Celebrating the Sector - Organisations across MK (CA:MK)

Celebrating the Sector

Introduction Voluntary and Community Sector groups have played an enormous role in the Covid-19 emergency and recovery, with response projects and initiatives being delivered across Milton Keynes.

Community Action: MK have worked with groups and organisations whilst delivering our Covid-19 Emergency Volunteering Programme and through the network of our Collaborative Action Groups.

What follows are examples of some of the fantastic initiatives and services organised by our local charities, community groups and residents.

St Mark's Meals

St Mark’s Meals provides four different meal boxes which are given to families by staff at over 40 different schools and children’s centres in Milton Keynes for children who might otherwise go hungry. The boxes provide all the ingredients needed to make a hot, nutritious meal for four people with a recipe card.

Unfortunately during the Covid 19 lockdown they had to close but restarted again in September with support from Foodbank Xtra. The team packs the boxes in Saxon Court. St Mark's Meals also have a fifth box which is a “kettle box” for families who are in emergency accommodation. St Mark's Meals are planning to continue to run as normal and are adding more schools to their list.

'Holiday hunger is rightly in the news at the moment, but the shocking truth is that thousands of children have to go without dinner every evening. We aim to feed any hungry child, any night of the year with a delicious dinner so that nobody has to go to bed hungry. St Mark's Meals ran throughout lockdown 2 and are planning to run on throughout the winter. We have added more schools over the few weeks, as the need is growing.' - Paul Oxley (Vicar of St Marks) Website Facebook Page Email - meals@stmarksmk.com

MK Coronavirus Commmunity Support 'The MK Community Support Group, along with Tummy Love and Over The Fence, started in March 2020 to support vulnerable people during the Coronavirus pandemic and continues to support people in their communities. MK Coronavirus Community Support was originally only set up to support any resident or households who had no one else to help them during the first lockdown. However, we very quickly realised there were lots of people and households in need of our support for much longer and so we have continued our support.

We have now been active for 33 weeks and will continue to be available to support residents residents across MK for as long as we are needed. We cover 80 of 86 estates in MK but please do not worry if you contact us and we do not cover your area we can still pass your details onto the support in your area and if not we will still support you.' - Lucy, MK Coronavirus Community Support Website

Fareshare

'SOFEA, in partnership with FareShare, responded to the first national lockdown in March by providing 2,500 food parcels a week to local community groups free of charge. These community groups then distributed the food parcels to the doors of the most vulnerable in society. We were only able to pack and distribute these food parcels with the help of almost 60 volunteers between March and November, not including the many who volunteered with the local community groups.

Since August we have transitioned 4 of these community groups into SOFEA Community Larders where anyone can pay a small membership fee to gain access to quality surplus food and other services and benefits. Since March, SOFEA has distributed around 60 tonnes of surplus food per month to charities and organisations whilst also offering disadvantaged young people work experience in our food warehouse.' - Mike, Fareshare Website Facebook Page Email - mike@sofea.uk.com

MK Community Fridge Community Fridges prevent food from going into landfill. In MK they can be found in Wolverton, Gt Linford, Netherfield, Coffee Hall and Conniburrow.

'I started coming down to volunteer at The Community Fridge to help my mental health and anxiety and to get out of the house whilst my husband is at work. I find it very rewarding to give people food and it is really great for me knowing that I am saving food from going to landfill. I love Conniburrow Community Fridge the community spirit and I find it very rewarding. I love working as part of a team.' - Community Fridge Volunteer.

'Volunteering for the Community Fridge helps to calm my anxiety. It gets me out more. It is a way of helping the community, to give people some food.' - Community Fridge Volunteer

Website Facebook Email helen@hubbub.org.uk

Food Bank Xtra 'Food Bank Xtra have issued over 23,000 food parcels to adults and children since the start of the pandemic and continue to support people in crisis in Milton Keynes. Volunteers have worked with Milton Keynes Family Centres to provide lunch packs for over 1,250 disadvantaged children during the summer. Each pack contained lunch snacks and take home instant meals and were completed at the family centres with fresh fruit and sandwiches. Food Bank Xtra have also partnered with St Mark's Meals to work together to provide meal boxes and supplied over 200 half term lunch packs.

We work closely with the MK Coronavirus Support Group who offer support to those who need food collecting for them and have no other support. Some Parish Councils have been helping us with this. We would be keen to work with any other groups who could help with ad hoc deliveries (safeguarding training needed).' - Louisa, Foodbank Xtra Foodbank Xtra Website Facebook Page Email - thefoodbank@mkcc.org.uk

Great Linford Community Larder 'In September 2020, Great Linford Parish Council, along with volunteers, set up The Community Larder. It is part of a network of Community Larders which help to get surplus food from supermarkets out to local people. There is a £10 joining fee. Individual membership is from £3.50 per week and family membership is from £7 per week.

‘If you are passionate about preventing food waste and don’t mind saving yourself a bit of money on your weekly shop, then The Community Larder is the scheme for you. Once you’ve joined you have access to good quality, non perishable food, free fruit & vegetables and discounts at local shops/services as well as friendly volunteers to cheer up your day 48 weeks of the year! Tuesdays from 11am-1pm, at The Cross & Stable, Downs Barn Boulevard. Great Linford Parish Council are proud to offer this service to its residents.' - Ruth, Community Liaison, Gt Linford Parish Council.

Website Facebook Email - glpc@greatlinford.gov.uk

DREAMSAI 'DREAMSAI are a local charity run by volunteers and their services are free of charge and open for everyone.

Homelessness has become a major issue in Milton Keynes over the last few years.

DREAMSAI provides home cooked hot meal to the homeless every Saturday from 12pm to 1pm at Unity Park Station. Please walk in to Buszy to collect your meal pack.

They also supply free meals to homeless shelters across Milton Keynes.

COVID has impacted the lives of many. DREAMSAI provides food parcels to families with children or elderly over 65 who need food. Since the first lockdown in March, they have delivered 3000 food parcels. If you need support or know anyone that would benefit from DREAMSAI services – please sign post them to Website www.dreamsai.org' - Laxman, Dreansai Facebook Take a look at the next page to see what they have been up to!

Donations Email - admin@dreamsai.org

Willen Hospice

Willen Hospice offers palliative Care, supporting patients and their families throughout Milton Keynes.

Throughout the pandemic we have supported In-Patient Unit services by recruiting volunteers who had been furloughed. These volunteers performed tasks including meal service and housekeeping.

We have recently opened a temporary charity shop at Grafton Gate after being offered the premises, to help raise vital funds for patient care. We are continuing to look for volunteers to support with our local shops, please get in touch if you would like to help.

We continue to offer our services and support patients and their families.

Website Email: tracey.hughes@willen-hospice.org.uk

Harry's Rainbow 'We support children bereaved of a parent or sibling in Milton Keynes, by providing resources, facilitated contact, space for shared experience, as well as trips, activities and short breaks.

Our rainbow groups converted online, we developed a buddy programme and funded mental health and wellbeing sessions to children and their parents and carers.'- Collette, Harry's Rainbow

Website Facebook Email - info@harrysrainbow.co.uk

Covid-19 Families 'Covid 19 Families UK is a National network of support groups across the UK for anyone who has lost a friend or loved one during the pandemic. The groups cover 33 regions, including Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

The main base is Milton Keynes.

We offer bereaved families and individuals emotional support and friendship as well as practical advice by allowing the bereaved to connect with others in their own areas and can refer those needing further assistance to relevant services’.

Covid 19 Families UK. In March 2021 we will be holding a nationwide candlelight for Covid event to commemorate and remember lives lost.' - Debbie, Covid Families UK

Facebook Email - covid19familiesuk@gmail.com Candlelight Go Fund Me - In March 2021 we wish to commemorate and remember those lives lost by hosting a nationwide candlelight for Covid event.

African and Caribbean Arts and Heritage Union (ACAHU) 'ACAHU aims to unite African and Caribbean Communities. We have been busy with The knife and Gun Crime Project, The Untold Story Of Africa, Caribbean, Supplementary School and Youth And Adults Sport. We have been planning The 2021 Transformational Carnival, starting on 9th July 2021, with a King and Queen parade at MK Dons Stadium car park. On 10th The Carnival will start from Campbell Park ending at the MK Dons Stadium car park. 15 floats will represent a myriad of participants from local schools to local businesses and community organisations. Diverse Marketplace in the car park of the stadium will be the backdrop for the judging of The Carnival King And Queen and Best Float. On Sunday 11th July we will be hosting a Family Sports Fun Day (Football, Cricket, Badminton, Rounders, Sack Race, Tug Of War and Jerk Festival with a game between a local diverse team and an invitational team led by ex-international players. Volunteers with various experiences are required to help with the carnival.

The union is inspired by the following concepts: ‘UBUNTU’ which means ‘I am because we are’. It is to recognise the diversity of Milton Keynes and encourage inclusion and unity. 'WE ARE SCATTERED TOGETHER'. Regardless of our cultural backgrounds, we are one human race. Let us unite through the carnival and celebrate our diverse cultures’. Mike Kasibo, ACAHU.

Website Facebook

SARC - Sensory Advice Resource Centre 'We are based in Central MK and provide support to people with sight and hearing loss. We have been working remotely since the beginning of lockdown, mainly providing support by telephone and email, but have also continued to visit people in or just outside their homes, depending on the need. At the end of the first lockdown we reopened our city centre venue to service users on an appointment only basis in a COVID safe environment. This has continued, even during the second lockdown and is working well.

We are very conscious of the fact that social distancing and the wearing of masks has been very challenging for our service users, specifically because of their sensory loss. Many are even more isolated than usual, which as a result affects their mental wellbeing. We are working to move some of our services online; this includes our Braille group, which is currently being run over Zoom by one of our volunteers. We have also recently begun a series of information sessions, also over Zoom, which we hope will encourage people to use the technology in a non threatening way. We also hope that this will provide a platform for people with sight and hearing loss to share their experiences and support each other.' Pauline, BID

Website Email - pauline.jarvis@bid.org.uk

Alina Orchestra and 'Unlocking Imagination' Alina Orchestra is run and supported by volunteers. with the aim being to bring classical music to everyone. For classical music to be accessible to all and inclusive.

During the pandemic Alina’s Wellbeing Project ‘Unlocking Imagination’ has been given the green light by the MK Community Foundation to go ahead. The project celebrates creativity and optimism. Mindfulness, connecting with others and maybe learning new skills are all part of the project.

'2020 has been a difficult year for us. At Alina, we want to bring a sense of purpose, togetherness and create a safe space for you to have fun, make music, meet new people, and perhaps learn a new skill you didn’t know you had! Join us for this project and put the stress of 2020 behind you.' Nick, Alina Orchestra Website Contact

Spectrum Community Arts ’We provide performing arts workshops to people with disabilities and additional needs! We have out of school clubs as well as offering bespoke sessions to schools and other organisations. We are based across MK and Central Beds. When lockdown was announced in March, all of our activities had to stop due to the vulnerability of our clients. At Spectrum we recognise the importance of routine, social interaction and movement to our participants and sought to find a way to continue offering our services. As a result we shifted our out of school clubs virtually! We now offer 5 weekly sessions open to all ages which can be accessed and enjoyed by all! Our sessions have been described as a life-line, keeping them happy, active and socialising with their peers. We also made a private Facebook group for parent/carers where we posted free ideas 3 times a week during and grew a safe space where they could support each other!

We also filmed and uploaded 22 'Dance Along At Home' videos to our YouTube Channel so anyone, at any time, could dance at home for free! Alongside all of this, we have kept our volunteers connected by providing a BSL sign to learn a day, a signed song to learn each week and virtual quizzes and volunteer get togethers!’ Website - Jade, Spectrum Community Arts Facebook Email - jade@spectrumca.co.uk

Service Six 'Service Six offers 1:1 support, activities and mentoring for Children and young people aged 5 to 19 up to 25 with additional needs.

During the initial Lockdown, we moved all of delivery to virtual, via ZOOM, WhatsApp Video or telephone. This meant that we could continue to provide our vital services to children and young people. We are delivering virtual youth groups along with our support sessions. Support sessions are now being delivered either face to face where possible, but the online side of support will remain in place allowing wider options of how children and young people access support from us' - Katie Byrne, Service 6 Website Facebook Email - katie.byrne@servicesix.co.uk

Aspire 'Aspire supports the resettlement of people with criminal convictions, with support to access education, training, employment and housing. Starting at the first lockdown, we provided laptops with WiFi hotspots for those in need of internet access for job applications, self-employment resources and other online learning and social media counselling. We enabled interested clients to take part in Aspire's popular business startup and parenting courses, and funded separate training programmes and employability document fees (such as for Citizen Cards).'

- Tom, Aspire.

Website Email - tom.bartlett@aspireoxford.co.uk

Children Heard And Seen 'We provide support for children and families impacted by parental imprisonment. We are based in Oxford but began to run a project for families in Milton Keynes at the end of 2019.

We took all our support services online so that we could still connect with and support children and families through lockdown while we could not offer face to face support. We ran online groups so that children could stay connected with us, meet and make friends with other children around the country with a parent in prison and to relieve the boredom and loneliness of lockdown.

From March to September 2020 we ran 240 online groups for children and had 1400 attendees.

Our work in Milton Keynes was still new so we were able to introduce our MK families to the existing families we supported across Oxfordshire and beyond. We ran support groups for parents, and ran a second-hand laptop appeal so we could provide families with access to our online groups.

We were able to continue to provide our vital 1:1 support for children with a parent in prison, giving them a space to discuss their feelings and anxieties about their parent in prison, which was heightened due to the risk of Covid getting into prisons, and prison visits being stopped which meant some children went 2-3 months without contact with their parent.'' - James, Children Heard and Seen Website Facebook Email - james@childrenheardandseen.co.uk

Family And Friends Carers Kinship Milton Keynes

'We support those raising a relative's or friends child because they cannot live with the birth parents. This can be Grandparents raising grandchildren, Aunts and Uncles raising niece's & nephew's, Siblings raising younger siblings & Cousins raising cousin's. We have been in Milton Keynes for fourteen years and meet during term time at Kents Hill Community Centre.

Since Covid began in March we have kept in touch with the help of technology, meeting virtually on Zoom weekly and using a WhatsApp group to chat daily with any issues members have had during this time. In the early days Home Schooling was a big issue and topic. And as many of the group are Grandparents, keeping members safe remains a concern, as many fall into the vulnerable category which is giving the children they care for anxiety. As If anything happens to their Grandparents, who would look after them?'

- Member of Family and Friends Facebook Website Email - grandparent.sg@ntlworld.com

MK-ACT Domestic Abuse Service 'We support those who are affected by Domestic Abuse in the Borough of MK. We provide a Helpline, Refuge, Perpetrator Programme, Outreach, Community Groups and training.

We adapted our services to ensure that we were still able to support those who needed us during the pandemic as we know Domestic Abuse increased and became worse over the lockdown. Our opening times were expanded, we worked with people to ensure they could access our services, we advertised our services in places that were open like supermarkets, we provided daily activities to our families in the refuge to help them during the lockdown, we moved all our support on-line and phone during lockdown so that everyone could still access our services.

We also moved all our training and community programmes to on-line and we continued to train professionals around this time on Domestic Abuse. The team went above and beyond to make sure our clients got what they needed and I am so proud of what they achieved!'- Sue, MK Act.

Website Facebook Email - info@mk-act.org

Website

5th Newport Pagnell Brownies

'The 5th Newport Pagnell Brownies continued during the lockdowns and were inventive in the ways they carried on with their activities. Even though we have only seen each other in photos or had a socially distanced chat on the doorstep. We had a monthly ‘Camp at Home’ on the first Saturday of each month during the first lockdown. Wonderful dens were made and some girls slept in tents, both indoors and outdoors. One girl and her family slept on the trampoline in the back garden! Badges and certificates were awarded for Camp at Home. Girls also had birthday cards delivered to them. Some girls did interest badges from their badge books and one girl amazingly did every one of the Brownie Interest Badges. We also did an Anglia Guiding Writing Challenge to produce a poem or lockdown story, and we did the Get Active Guiding Challenge too. I have done a lot of walking and cycling around the girls’ houses since March to deliver badges and cards to the girls each month.

In the autumn we were able to meet face to face. The girls were split into 2 ‘bubbles’, so half the Brownies met on alternate weeks for 5 meetings before we were locked down again. Some girls did the Virtual Night at the MK Museum Ouse Valley Division Challenge over the half term holiday and were awarded badges. 18 of our girls put on their uniform on Remembrance Sunday and stood on their doorsteps for the 2 minutes silence. Some girls wore their uniforms for school on Remembrance Day. Our Brownies also did the Children in Need Act Your Age Challenge and were awarded Pudsey Bear badges. I have continued to take birthday cards to girls and interest badges too. The Mindfulness and Baking badges have both proved very popular this term. As we cannot go into our school venue for the rest of this year we are trying a new venture for 3 weeks. Zoom. We are hoping that our venue will welcome us back in January but this is far from certain at present.' - Linda, 5th Newport Pagnell Brownies

The Green Gym 'The Green Gym has been back up and running in CMK since July 2020 and will continue in 2021 as part of TCV (The Conservation Volunteers) group. We have been working alongside our many partner organisations to help improve the green spaces of the town centre for nature and for the whole community.

Many new volunteers have joined our weekly sessions this year which provide the opportunity to get outdoors, active and hands on with a range of wildlife friendly conservation tasks! We have recently extended our habitat work on Secklow Mound, joining areas of existing hedgerow with wildlife friendly creative conservation projects. Insect hotels and dead hedge circles built by the volunteer team have formed a vital natural corridor for wildlife across the site, full of bulbs and wildflowers ready to emerge early next spring. In North 9th Street gardens the volunteers have worked hard to reclaim an overgrown flower border beside the Centrecom building. This ongoing project has allowed us to introduce a whole border full of native wildflower plants which will attract a host of beneficial pollinating insects‌and look spectacular in summer too!

The team has planted daffodil bulbs throughout the gardens and carried out much needed garden maintenance ready for winter. New volunteers are always welcome! No experience is needed and joining in is free! Green Gym has continued to run throughout the second lockdown'. - Jen Zwetsloot, Green Gym Officer.

Website Facebook Email - Jennifer.zwetsloot@tcv.org.uk

Lets hear from some Green gym members!

‘I have been attending Green Gym sessions for a few months now. It is wonderful to be out in the fresh air, getting exercise while doing something worthwhile for the community. You can see the results of your labour straight away and it is very satisfying! Some of us are retired but we come from various walks of life, there is a great relaxed atmosphere and there are different jobs to do according to what you want and are able to do.

Refreshments (and sometimes delicious homemade cakes) are provided too!’ - Lyndsay, Green Gym Volunteer

‘I have found The Green Gym excellent in so many ways! It gives me the satisfaction of knowing that I’m helping keep parts of my home town looking good. I get to know more about nature and plants. It helps keep me feeling fit and healthy and it’s a good opportunity to meet and interact with people who have similar ideas.’ - Peter, Green Gym Volunteer

‘My name is Allan Ashcroft and I started volunteering with The Green Gym on the 16. 01.18. I like The Green Gym, as I’ve learnt a lot from it, especially where tools are concerned, for example how to hold tools correctly and when using a saw to have a glove on one hand for protection. I never knew about this and now it will help me a lot if I’m ever doing my own work at any time. I also like The Green Gym, as I’m experiencing new different names of flowers and understanding the differences between weeds and flowers. I think this project is greatly beneficial to me and everybody else who attends. I like it so much and will continue to attend The Green Gym for as long as I can.' - Allan, Green Gym Volunteer

WorkTree 'Worktree is a charity that delivers employability skills sessions across the schools in Milton Keynes. We engage students with local & national companies. All of our sessions were run face to face in the schools. When Covid hit, this stopped overnight throwing the charity into turmoil and possible closure. With great support of our Board, sponsors and volunteers we are now running our sessions virtually. Just as much fun, great opportunity to network and even more informative for the students - why not join us www.worktree.org/events We also created a browse able library of different Careers - Career Snapshot enables students to obtain a snapshot of different jobs from different sectors.

Check out our library at http://snapshot.worktree.org/ and you can be part of our library - just follow these simple steps here: http://snapshot.worktree.org/recordyour-snapshot/' - Theresa, Work Tree Website Email - theresa.mercer@worktree.org

Stony in Bloom 'Work during the autumn has included tulip and bulb planting in The Sensory Garden and the London Rd Allotments Fence Bed. Seedlings have also been donated to local residents. Flower beds have had compost put on them, a watering regime has been put in place. Spinach, strawberries, blackberries and runner beans have been donated to The Food Bank. Work will carry on during the winter with winter lettuces being grown. Volunteers have stated that coming out during the pandemic to volunteer with the Stony In Bloom group has helped greatly with keeping their mental health good. Stony In Bloom have given out sunflower plants to older and vulnerable people. There is always work to be done and anyone is welcome to join.' - Judith, Stony In Bloom

Website Facebook

Netherfield/ Woughton Men in Sheds

'The Netherfield Men and In Sheds welcomes ladies and all are welcome. The group welcomes vulnerable people and those with disabilities. We would love younger people to attend and for them to meet new people, learn new carpentry kills and maybe to train up to be able to run the group in the future. Volunteers make items to order and to sell from recycled wood. We have been making a water feature for Moorlands Family Centre and Christmas decorations. We are open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for volunteers to attend from 10am to 3.30pm. Volunteers get a free hot meal when they are here. We continue to make things from recycled wood. Everyone is welcome and please feel free to pop down to the shed to have a look around.‘ Alan Williamson - Men In Sheds.

A hamper for volunteer, Chris and his family

Website Facebook

MOTUS 'Based in Milton Keynes. We provide opportunities to watch, participate and learn about dance in all its forms through running festivals, hosting workshops, youth dance platforms, work in progress evenings and sharing of work with a focus also in Artistic collaboration.

We provided free online youth dance classes for young people aged 12+ via Zoom. We re-shaped our website so that it could be used as a resource for research and online participation to include interviews with choreographers talking about research, discussing the methodology of making alongside edited interviews with film footage of performances and rehearsal which have reached over 5.5k people through Facebook alone. We commissioned a specifically socially distanced dance on film with Tamzen Moulding who created 'WAKE' (available on our web-site) which was filmed on a canal boat in Milton Keynes by a new collaborative team. We hosted a live performance with Mapdance in September before the second lockdown hit - audiences were sat in a socially distanced way and were temperature checked on arrival. We have hosted and run an online Youth Dance Platform. called 'Dedications' with artist Julia Cheng and 5 shortlisted young dancers from Buckinghamshire/Bedfordshire who were mentored by the creative team and we have created online tutorials focusing on the crafting of dance looking at choreographic motifs, choreographic development and composition'.

- Helen, MOTUS Dance

Website Twitter Email - info@motusdance.co.uk

Sound News Milton Keynes 'In normal times Sound News Milton Keynes produces weekly recordings of local news items for the benefit of around 200 visually-impaired listeners, with four teams of up to eight volunteers operating from premises kindly loaned by the Open University.

Since the start of the pandemic we have been producing fortnightly editions of Sound News, read, recorded, edited and dispatched by a smaller number of volunteers, each contributing to the team effort individually from their own homes. Our Management Committee meets regularly via Zoom to agree ways of adapting to the continuing challenges posed by Covid-19.' - Sound News MK Volunteer

Email - sound.news@talk21.com

Church without Walls 'Talking Point is a weekly daytime gathering where we eat cake, drink coffee, discuss life and faith, laugh, cry and pray together.

If you are a stay at home Mum, working part-time or on flexible working, retired or simply free in the daytime, why not pop along and give this friendly group a try!

Pre-school kids are welcome. We are now back meeting in person, socially distant under the gazebo in the grounds of Broughton Rectory, London Rd, Milton Keynes. We meet Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you would like to join us get in touch!' - Church without Walls

Website Email: mkcommunityministry@gmail.com

Bus Shelter MK 'We provide a temporary home and one to one support to help those sleeping on the streets of MK to find health, work and a sustainable home, based around a double decker bus. We have provided accommodation to 70 people since we opened in March 2018. It is a temporary home with one to one support for people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets of Milton Keynes.

During the lockdowns we had to stop using our bus due to its communal sleeping arrangements and sadly had to step down volunteers working face to face with our guests to keep everyone safe. We were lucky in being able to lease the YHA in Bradwell in late March so that our guests could have separate bedrooms and self isolate if necessary. We also had to increase staffing hours to cover the loss of volunteers. Despite the difficulties we have been able to continue welcoming new guests and finding sustainable homes and providing support once someone has moved on during this difficult period. As a result we have seen our costs rise substantially at the same time as our donations and fundraising activities have dropped considerably due to the Covid crisis.

We have pushed on with a major renovation project, having been leased a former landscaping depot and surrounding land by MKC and The Parks Trust which will provide a long term home for The Bus Shelter MK. Covid restrictions mean that the bus itself will probably not be able to return to service for accommodation - but we have a plan!!

Continued...

We intend to purchase a bespoke unit with seven separate bedrooms to replace the bus, so are seeking urgent funding of ÂŁ45,000 in order to keep changing lives while operating safely. With communal sleeping spaces on a converted double decker bus, plus thirty volunteers of all ages working directly with our guests every week was a huge Covid risk and had to be radically changed. We relocated to Bradwell with rearranged/increased staff resources - all organised in less than a week! Sadly, direct contact between guests and volunteers has had to be limited but our home cooks and help when guests are moving into their new homes has continued.

Eight months on we are still at the YHA and have continued to support MK's street homeless, continued to provide a temporary home and one to one support and continued to find sustainable tenancies. Our piggy bank is rather empty given the extra costs and reduced donations but we are relieved and proud that we have been able to keep going during this very challenging time.' - Chair, The Bus Shelter MK

Website Facebook Email- info@thebussheltermk.org

Sanctuary Hosting 'Sanctuary Hosting finds homes for people who are refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants by placing them as guests with volunteer hosts for short periods of time. When a placement ends, we arrange a transfer to a new host, providing a series of stepping stones until the guest can live independently.

Sanctuary Hosting implemented a COVID 19 safety planning procedure for our guests and hosts to reduce the risk of infection for guests moving between hosts.

Since March 2020, we sheltered 21 people who would otherwise have been homeless during a global pandemic.'

- Sarah, Sanctuary Hosting Sanctuary Hosting Website Facebook Twitter Crowdfunding Page Email -sarah.wahby@sanctuaryhosting.org

YIS - Young People's Mental Health Service 'We are a mental health charity for young people and adults that support them. We provide counselling, education, training, coaching and wellbeing sessions/advice. We work with any young person who lives, learns or works in Milton Keynes. During the lockdown we were able to move a majority of our work online and were able to get funding for a project that looks at what young people's mental health needs and wants are.

We have been lucky enough to raise over £11.5k for young people to decide how it is spent on evidence based mental health support from ourselves and other agencies, as well as artists, therapists, wellbeing experts and more. We have also been connecting more with other organisations such as Mind BLMK, CAMHS and MK Talking Therapies to explore how we can better work together to support the growing mental health needs of young people. Our referrals are between 55-65% higher month on month compared to last year and we are aware that certain issues such as self-harm, anxiety and low-mood/depression have increased considerably Website compared to what we would usually expect.’ - Gareth, MKYIS Facebook

Rethink Rethink aims to improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness. This works takes place through their network of local groups and services.

Their hope is for everyone affected by mental illness to have a good quality of life.

'We are working with Healthwatch to capture peoples' stories and experience of lock down. Healthwatch will also be capturing thought on how our service responded and adapted to the restrictions - we feel having a 3rd party doing this will allow people to be more open and honest. - John, Rethink Website Facebook

Thank you for all the amazing work you do!!