Hillfields Park Centre

Providing a centre for the community of Hillfields

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BACKGROUND

What Hillfields Park Baptist is doing for the community and why it needs space!

The Hillfields estate near Fishponds, Bristol has become a forgotten place. Sadly, over the last few years a number of community schemes and projects have closed leaving many people in this area without much needed services and opportunities to meet.  These include:

1)      Older people’s lunches and keep fit classes

2)      Youth facilities

3)      The baby and toddler group

This has happened despite there being a lot of local crime with many young people under the age of 10 being involved. Key issues amongst young people are violence, vandalism, truanting, drug taking and alcohol abuse.  Hillfields is no longer the Housing estate it was set up to be at the end of World War I.

To answer these needs Hillfields Park Baptist church is endeavouring to provide as many community activities as they are able, including some which local council funding has previously supported.

Hillfields Park Baptist church consists of a single church hall with three small meeting rooms; its current weekly activities consist of:

·       a young mums group,

·       dance group

·       keep fit classes

·       Luncheon club

·       youth club (including football team)

Over the past 3 years the space within the church building is becoming limited and the running of these programs more difficult as they are so popular and clearly fulfil a need.  We have had to open the luncheon club up two days to meet the demand and the keep fit classes are oversubscribed.

Because of the current demand and our vision to expand what we do with the community we decided 2 years ago to embark on a project to build a new centre next to our current church building.

 Timeout coffee mornings, held every Wednesday. The group has a cafe as well as a mums and baby group. The group has over 30 mums attending and cannot receive anymore. The Luncheon Club is held twice a week and sees over 40 older people attend the meal. It is the only over 50 community event in Hillfields.
Leap of faith dance group is held Wednesday evenings, it is a dance group for girls who get to perform at specific events during the year. The group has around 10 girls. Alton Towers with the Brijj youth club, which is held on a Friday evening. The club sees over 30 young people from the local area attend.
The youth community work through urban Action was recognised and rewarded by the local police department. In the Pink over 50's keep fit is every Friday morning. It is so well attended that no further members can be accepted.
The young people collecting rubbish on the Urban Action week in August 2007. Hillfields Park Baptist FC is a team made up of young men from the local area the team has been running for 2 years now and last year won their first silverware.
The 2007 Youth Holiday in Cornwall saw over 30 young people attend the week. The Youth football team is a work in progressed but it is hoped in the near future that a  team can be entered into the league.