Last week, I was invited to join Frome Selwood Rotary on one of their Zoom meetings. They’ve been kind enough to offer me an Honorary membership during my period of office and I was delighted to meet them along with another speaker, from FROGS, who talked about all the wonderful work they’ve done, particularly with their project at the Welshmill play area.
Also last week, Viv Whittaker, a Project Officer at Frome Town Council hosted one of many meetings about Vocational Training in Frome, gathering together all those who can help with understanding training requirements and apprenticeships, and those who can offer opportunities for work. There are some great ideas coming out of these meetings, and by working closely with educational establishments and young peoples’ groups, as well as all the experts in their field, we’re hoping there will be plenty of avenues that will help to get people well trained and into the workplace, so watch this space.
As some of you will know, I’m passionate about the fight against homelessness, and I’ve been involved in a small workstream looking at making better use of existing housing. Others are looking at homelessness itself, (including the hidden homeless who are still living at home or sofa surfing), and a third group is looking at the relationships between landlords and tenants to understand ways we can help it improve. If you’d like to know more about this go to: https://www.facebook.com/fairhousingforfrome
It was so good to see the Westway Precinct bustling on my walkabout this week, the people and the vibe created by those sitting outside drinking coffee was tangible. Last week a gentleman stopped me and asked if we could arrange to put a bench in place for those waiting for a bus at the temporary bus stop in Cork St. Well I’m pleased to say, thanks to FTC and our lovely Rangers team, no sooner said than done and it was great to see it in use as I walked past this week!
I’m taking some time off this week, so Andy Wrintmore, Deputy Mayor will be writing my column next week and holding the fort for me until I get back. So, until next time, please stay well and safe.
