, a brilliant and sharp reminder to bring about a culture change for the better.
Martin Simon (Chief Executive - Time Banking UK).You can purchase a copy of Much More To Life Than Services through PayPal using the BUY NOW button below.
Our goals are simple but challenging:
- To contribute to the evolution of the personalisation thrust and the restoring of power in respect of social welfare to individuals, families and communities
- To demonstrate the necessity and viability of a wide diversity of initiatives to not only support people to successfully self-direct but also, and as importantly, to effect a culture change in favour of self-reliance and reciprocity
- Through local action
- To raise grassroots awareness of the opportunities on offer and support people and organisations to grasp them
- To constructively criticise initiatives that unnecessarily retain power and control in the hands of public bureaucracies
- To contribute to the emergence of a movement of people who believe that there‘s more to life than services.