Octopus collaborates with Voluntary Action Islington to develop the infrastructure needed to deliver the ambitions for local residents to take a proactive role in tackling health issues in Islington. Wellbeing Networks aims to deliver Fairer Together to build and strengthen the partnership of services working together to tackle inequality and create a fairer Islington. Have a look at the website.

Stay Well, Live Well is a community-led model for reaching out to, and engaging with marginalized communities experiencing health inequalities. It is funded through the National Lottery Partnerships programme with the aim to strengthen partnership and collaborative working.

Members of the Octopus Network stepped up their role as Community Food Hubs during the Covid-19 pandemic by maximising the redistribution of food from farms and the hospitality sector to individuals and families needing support. Food co-ops, luncheon clubs, community cook-ups, and Super Soup events are just some of the ongoing community-led activities to tackle food insecurity.

‘Breathe’ is a stop smoking service which offers people who would like to stop smoking the opportunity to access various levels of support suited to their lifestyle and individual preferences. Octopus has opened five clinics, St Lukes, The Light Project, Hornsey Lane, Walter Sickert and Andover.

In partnership with Islington Council’s Public Health Department, community centres across the Octopus Network have held a number of pop-up Health & Wellbeing events, which include information about Covid-19 vaccinations.

Community Organisers have been employed at three centres to work with communities to encourage vaccination uptake.

In January 2022, eight centres from across the Network came together to host a programme of Super Soup events.

Each event included an activity, ranging from bingo to live music, and a free bowl of soup. Running across the Network, and therefore across the borough enabled these events to reach over 500 Islington residents.

With food justice the focus of 2022’s Community Centre Week, July bought a great opportunity to get together to celebrate summer, our community centres, and the power of food.

Six centres in the Network hosted Community Food Power Picnics across the borough.

Members of Stay Well, Live Well’s Art Cluster came together for a Postcard Project, where local residents created a postcard to celebrate what community means to them.

Hilldrop, Mildmay, Whittington Park, HNG and Caxton House each held exhibitions for the postcards, and all of the artwork is shared together here.

Keep up to date with all of the latest news and events from our Health & Wellbeing Programme here.