An initiative which recruits local people to become trusted sources of public health information within their communities has been relaunched.
Durham County Council’s public health team is looking for people from across County Durham who are passionate about supporting the health and wellbeing of others to become County Durham Together Community Champions.
The project was originally set up during the pandemic, known then as Covid Community Champions, as a way to share trusted information and provide credible feedback to the team on Covid related issues.
Cllr Chris Hood, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for adults and health services, said: “During the pandemic, our community champions were vital in helping us connect with and share important information within our communities.
“Although the need for a response to Covid has gone, there are still other health and wellbeing issues affecting our communities and as we move away from Covid, we would like to continue working with community champions to address some of these wider issues.”
The programme will recruit a network of volunteer champions from across the county to share information, address barriers and improve connections between services and communities.
Maria Skoumpopoulou started volunteering as a community champion to gain experience of working in the public sector after she moved to the UK from Greece.
Maria said: “This role helped me to work as part of a team and I feel more confident by taking part in their activities.
“I truly believe that if someone has an interest in community matters and wants to gain experience and interact positively or online with other community groups, then the friendly and supportive community champions team should definitely be their choice”.
The champions will provide support around issues such as tobacco, alcohol, physical activity, poverty, mental health and health protection.
They will be supported with regular updates, resources and free training.
Cllr Hood added: “Becoming a Community Champion will help you connect with other people and learn new skills all whilst giving back to others in your community.”
Volunteers don’t need to have any prior experience in health. They just need to be over 18, live in County Durham and be willing to share public health information with their friends, family, and people they know in the community.
