Community Roots LSCFT has two sites, one based at in Preston and one in Burnley. Alongside these sites, we also have online courses for those who are unable to travel.
Our Online course material was developed during the Covid-19 pandemic and offers an accessible option for people taking an interest in their wellbeing. Our courses are run via Microsoft Teams (or occasionally Zoom for partner activity) and the session links will be e-mailed to you in advance of the sessions. Don’t worry if you’re not an expert with technology, we are always here to help. You can click here to view a handy Microsoft Teams guide to help you but please don’t hesitate to call us on 01772 695 365 if you’re still unsure.
Our Deepdale site was opened in April 2022 and is situated within the old Minerva Health Centre Cafe. It is located on the site of Preston North End FC football stadium, and we have excellent links to the local community as well as a large free car park. We are close to several bus routes and have our own entrance with disabled access. We also have tea and coffee available which is free of charge and we are registered as a warm hub, so anyone is welcome to pop in for a brew and a chat during our opening hours.
We have a wide variety of well-being opportunities on offer, including our own co-produced, lived experience-led offer as well as our partner activity that also takes place here. Our local connections also mean that we can signpost you to other opportunities taking place nearby, so whatever you fancy, we will do our best to help. The majority of our courses are run in a hybrid format, so if you can’t make it in person on the day, you can still join us online via MS Teams.
Our opening times are Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 4.30pm and you can call us on 01772 695 365.
The CHAI project started in 2004, in part as a response to the racial disturbances in Burnley in 2001. At the time, the local area was also suffering from health and social problems including high levels of illness and substance misuse, poor access to health and fitness provisions and social exclusion.
Funding was developed by a partnership between the East Lancashire Primary Care NHS Trust and the Big Lottery Fund, the Centre was set up to address these issues by improving quality of life, reducing health inequalities and promoting social cohesion in the local community.
Since its opening in 2004, the CHAI Centre has increased access to services across the community, especially amongst women wanting to address issues such as post-natal depression, weight loss and domestic violence.
The centre is focused on the intersections between people, place, culture, heritage and creativity. Recently introduced locality, place and neighbourhood models will help us to build on local assets, co-production and imaginatively evidenced work that is owned by communities, enabling innovative cross-sector partnerships and organisations to collectively reimagine their civic and social offers.
The centre will support people across the locality by:
• Re-launch of wider offer providing a community-based place hub for all ages
• Deliver a face to face and online programme of learning and support for individuals to address their well-being and recovery needs
• Develop shared community space to enhance the delivery of leisure, employment, friendship, addressing loneliness, digital, and volunteering and peer support opportunities within accessible and environmentally welcoming hubs
• Deliver specialist training, advice, consultation and signposting through a co-production framework and through wider system partnerships across all relevant sectors
• To offer specific workforce well-being support in line with the Trust People Plan
• Support individuals and communities to grow in resilience through sustainable community assets
• Support members of the local community to access volunteering opportunities as well as access to work and information on health care careers
We hope to achieve all this through sophisticated collaborations and wide-ranging partnerships, learning from the centre pasts reputation to inform all our futures.
