Referrals

We are a community, not a clinical service. Your judgement on the individual’s readiness is vital. Before booking, please confirm they are:

• Stable enough – Are current challenges (e.g., addiction, behaviour) managed sufficiently to focus on learning?
• Ready for a shared space – Can they engage with sufficient safety awareness, cooperation, and regard for others?
• Clear on what we offer – Do they know we are a community project, not a specialist support service?

If you are unsure, please consider whether another organisation or service might better suit their current needs. Ideally, the person will also have a genuine interest in what GalGael offers (practical work, being part of a community).

If you're happy the person is ready (see step 1) then you can book the individual into our fortnightly Welcome Session (1st & 3rd of the month, 11am). You can book a Welcome Session [>>>HERE<<<]

The booking form: The form will list upcoming dates with remaining spaces. We'll ask you to share basic information about the individual. This helps us know who we’re reaching and prepare to welcome them. You can also let us know if you or another support worker will attend with them via a checkbox.

We ask you to share any concerns regarding safety or vulnerabilities (to self, from/to others, or to property). Why? If you check any of these boxes, this doesn’t mean we won’t offer the individual a place - it just means we’ll need a little bit more info to assess if we have sufficient capacity and expertise to support the individual safely (and fulfill our duty of care to others).

You decide when you provide us with this but we're unable to progress their referral without it.

• Option A (fast track): Provide this info now (via [a short form]). This means the individual can get going a little quicker on their way to membership.
• Option B: Wait until after they attend the Welcome and decide to join.

We assess this early as it is kinder to determine if we can support them now than after they have formed connections during the joining process. We appreciate your time and so have designed the process to be as streamlined as possible.

The Welcome Session: There are usually 5-10 other people and over 90 minutes we take folk for a look around the space, chat more about the project, and answer any questions. It's informal and we do our best to put folk at ease. Oh, and we cover travel expenses. People are also welcome to stay for our weekly Community Meal at 1 pm.

If after the Welcome session, an individual decides they want to join - we ask them to complete a very short Interest Form. This is the first step towards becoming a Community Member..

If concerns were shared: We need to ensure we have the capacity to support them safely before we can progress the referral (see more in Step 2).

• If this information was completed at booking: Thank you - we can assess whether their support needs fall within our capacity and let you know the outcome.
• If this information was NOT completed at booking: We will need this before we can progress the referral.

Why we ask for this information:
This allows us to have an honest conversation about whether we can meet the person's needs. It does not automatically mean someone will be excluded. In fact, being transparent from the start helps us plan appropriate support. In some cases, it helps us have a candid conversation about whether this is the right time or place for the individual, ensuring they are in the best setting for their wellbeing and those around them.

Once we have confirmed we can support the person, they are invited to attend four Community Sessions. Why four? Community takes time. The four sessions are where folk get a feel for how we work, find their feet, so they can get stuck in and get the most out of being here. This is core to what makes us a community not a service. Sessions cover:

• Our Story – values, history, and mutual expectations
• Staying Safe – health and safety
• Soups & Stews – using the kitchen hygienically and eating together as community
• Collective Responsibility – using the space, recycling, and playing an active role

After completing these sessions and submitting the Community Member Form (which collects equalities and baseline data for our funders), they become a member. They can then book skill sessions (e.g., woodwork, garden) and access shared resources.

There are usually 5-10 other people and over 90 minutes we take folk for a look around the space, chat more about the project, and answer any questions. It's informal and we do our best to put folk at ease. Oh, and we cover travel expenses. People are also welcome to stay for our weekly Community Meal at 1 pm.

There are 2 forms.

FIRST, book the person on to a fornightly Welcome session so that they can find out more and decide if they want to join using the BOOKING FORM

NEXT: If you shared any concerns regarding safety or vulnerabilities (to self, from/to others, or to property) in the Booking Form, you can speed up their application by letting us know some more details via the short SUPPORT INFORMATION FORM

Yes – the booking form includes an option to let us know you or a colleague plan to support them.

No. If you checked one of the boxes to indicate concerns regarding the individuals safety, vulnerabilities or risks of harm to self, from/to others or to property it does not mean we can't accommodate them. It simply helps us understand whether we have the right support in place. In some cases, it may lead to an honest conversation about timing or fit. We will need a little more information to progress the referral. See Step 2 above for more detail. We also appreciate that you may not have the full picture - but we ask you to share what information you have available.

We comply with UK GDPR. Information is treated confidentially and used only for safety and wellbeing. We delete data immediately if we cannot offer a place or if the person decides not to continue. If someone attends a Welcome but doesn’t complete an Interest Form within 60 days, we delete their data unless they ask us to keep their application open.

The four sessions are informal and discussion‑based (no pressure to contribute, its fine to just listen in). They cover our values, safety, cooking together, and collective responsibility. They are offered on alternate Tuesdays and Thursdays. We ask everyone to start here because becoming part of a community can't be rushed. Community takes time - there’s no shortcuts.

Why four sessions? There are four sessions because this is where folk get a feel for our rhythm, find their feet, and start to feel at ease, so they can get stuck in and get the most out of being here. That takes time. So rather than a hoop to jump through we see them as core to the project. They are what make us a community not a service. We've found that particularly where folk have been isolated or engaged with lots of services - this transition needs a bit more of our attention and support. Showing up when you're new and perhaps have been isolated can be the hardest part so the sessions allow us to give people more of our time and attention until they're settled in.

Please inform us as soon as possible. Changes can affect safety and our support plans.