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Welcome
Dowlais Community Development Forum is a Communities First project in the Dowlais Ward incorporating Dowlais, Pant, Penywern, Caeharris and Dowlais Top. Communities First is the Welsh Assembly Government’s flagship programme to improve the living conditions and prospects of people in the most disadvantaged communities across Wales.
It is founded on the principle that poverty and disadvantage are created by a complex number of factors, such as poor educational achievement, poor housing and environments, substance misuse, local job markets, benefit systems, stigma and perceptions about people and places etc. Communities First is about people challenging the barriers, whether they be real or perceived, which prevent residents from fulfilling their own potential and from effecting change where they live. It is about supporting communities, groups and individuals to find their voices and use their skills and experiences to change, challenge, negotiate, persuade and jointly plan for the benefit of their communities.
Our Vision
The vision for Communities First in its next stage has been summarised as a programme which will mobilise and enable local people to contribute to the regeneration of their communities in practical ways, in line with their local priorities and those of statutory bodies such as the Assembly Government, local authorities and health bodies.