Supporting and engaging with the community is central to everything we do at Westbank Community Health and Care. Since taking on the role as the charity’s Head of Voluntary and Community Services earlier this year, I have been on a mission to increase awareness of and participation in the wide variety of community services we offer. We at Westbank are also working hard to extend our provision in line with community needs.

Westbank was set up almost 40 years ago in Exminster, where we have our Healthy Living Centre at Farm House Rise and a small community cafe called Coffee On The Corner in the heart of the village. For many years we have also provided several services in the neighbouring village of Starcross. My goal is to make these offerings as good as they can be and, where there’s a need, provide even more. Fortunately, I have fantastic teams of volunteers to help make all this possible.

For starters, Coffee On The Corner has just extended its opening hours from three days a week to four. We are now open Monday to Thursday and have plans to open on Fridays too. We have recently appointed a part-time supervisor to help develop the cafe. She is looking at making the menu more sustainable and ensuring we are in touch with what the community wants. A knitting group and a games group already meet weekly at the cafe, and we are keen to encourage other interest groups. We’re also looking to encourage other groups of users, for example, young mums after school drop off and parents with their children for an ice cream or milkshake after school. Coffee On The Corner is right next to the GP surgery and the village hall, so it’s a great spot from which to signpost people to all of Westbank’s other services. We would like to be able to offer a daily minibus service between Farm House Rise and the cafe to link the two sites more 

Our prices at Coffee On The Corner have remained the same for more than twelve years! We will have to review them, but we want to remain as affordable as possible. Longer term, I want to give the cafe some love, which means investment to update the interior and simplify the counter and table layout to offer extra covers. Ultimately, I want it to be a little window to all that happens at Westbank, a warm and welcoming space for people of all ages to meet over a cuppa, treat themselves to a sandwich or piece of cake, chat and charge their phones if they wish.

We have a smaller set up at the Starcross Pavilion - a drop-in cafe that welcomes about 25-30 locals for our Breakfast Group on Tuesdays. We have a tiny kitchen with a coffee machine where we make bacon baps. People love it. We have a Community Larder in Starcross that’s open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and supports about 200 people a month. We also do home deliveries of emergency food boxes. On Wednesday mornings, there’s table tennis at the Royal British Legion. People make a small donation to play and have a hot drink and a biscuit. It’s a really nice sociable activity. We’re trying to learn from our successes in Starcross what works well and why.

Then there’s our Community Hub at Farm House Rise in Exminster, open Monday - Friday 9 am to 5 pm. Initially set up as our warm winter space, it runs as an open-access space year-round, including a Community Larder and Fridge that anyone can use, regardless of whether the room is in use or not. People can help themselves to food and toiletry items without judgement. The shelves are regularly restocked, however, we are always looking for donations. In another corner we provide comfy seats, a coffee machine, cold water and a kettle to encourage people to pause a while. You can leave a small donation if you want to, but there’s no expectation of payment.

A big part of my role is to increase the group activities we provide and the number of people attending, while reflecting Westbank’s charitable objectives and the community’s needs. We currently have lunch groups twice a week, a Men's Brunch Club on Tuesday mornings and a Ladies’ Hobbies and Crafts in the afternoon. Exminster has a population of 4,000 people and we know there are groups who aren’t represented that we can offer a space to, for example, new dads or dementia-friendly activities. In September, we are starting a volunteer-led art group for teenagers who aren’t regularly attending secondary school to give them a place to socialise. We have access to the results of a comprehensive survey done in the village and are holding focus groups to ask people what else they would like us to offer.

Lastly, we are putting resources into what was previously referred to as Day Care. We have just recruited someone to run it from August, including a relaunch and rebrand to increase numbers. Although numbers are small at the moment it’s an important service for those who still live in their own home, including those with dementia or memory problems, because it can support them to live independently for longer by providing cognitive stimulation and sociable activities, as well as a good 2-course lunch. To our knowledge, no one offers anything like it. We want to make sure people know about all that we offer and that we can provide transport if necessary, not just from Exminster but further afield.

This article was first published in The Moorlander.