New App will leave you dancing with joy!

Sovereign Housing Association have joined 18 organisations in West Berkshire to trial a new App to connect people and communities.

Have you wondered which organisation to turn to for support in your community?

Joy is a social prescribing tool that links residents with organisations within the community.

Rachel Peters, Community Development Officer, Sovereign said: “The Joy App is fully inclusive and as it can be used by all residents and community organisations, it is a great tool for quickly and directly linking up with professionals who can support them with their needs in their community. We hope that it will encourage residents to self refer themselves too.”

Although Joy has been running for some time in other regions including Devon and London, the App has only recently been introduced in West Berkshire, thanks to support from Sovereign and 18 other local organisations.

Projects include Sport in Mind, Strong and Wild and Newbury Soup Kitchen to name but a few.

Joy works like a marketplace for local organisations to help promote their projects and connect those projects with the people who they are intended for. “It makes referral pathways a lot easier and more efficient and gives residents the ability to self serve,” said Rachel.

Joy has been around for just three years and has successfully been launched in nine regions up and down the country, from Devon to Cumbria. Working with  over 1,000 organisations they have offered support to more than 100,000 customers by providing access to local services.

A few weeks into its trial and the App is already proving a hit. The pilot runs until the end of June, so whether you’re looking for advice with money matters, bereavement services or health & wellbeing why not check out the Joy App.