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Oxleas was delighted to be part of the South London Listens Health Justice Assembly uniting the communities of South London with health and local authority colleagues to work together to improve the health of local people.

The event at St George's Cathedral in Southwark involved nearly 1000 people from Be Well community hubs, Be Well schools and other local community organisations. It was organised by South London Citizens and South London Listens of which Oxleas is a founding partner. Their work seeks to use community organising to tackle the root causes of poor health and develop solutions together.

During the evening, the creation of nearly 100 Be Well hubs which support members' wellbeing across South London was celebrated alongside the development of more inclusive health services. The work health organisations and local authorities are doing to support our communities by being Living Wage employers was highlighted.

Humaira Saleem, Community Leader and Assembly Co-Chair, welcomed the progress:

We have today witnessed the extraordinary power of connection, the strength that emerges when communities stand together as one - alongside the NHS and local authorities. We've also celebrated the powerful Be Well work done together - a radically relational approach to tackling isolation and supporting our communities’ wellbeing.

This Assembly was the living voice of South London citizens working with South London Listens, a mosaic of many communities, standing together, speaking together, and striving together to build a brighter, fairer future for all who call South London home.

Oxleas was pleased to pledge our support for the Health and Housing Coalition that is tackling the links between poor housing and poor health. We know that our homes are fundamental to our health and wellbeing. With this in mind, Oxleas is exploring plans with community leaders to see if our sites could be used to develop community housing to the benefit of the people who use our services, our staff and the wider communities.

Oxleas CEO Ify Okocha said:

At Oxleas, we’re committed to working with community leaders to create affordable housing. We know that poor housing alongside lack of employment and poverty is one of the factors that leads to poor health. The 10 Year Health Plan urges us to focus on prevention and this is one way Oxleas is putting this ambition into action.