Support For Your Community

Support For Your Community

Have a look at what support is available for your community, organisation or yourself!

Launching Soon: Safe Space – Sitting with Grief

A Peer Support Group for Young People Bereaved by Suicide

The Violet Project CIO is introducing a new initiative in Coventry: Safe Space – Sitting with Grief, a peer support group designed for 15–19-year-olds who have lost someone to suicide. We understand that traditional counselling isn’t always the right fit immediately after such a loss. This group offers an alternative—a safe, inclusive environment to share experiences and begin to make sense of grief alongside others who truly understand.

About the Group

Location: CV1 3BY, Coventry (details provided upon acceptance)
Schedule: Fortnightly Tuesdays, 4:45–6:15 pm, over 24 weeks (12 sessions)
Led by: Violet Project CIO team, supported by two young peer volunteers with lived experience

What’s Included:

Group grief coaching to explore emotions and build resilience
Creative reflection activities (memory journals, grief boxes, art-based expression)
Private peer support group for ongoing connection
Trauma-informed facilitation ensuring emotional safety, empowerment, and choice

Our aim is to meet young people where they are in their grief, providing community and connection that complement—or sometimes precede—formal therapeutic support.

Referrals and self-referrals welcome.
For more information or to discuss suitability:
📧 info@violetproject.co.uk
🔗 Suicide Bereavement CYP | Violet Project CIO

Please note: As this is a self-funded pilot, priority will be given to those experiencing sibling or parent loss if demand exceeds available spaces.

The Highlife Centre in Barras Green is leading the way in supporting marginalised groups in Coventry

The Highlife Centre in Barras Green, Coventry, is grassroots, place-based organisation led by people with lived experience to support local, disadvantaged individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds to develop and grow. Our goal is to enable our beneficiaries to become confident and productive giving them a sense of purpose and access to resources that could turn their aspirations into reality making positive changes to their lives so they can achieve their full potential.

We have three main strands of focus: Business and Enterprise Support, Community Development and Youth Vision. Youth Vision is where young people are able to be mentored and work their way up to securing paid employment. The service allows them to try out new ideas and work collaboratively with guidance and support when necessary. Young people get to learn business and event management, leadership and team skills.

Our community development work addresses the issue of isolation in the community. We offer wellbeing groups and a weekly coffee morning for locals to meet new people, have a chat, play some games, pop in and see what we do every Wednesday 10-Noon.

Our Business and Enterprise development team support local businesses in taking their business to the next level with tailored business support and bi- monthly “Links 4 Business” sessions where likeminded people can network and gain access to resources and support to develop and grow their business.

Additional services that we offer:

- Affordable hall and meeting space hire based in the heart of Coventry to fit up to 80 people

- A professional kitchen space for hire with discounted rates.

- A music studio for hire with professional equipment.

For further information or to book onto our services please visit our website https://www.thehighlife.org/

Digital Champions Network

#CovConnects is currently offering a free digital inclusion resource to partners across the city.

To support you in helping residents with their digital skills, #CovConnects can help you to access the Digital Champions Network.

What is the Digital Champions Network?

The Digital Champions Network from social enterprise Digital Unite is a ready-made framework that provides everything you need to feel confident in helping others on their digital journey.

Through the online platform, you can access:

· 25+ Bite sized online learning courses – all CPD accredited

· Hundreds of curated resources, session plans and training tips

· Easy to use tools to monitor progress and measure impact

· Online community spaces with regular meet-ups to improve skills and share ideas

· And more!

How do I access the Digital Champions Network?

Accessing the Digital Champions Network is easy!

To start, complete this short Microsoft Form to express your interest. (Less than 5 mins to complete).

From there, a member of the #CovConnects Team will reach out to support you to access the online platform and go through any questions you might have.

For any immediate questions on the Digital Champions Network – reach out to Ramona at Ramona.McGarry@coventry.gov.uk

Coventry City Council Heritage Survey

Coventry City Council is working to produce a Heritage Strategy for Coventry, and we need your thoughts.

There is no single definition of heritage, and it may mean something different to each of us, but at its core is the rich and diverse history of the city and people of Coventry. Whether it dwells in our iconic historic buildings, our museums, or in the stories and traditions of our communities, heritage is a valuable resource that we want to protect, celebrate and sustain.

Successfully managed heritage has the power to enrich on many levels, looking to the past to support a growing and progressive city of the future. We will all have our own ideas about what is most important, and your help with this survey will ensure that we capture your views. Your contribution will help shape the strategy, for the benefit of Coventry and its residents.

Some readers may have contributed to our last Heritage survey, carried out in 2020. The strategy will build on insights from this survey, along with the new information gathered through this survey to help us understand how views and priorities have evolved in recent years. Deadline for responses is 16 December 2025.

link to the live survey Heritage Strategy Survey 2025 | Let's Talk Coventry

How your Council Tax is Working for You

It’s easy to link Council Tax to visible services like waste collection or road repairs. In fact, the money is spread much more widely, supporting residents in many ways. Every pound of Council Tax supports local services people rely on.

Here’s how every pound of Council Tax is shared out, whatever the size of your bill.

· 38p for adult social care – helping older residents and people with disabilities live safely and with dignity, often in their own homes.

· 31p for children’s services – protecting children, supporting families and giving young people the best start in life.

· 12p for city services – repairing potholes, collecting bins and keeping our streets and green spaces clean.

· 8p on education and skills – providing opportunities to learn new skills, libraries to visit and help with securing a job.

· 7p on housing and communities – promoting arts and culture in the city and helping the most vulnerable into a safe and secure homes.

· 4p on policing and equalities – keeping you and your families safe.

Some services are easy to see, like bins on the kerbside or improvements to high streets and public spaces. Others happen in the background but are no less important. Council Tax helps support both. The Council is there when people face life’s toughest challenges.

· For one resident, adult social care funding means a daily visit from a carer so they can continue living at home.

· For someone who has lost their job, housing support can prevent homelessness and provide advice on finding somewhere stable to live.

· For children at risk, specialist teams provide protection and support when it’s needed most.

Your Council Tax also contributes to services that many residents rarely see but almost everyone benefits from. The Council delivers hundreds of services that impact on the lives of Coventry’s residents, visitors and businesses.

Services like food safety inspections carried out by environmental health officers make sure restaurants and takeaways meet hygiene standards. Or the work of registrars, who conduct thousands of appointments each year to record births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships.

Teams tackling issues such as pest control, preventing infestations from becoming a wider public health issue, and trading standards, keeping counterfeit and unsafe products out of local shops, may not always be visible, but they are no less vital to daily life in the city. These are just a handful of the hundreds of services that keep the city running and support people at every stage of life.

For more information on Council Tax and how Coventry City Council is working for you, visit: https://www.coventry.gov.uk/workingforyou