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The Go4it! project is coming to an end after four years.

The project has supported families in and around Rhondda Cynon Taff to live more active and healthy lifestyles.

It was funded by Sport Wales, Families First, Jehu, Morganstone and the Arts Council of Wales has helped over 100 families to improve their health and wellbeing.

Laura Perry, former Go4it! programme manager said: “Over the years, we’ve given support to help reduce any barriers that families face that prevent them from living a healthy and active lifestyle.

“Rhona, our dietician, worked one to one with families to make small sustainable changes to their diets. She also held larger group sessions in the communities we support.

“We want to say a massive thank you to all of the families who have been involved in the project over the years and the organisations that supported us”

Go4it! worked with families by performing a series of home visits called ‘Sofa Coaching’. These visits help to build relationships with the families so that the team can work closely alongside them to help them achieve their goals.

83% of people that engaged with Go4it! felt more confident in taking part in physical activity and 100% showed a positive change in attitude after stress relief sessions.

Rhiannon from Mountain Ash received support from Go4it! for her and her family. She said: “I heard about Go4it! through a friend of mine. At the time I was in a bit of a bad place with post-natal depression, which contributed to problems with my weight. I met with Laura in my home and she made me feel at ease straight away.

“My first session was a cookery class with all of the family. We used fresh ingredients to make a stir fry which was healthy, delicious and very cheap too.

“We’ve done so many new things through the programme, including bush craft, staying away in a caravan alongside other families on the programme and lots of fun activities that got us active and thinking more about how we can lead healthier lives. I’m happier and the children are definitely happier, Go4it! was wonderful.”

The Go4it! team also delivered a variety of sports taster sessions within local community settings to promote sport and physical activities which are available locally.

Barbara Protheroe from Rhydyfelin is blind and has hearing issues. She recently took part in a six week series of healthy living sessions with Go4it!.

Barbara said: “Because of my sight and hearing problems, people quite often say I can’t do things but the Go4It! team never did. I visited my local community centre and did activities such as Zumba, Pilates and netball. I even got a bull’s eye when we did archery!”

The project will come close at the end of March due to the completion of the funding streams.

Read Go4it! waves goodbye after four years of supporting families across RCT…

One of Trivallis’ sheltered schemes welcomed more than 50 people for its first Social Friday session for local tenants aged 60 and over.

Gwuanrupperra Close in Llantrisant was jam packed one afternoon in February where a number of tenants from different Trivallis schemes in the Taff area popped along to play bingo, take part in a general knowledge quiz and enjoy homemade cakes, tea and coffee.

Sharon Davies is a Senior Scheme Coordinator at Trivallis. Her work involves looking after a number of different schemes, ensuring the tenants have what they need and supporting them where necessary with any questions or queries they might have.

“The idea came from our Tenant Representative meeting. The tenants suggested organising something where everyone could mix together so we started planning,” Sharon explained.

“It was nice to get everyone together for the afternoon. All of the tenants mixed really well together and it was great to see them talking to other people and finding out what the other schemes are doing – they’re still talking about the event now!”

The afternoon was so busy, extra chairs were needed in the lounge area. Three tenants living in Gwaunruppera Close helped Sharon to organise and run the event. Ron, Carol and Shirley were responsible for different parts of the afternoon session that ran from 1.00pm until 4.30pm.

Shirley took charge in the kitchen, making all of the teas and coffees and handing out the homemade treats. She said: “It was a lovely day and lots of people came. It was nice to hear everyone laughing and joking with one another. It’s exciting talking to people from other schemes.”

Carol added: “So many people have asked us to do it again. What was nice is that there was no awkwardness; everyone got along great!”

From the success of this one event Sharon, Ron, Carol and Shirley are planning to run more sessions; possibly quarterly.

Everyone received an invitation and was encouraged to come along - not just Trivallis tenants. During the previous session over half a dozen people from within the local community attended and took part in the quiz and bingo which had a full house prize of almost £60.

“When you move into schemes like this you can sometimes lose touch with the outside world; that’s why it’s so important to organise social sessions,” Ron explained.

“A lot of people don’t go out so it’s nice to organise things that are right on their doorstep.”

Trivallis’ sheltered housing allows all tenants who are aged 60+ to continue living independently in their own apartment or bungalow, but it still gives them the ability to socialise with their neighbours in the communal lounge, kitchen and other facilities.

The next event has been scheduled for Friday 27 April in Gwuanruppera Close, Llantrisant. This scheme is in a central location, has one of the largest lounge areas and also has a car park. Add this date to your diary, if you would like to test your general knowledge skills or take part in a round or two of bingo at a small cost.

Read Social Friday success in Trivallis’ sheltered schemes…

An event held in Trebanog, brought together those who live in the area with organisations that have worked to develop the outdoor space around Waen Wen Community Centre. These ‘capital works’ form part of the wider Trebanog Project, which has been heralded as ‘an outstanding approach to regeneration.’

The Trebanog Project is part of Ideas : People : Places, an Arts Council Wales funded initiative exploring how arts practice can influence regeneration. It was delivered in partnership with Trivallis, Valleys Kids and Artes Mundi.

Tracey Cooke, Trivallis' senior regeneration programmes manager, said: “The Trebanog Project is an example of partner organisations working together with the community to achieve great things.

“We were experiencing significant anti-social behaviour issues in the area including fly tipping, dog fouling and people using scrambler motorcycles around the community centre. We needed to address these issues with a different approach and this is where The Trebanog Project was born. The capital works followed 2 years of work and creative conversations with the community.

“Funding from Arts Council of Wales meant that we have been able to invite internationally renowned artists Owen Griffiths, Nils Norman, Rabab Gazoul  and Lucy and Jorge Orta to work with people of all ages in the community to help shape what they wanted to see from the regeneration and future projects in the area. The result has been a truly engaged community, who are at the heart of every decision made for how the area looks and works.”

Features of the capital works included replacement and alteration of the boundary walls around the community centre, widening and extending of the footpaths and the development of seating areas and growing areas for use by the community groups in Trebanog. An art installation by Studio Orta features cloud seating designed to allow people to sit and enjoy the view from Trebanog over the valley.

Tracey added: “Intervention Services LTD was the nominated contractor for the capital works. They used direct local labour for the project and have worked tirelessly through tough weather conditions to get the works finished on time. We are so proud of this project that will make a real difference to the lives of people living in Trebanog.”

During the event, children and their families were invited to explore the newly developed space through an Easter egg hunt. Over 70 people took part in the activity, which was conducted by Mike and Roz who work at the centre.

Evie Jones is 11 years old and from Trebanog, she said: “Before any work had been done in the area, people didn’t appreciate it. Now the work has been done it looks really nice and I think this will make a lot more people come outside and enjoy the space. They’ll look after it and respect it a lot more.”

Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales spoke to guests about how the regeneration project was a great example of doing things differently. The Commissioner said: “Described as a ‘space for social learning, creativity and inclusion’ the Trebanog Project is an exceptional example of all the things the Well-being of Future Generations Act envisages.

“Working with the community the project brought different perspectives into  how previously disused and dreary space could be developed. It gave the people of Trebanog the opportunities to get involved in arts and culture along the way and draw on the skills of talented artists and the internationally acclaimed Artes Mundi

“It’s also great example of all seven of the Act’s well-being goals in action; not just the goal of a vibrant culture, but those things that might not be so obvious: greater community cohesion through volunteering and meeting new people, equality of access to experiences for kids, greater prosperity through new skills, and the long-lasting health benefits of making new friends and gaining confidence.”

Sian Tomos, director of enterprise & regeneration at the Arts Council of Wales, said: “Our Ideas: People: Places programme has allowed us to work with different partners such as housing associations and people in their neighbourhoods to make their ideas about the places where they live, work and play a reality.

“They have achieved extraordinary things in Trebanog and we are so proud of what the talented team of artists have achieved.  We hope that this will encourage others to embrace the role that creativity and the arts have in improving the quality of people’s lives.”

The event finished with free family fun where members of the community were able to explore the new capital works with hot dogs and snacks. The centre managers provided free use of the bouncy castles for the children on behalf of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.

Read Trebanog community comes together to celebrate the launch of new ‘capital works’…

 

The Trebanog Project

Join us to celebrate the official opening of The Trebanog Project

Thursday 22nd March 2018 4:00pm - 6:00pm Waun Wen Community Centre, CF39 9LX The Trebanog Project is an Arts Council of Wales Ideas: People, Places partnership project between Trivallis, Valleys Kids and Artes Mundi, which explores ideas of regeneration through art practice.   With talks from Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, and Tracey Cooke, Senior Regeneration Programme Manager at Trivallis, you will get an insight to #TheTrebanogProject and what it has achieved.  Food and drinks will be provided for children and nibbles for the adults.  We have an Easter Egg Hunt and bouncy castles and it's free entry for all the family. This project includes the work of artists Owen Griffiths, Nils Norman, Jorge & Lucy Orta and Rabab Ghazoul.

Read The Trebanog Project - official community launch…

Due to the adverse weather conditions, our Aberdare office will be closed to the public today (Monday 19th March).

We hope to have the office open as soon as possible and have made this decision with the safety of customers and staff in mind. 

For the time being, we are operating an emergency repairs service only. This means we are only able to respond to genuine emergencies, such as:

• No heating, lighting or power – use our condense pipe heating tip and check with your supplier for electric in the first instance
• Blocked toilets where there is only one in your home
• Water on electrics
• Burst pipes 

If you are having any of these problems please call

Trivallis: 03000 030 888

Welsh Water: 0800 052 0130

Gas: 0800 111 999

Electricity: 0800 052 0400

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council: 01443 452011

If you or others are in immediate danger and require the services of the Police, Fire Services or Ambulance you must always call 999. If you need the services of the Police for an incident that is less urgent please call 101.

Read Our Aberdare Office is Closed Today (Monday 19th March)…