This initiative is spearheaded by Thames Valley Police (TVP) with the aim of bringing the community together to work towards safe and secure outcomes for local communities. TVP recognise that although the demand for public services has increased, funding has severely decreased and this has created pressures across the sectors.

Joining the Dots (JTD) is about locals getting together to create joint working opportunities, where business and community leaders can reduce duplication and discover creative, sustainable solutions thereby getting the best from everyone and putting something back into the community.

In August 2017 WCDA met with JTD and were subsequently invited to an event in October 2017. We were fortunate to have Kirsty Wilson director of Connect Reading as our ongoing mentor with this process.

In October, with a number of other organisations, Trisha presented the aims and aspirations of WCDA to the room of business and community leaders and we were able to talk in detail with various organisations. We were grateful to receive pledges of support from the likes of McDonald's and Royal Berkshire Hospital. This process has provided us with useful connections for various projects including supporting our cafe staff and our building better opportunities local hospitality project/

We are proud to be a part of this as it is a vital step in raising awareness of the community sector and the community development approach to working towards positive outcomes in and with communities.

Our key activity is to now provide training and awareness sessions for partners who would like to involve the community in their work.

Check our upcoming training opportunities for more details.