Community Neighbourhood Link Workers

Community Neighbourhood Link Workers are here to help residents who are isolated and / or lonely. 

They can refer you into local services to support you with your health and wellbeing. 

They create an action plan with you that can include 

• Referrals into local services
• Getting out to local activities
• Health and wellbeing support.

The team offers up to 6 weeks of 1:1 support.

The team also run Chatty Cafés, Chatty Benches and the Men in Sheds programme. To find out more about these, please take a look at our Connecting with Others page.

Margaret is 80, lives alone; and has arthritis and diabetes. Margaret was referred to the team for a Befriender by a Care Navigator following a hospital admission for a fall at home.

Our team explored with Margaret the areas of her life she would like to improve and discovered that she did not want a befriender, but would like to go out and about in her local area. Margaret’s great passion is meeting new people, chatting and embroidery, as she did this in her youth. We supported Margaret to attend the Embroidery Group in East Ham - taking time to settle her in and introduce her to Group and gave her the encouragement to explore other social activities in the community.

Margaret’s time spent with the Embroidery Group was a turning point, as she went on to attend Chair Based Yoga and Knit and Natter sessions - increasing her network of friends, who all recently went to the Christmas Lunches organised by the Neighbourhoods.

Margaret told us “I feel really happy. I am much more connected in the community and my days are busy all week meeting new people. Thank you for the encouragement”

Jayanti is a 68-year-old widower living on his own. He has the onsets of Alzheimer’s but physically mobile.

A neighbour referred Jayanti to the team after he had a fall. Apart from his son, who visits on weekends to help with shopping, and a cleaner, visiting once a week, he had no other visitors. He would go for walks to his local shops several times a day just for something to do.

Jayanti met with one of our team, who encouraged him to join ‘Singing for the brain’ and ‘Frames of mind’ - he tried his first group and liked it and now regularly attends. We also found Jayanti a volunteer befriender, who takes him to visit the temple he used to go to with his late wife.

Jayanti said at the end of the six weeks intervention that he “no longer feels so alone”.

Angel was keen to get out of the house. She recognised that living alone and not seeing people for long periods of time, was making her feelings of loneliness and her health worse.

She wanted to meet new people, lose weight and feel healthier. Angel met one of our CNLW at her local Library at a drop in and together they agreed an action plan to try new activities together.

After six weeks, Angel had joined Atherton Leisure Centre, was undertaking Xyla Live Well Newham 12 week weight loss Programme and had become a regular at Forest Gate Library get active, get healthy events.

Angel said taking those first steps was the “boost I needed to get out again and I have never felt better”

Make a referral using their online form

Alternatively, you can email  CNLW@newham.gov.uk or contract your local Community Neighbourhood Link Worker: