The projects that Tallo Information Centre is currently undertaking with the Somali community can be grouped into two areas – activities for young people and services for adults.

Services for Adults

Advice – (Free Confidential advice and information)

Tallo’s ‘Walk in Service’ aims to provide appropriate advice and information at General Help Level, to Somali refugees to enable them to access services from voluntary and statutory service providers Also to overcome physical, cultural and communication barriers to accessing services for Somali individuals by providing direct access to service providers in a local and friendly environment

Tallo has provided holistic services to the Somali community in regard giving aid in the areas where the community confronts the various, problems and difficulties on issues including benefits and tax credits, housing, healthcare, finance, debts & savings, at-risk behaviour, truancy ,basic skills, IT and ESOL, family issues/domestic violence, mental health, alcohol & substance misuse
This is an extremely well used service- providing advice to around 250 interviews in general enquiries each month
General Enquiries/Drop in Wednesday & Thursday

Welfare information and support
Applications
Child benefit
Family credit
DLA / at allowance/Referrals
Surgery for Homelessness (Target: 75 persons (5 per week)
External Housing Specialist once a month (Eviction issues (rent, bills) / anti-social behaviour)
Immigration (referral )

Services for Young People
Children and Young People: Tallo is currently working with different organisation including Ealing Youth Services & Conexions, the Police, Somali Youth Union, Access for Support & Development centre, Acton Community Forum and London Borough of Ealing to develop work around Child Poverty to;
Supporting delivery of child poverty targets in the LAA/LBE
Mapping current provision for young people across the Ealing.
Educational Attainment and Youth Activities
Somali Summer University
The Somali Summer University aims to build capacity, by developing mentors who provide an ongoing source of support, raise aspirations and increase the basic skills of Ealing’s disaffected young Somali community. The project is run in partnership with Acton Community Forum in organising planning and running the SSU programme.

Project Description
The Somali Summer University is a summer programme that combines academic and social activities for young people aged 14 – 19 for three/four weeks in August. The programme involved over 60 young people dividing through initial assessment in across four groups who undertook academic classes of Communication, Maths, IT and Somali History during the morning and a range of social activities including sports, dance and drama, music DJ during the afternoon.
SSU Fundraising Strategy 08/09
Fundraising is always an annual task and Tallo Information Centre in partnership with Acton Community Forum will be fundraising and planning again a successful summer programme.

Tallo Supplementary & Somali After School Club (T.S.S.A.S.C) 08/09

We run supplementary schools, act as a link between schools and parents and provide one to one support for pupils struggling with school work.

The aim of the Tallo Supplementary & Somali After School Club is to further support Somali young people to raise attainment at Key Stage 3 at school.

Project Description
The Tallo Supplementary & Somali After School Club (TSSASC) will be provided once a week on a Wednesday afternoon from 3.30 – 6pm. The After School Club targets 11 – 14 year olds from Acton High School or who live on South Acton Estate and will provide for up to 15 young people per session. National curriculum subjects taught are Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and GCSE

Somali Youth Club

The aim of the Somali Youth Club is to provide Somali young people with time in a secure environment where they can spend time constructively with other Somali young people and undertake fun and educational activities.
Project Description
The Somali Youth Club is provided once a week Girls Night on a Thursday evening from 6pm 8.30pm and Boys Night Saturday evening from 6pm – 9pm. Both the clubs are run from Bollo Brook Youth Centre that has a range of facilities including a suite of computers, a music studio, outside sports pitch, and table tennis and pool tables. It also has space for a range of other activities. The youth club targets 14 – 19 year olds who live on South Acton Estate. Tallo have reached over 60 to 14-19 year old young people each term.

Other Key Strategic Activities

A variety of activities and projects took place throughout the year; these include Tallo leading the development of South Acton Somali Forum, Ealing Somali Confederation and also participating in the Acton Carnival.

Tallo has also widened its working relationship to promote cooperation, coordinate and facilitate of services in support of Somali voluntary organisations, and individuals. As well as acting as a bridge between the Somalis voluntary organisations and statutory agencies and other institutions

Capacity Building: Tallo build the capacity of voluntary and community organisations through cascading skills, knowledge, experience, advice, mentoring and training to improve service delivery. Tallo also aim to mentor and support representatives of the community to attend networks and forums to enable them to participate and make their voices heard.

Partnership Work: We are committed to bridge the gap from bottom and top level approaches and support active partnerships with Ealing Community & Voluntary Services, Ealing Community Network, Southall Community Alliance, Acton Community Forum, Ealing Racial Equality Council, Ealing Advice Forum, London Borough of Ealing, Police, Ealing Primary Care Trust, Ealing Homes, Connexions, Social Services, Youth Offending Services, Feltham Young Offenders, Ealing Supplementary Schools Forum, Schools, West London Path Finder and other voluntary and community organisation including those which lead regeneration and employment and training projects.

Community Premises: The Tallo Centre is based in the heart of the South Acton estate and has around 500 members. Tallo currently assists 15 Somali voluntary organisations through one to one support or providing a hot desk

Community Cohesion: Tallo works closely with Muslim groups in Acton. Tallo also has been a key partner of delivering Community Cohesion project and support work with groups in other parts of the Borough. Tallo through partnership work with Acton Community Forum, Access Support & Development Centre and Southall Community Alliance has been leading a programme and involved in women’s engagement projects and developing a series of Muslim women’s groups across Ealing. The Community Cohesion project aims to improve resident access to public services, promote interaction between different cultural groups and develop a network of women’s organisation across Ealing.
Tariqat Project: Tallo’s Tariqat project aims to undermine extremist ideology, strengthen local infrastructure, organisations and activities to help them to resist violent extremism and address inequalities, and to support individuals at risk of radicalisation
The Project will build on and provide an additional focus to our existing capacity building work with groups, and in particular groups that provide activities for young Muslims. It will also engage with voluntary and community groups that serve the Muslim community and through them with young people as well as providing links to Mosques as well as other places of worship.

Tariqat Conference: Tallo in partnership with Acton Community Forum and Sufi Muslim Council which is working closely with the Government hold two conferences with the aim to highlight and raise awareness about Extremism ideology that exist within Muslims and promote the good Muslim teachings of tolerance, peace, respect and love to people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, races and beliefs as well as wider Prevent initiatives. Both the conferences Approximately 900+ delegates including diversity and gender participants compromising from different groups, communities, other non Muslims and other statutory and voluntary organisations attended.

PVE/Home Office: This is an innovative and multi-disciplinary project which fills the gaps in existing work to Ealing Prevent Violent Extremism Strategy. The project aims to undermine extremist ideology, strengthen local infrastructure, organisations and activities to help them to resist violent extremism. The main focus of this particular project is to fulfil the Prevent Strategy, in particular supporting vulnerable individuals and strengthening institutions and disrupting the work of violent extremists.

Worklessness and Skills: Tallo is developing new specific services for the Somali community to help the community move in the direction of effective training programmes or employment. Through innovative partnership the organisation will be developing external funding bids to the LDA and other bodies to address employment issues within the community

Health and Social Care: Tallo is currently working with Acton Community Forum and Ealing Community Services to develop Health initiatives that improve and supporting local groups and people, joining-up current work and developing skills, confidence, programmes and networks to improve the health of physical or mental well-being in particular communities living in South Acton..

Digital Challenge: Tallo has been working with Ealing Community & Voluntary Sector in working around Ealing Digital Challenge an innovative and comprehensive local programme that includes:

IT development in local VCS groups
New pilot online consultation forums for disabled people and Muslim women (with the Police and Ealing Hospital) as well as develop new online consultation forum for LGBT residents.

Greenford, Northolt and Perivale Community Forum: It is generally agreed that there are a lower level of community groups in GNP (compared to other areas of the Borough). ECN (in partnership with the ECVS CANBE project) organised an initial consultation event in October for community and voluntary organisations in GNP. There was enthusiastic support for a new GNP Community Forum (including support from Police and PCT reps) and a Steering Group has now been set up

LAA/London Borough of Ealing Community Strategy: Tallo will particularly support LAA/London Borough of Ealing and Local Strategic partnership targets around children and young people, older people, access to skills education and training, arts sports and culture, community cohesion, preventing violent extremism, reducing fear of crime and Ant Social Bahiviour, working with Ex-offenders and other regeneration projects.

Ealing Somali Federation: Tallo is leading a good programme to bring together all Somali groups in the Borough and we have set up a new Ealing Somali Federation to promote working relationships between Somali groups, reduce duplication and contribute to London Borough Ealing’s objectives.

Promote equalities and a community voice for disadvantaged communities: Tallo also represent the Somali community to a range of decision making bodies including Ealing Community Network, Ealing Somali Federation, Ealing BMER Forum, Ealing Supplementary Schools Consortium, Well London and others. Our aim is to make decision makers more aware of the specific needs of the community and promote community-led solutions which are practical and efficient

We have also organised a series of conferences and seminars for young people and families to challenge extremist views and promote positive Muslim role models. Sessions at Southall Young Adults Centre, Bollo Brook Youth Centre and Tallo Centre have reached over 160 14-19 year old young people each term.