An initiative which recruits local people to become trusted sources of public health information within their communities has been relaunched.
Durham County Council’s public health team is looking for people from across County Durham who are passionate about supporting the health and wellbeing of others to become County Durham Together Community Champions.
The project was originally set up during the pandemic, known then as Covid Community Champions, as a way to share trusted information and provide credible feedback to the team on Covid related issues.
The programme will recruit a network of volunteer champions from across the county to share information, address barriers and improve connections between services and communities.
Maria Skoumpopoulou started volunteering as a community champion, to gain experience of working in the public sector, after she moved to the UK from Greece.
Maria said: “This role helped me to work as part of a team and I feel more confident by taking part in their activities. I truly believe that if someone has an interest in community matters and wants to gain experience and interact positively, or online with other community groups, then the friendly and supportive community champions team should definitely be their choice.”
The champions will provide support around issues such as tobacco, alcohol, physical activity, poverty, mental health and health protection. They will be supported with regular updates, resources and free training.
Volunteers don’t need to have any prior experience in health. They just need to be over 18, live in County Durham and be willing to share public health information with their friends, family and people they know in the community.
For more information on how to become a community champion, visit www.durham.gov.uk/cdtcommunitychampions