For many years, voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations have been providing activities and services which improve people’s overall health and wellbeing and connect them to their local communities. Taking place between 4 and 11 March, Social Prescribing Week – and #SocialPrescribingDay on 10 March – is a great opportunity to celebrate social prescribing, and recognise the positive impact that local community groups and projects have on people and communities.

Social prescribing is not a new concept and it’s becoming increasingly important, in particular during changes to lives as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we come out of the crisis, it is becoming apparent that more and more people are needing personal help to reconnect, get out and about and get involved in activities. The VCSE sector and its diverse volunteer base are providing help in all manner of ways.

Our Social Prescribing and Community Based Support toolkit provides an overview of what social prescribing is and how VCSE organisations can best prepare themselves to respond to community referrals and introductions from the health and social care system. It contains links to free resources, and the downloadable checklists can be used as working self-assessment documents to help organisations as they work to improve people’s overall health and wellbeing, and help them to connect with their local communities.