UP CLOSE: Doreen Smith, operations director of Cheddar charity The Space

Cheddar Nub News aims to be supportive to every element of the community from business and shops to people and charities, clubs and sports organisations.

Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and is desperate to get back to normal.

We are profiling some of these local businesses and groups regularly over coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN CHEDDAR in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for their full return to business as usual.

Today we talk to Doreen Smith, who is the operations director for Cheddar youth mental health charity The Space.

During an in-depth Q and A session she talks about the work she does co-ordinating organisations to help young people in the village, and the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on youth mental health.

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Have you always lived in the Cheddar area and if not, what were the key considerations about moving here?

I don't live in Cheddar but moved to Mark 40 years ago. My children attended the local playgroup and schools, socialised in Cheddar and now my grandchildren are in various schools in the area.

Both my daughters work in schools - one in Kings Academy (now been there longer than anyone else) and the other in Fairlands. So I have had a lot to do in Cheddar over these years personally and professionally.

Tell us a bit about your personal background Doreen and how you ended up becoming operations director of The Space?

My personal background is that my parents moved to Weston when Westland's set up in the late 50s and as my father was an engineer and both parents wanted to give us a better life we moved there when I was four.

I was educated there and following my marriage in the early 70s relocated to Swindon. Missing home and family we moved back and lived in East Huntspill until we moved to Mark.

I ran the local playgroup in Mark and was involved in various community activities. I helped set up what was then a branch of the Pre-school Playgroups Association (PPA) with others from Cheddar and surrounding areas and became their county chair.

I volunteered for many years and I owe my career to this. Rather oddly a number of years later I became a regional executive officer for the Pre-school Learning Alliance (renamed from PPA) once more bringing me into contact with local people that I volunteered with.

I have worked in both the private and public sectors including Somerset County Council but my passion then as it is now is supporting and leading charities. If my work can make a difference to one person then I am happy.

In the main I have been a regional director or chief executive of international, national and county charities providing a wide range of support. This includes mental health, domestic abuse, an umbrella body for North Somerset charities, reflexology and construction.

So my career has been really interesting and diverse. I have enjoyed all of my roles but in particular I ran a community centre in an area of Sedgemoor that faced many challenges.

This also involved supporting children, young people and families which was really satisfying. I met lots of people who, in spite of a poor start in life or facing physical and mental health issues, overcome many obstacles to achieve a happy life for them and their families.

I learnt a lot from them and I have great admiration for those who went on to volunteer to support or work with the most vulnerable in the community.

I became involved in The Space from the beginning helping to write a successful bid for funding and developing the infrastructure for the service. When the project manager left The Space in 2018 I applied for the role and fortunately I was offered the post.

I absolutely love what I do. No two days are the same and it brings me into contact with some amazing and inspirational people.

What do you like about the Cheddar area? How has your role with The Space got you involved in the local community?

Cheddar is a real thriving community with an impressive community spirit. There is always something going on with something for everyone and this is down to those that volunteer or work in Cheddar.

These opportunities for community engagement and social action would not happen unless others took a role.

My role includes working with the Cheddar community to promote The Space but very importantly finding ways of working collaboratively with others. I work with schools, health and social care colleagues, the police, other statutory agencies and colleagues from the voluntary and community sector.

By far the most satisfying aspect is working with others so we can collectively support children and young people. For example, Mendip Rotary are supporting our well-being community garden project and more recently we have been involved with the Arts Quarter where our youth club members produced art work for the Winter Wanderland.

What a fantastic way of coming together to support people in our communities and giving young people a role within community projects.

For 2021 we are launching a telephone listening service for adults and family members who are concerned about their or their family members' mental well-being.

We couldn't provide this without the strong commitment of local people volunteering. This is volunteering at its best.

The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on many businesses and organisations - what impact has it had on your work?

The pandemic has had a significant impact on our free counselling service for children and young people. Requests for support increased considerably and this continues.

As you can imagine for those individuals experiencing poor emotional and mental well-being it is a challenge to cope within normal circumstances let alone living with restrictions. For young people living in a complex environment this adds another aspect to an already difficult situation.

The Space had to quickly respond to new ways of working, expanding our counselling team and moving from face-to-face counselling to providing support online and via telephone. This was a completely new way of working but due to the expertise and commitment of our counsellors we soon began to see the benefit of using different mediums to provide support.

In fact we will continue to offer online and telephone counselling even when we can return face-to-face.

The pandemic has also had a tremendous impact for the parents, carers and families of our young people.

Parents are often at a loss and simply do not know how to support or access support for their child leaving them worried, frustrated and fearful. Every parent will understand this.

Due to the rise in parents wanting support for their child or young person and the many conversations we have had over the last nine months this led us to identifying a need for a listening service for parents and families.

The service will provide a listening ear and guidance on how to access support for themselves and families. The Space teams are really excited at starting this initiative.

What is the best thing about being involved with The Space?

I like working with the schools, volunteers, local organisations and people, and the benefit that this brings to families. It's amazing how the community has responded to our requests for equipment and support.

As we work together we get to know what each other provides by way of services and support and the journey they have been on as individuals or as an organisation.

But the best thing is being able to attract people to volunteer for us who have tremendous skills and expertise to offer. This ranges from our board of trustees to people that help with our social media, well-being garden, staff welfare and help in our youth club.

We have received support from local businesses who support us in various ways and individuals donating money and equipment. We have been so lucky and we acknowledge their support on our website.

The lockdown has been very difficult for many people - how do you think that the Cheddar area has coped?

I think Cheddar copes as best it can and once again local people have volunteered to help others in the community. The Space acquired a number of volunteers through the coronavirus helplines etc.

I think everyone has a very positive attitude - for example no-one is going to do everything for us so we will look after ourselves. It's working.

If there was one thing in the area you would change, what would it be?

I'm not sure that I would change anything, but I would like to see all local community organisations coming together at some point when we return to normal. Not only could we celebrate what we have all done and what we have achieved but what we have learnt.

I would like to see a main community centre or hub in Cheddar where we can bring services, support and activities under one roof.

Cheddar and the area around it is beautiful - what is your favourite place and why?

I find the Gorge interesting. In the winter it's tranquil with none of the usual bustle which I enjoy as I amble around and sit by the water. But equally I like the vibrancy that the holiday season brings.

If you could have a famous person play you in a movie about your life, who would it be and why?

Dame Judy Dench. The parts she generally plays are women who are focused with backbone and determination. In this life I think we all need this.

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You can check out The Space's website here.

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See our other UP CLOSE profiles:

Don Bishop, of Don Bishop Photography in Cheddar

The Somerset Crooner, Draycott farmer Andrew Sheldon

Would you like to be the subject of an UP CLOSE profile or do you know someone who we should feature? Contact [email protected].