Issue 13
The povertyissue July 2016
Welcome to Issue 13 of the Greater Manchester Housing Providers focus on poverty newsletter. The purpose of the newsletters is to share ideas, projects and good practice. Our cover picture is a Len Grant sketch done for the Bolton at Home project Sown In Bolton, more on pages 4 and 5. As usual our newsletter features a mix of articles but in this issue we’ve put particular emphasis on what we’re doing to help our customers gain skills and get into work. Refreshing our Anti-Poverty Pledges It’s been two years since we adopted our pledges, this work is well established now so the time feels right for us to revisit them and ask ourselves if they are all still relevant, do our customers face different challenges today and is there more we could be doing? We’d welcome your feedback on this—please send your suggestions and comments to Julie.Ralph@boltonathome.org.uk.
Update on work done so far This section is your space to share with us any of the work you are doing to tackle poverty. Here are just some examples of what housing providers are doing. If your organisation isn’t featured then why don’t you submit an article for the next issue due in October?
Adactus Enterprise Fund Adactus Housing Enterprise Fund assists residents in starting up their own businesses offering grants of up to £500. Tenants are invited to attend a one to one meeting to discuss their proposals and ideas offering a full careers advice and guidance interview. After drawing up an individual action plan tenants are offered several options for further support – be it help with a business plan, support with training or practical support in relation to employment. The grant is available to all new-start businesses or those who have been trading for less than 6 months on completion of a viable business plan and it is not subject to means test for need. The grant is flexible in that it can be split between essential equipment purchase and working capital needs. For further information on the enterprise fund or for a careers and guidance interview contact us on 0300 111 1133. Tackling Holiday Hunger through Holiday Kitchen Adactus Housing is well under way planning the 2016 Holiday Kitchen programme. Running from 25th July – 4th August at The Church of the Apostles in Miles Platting, Manchester. By providing families an opportunity to come together offering them a varied programme of play, learning and hot meal each day it is hoped that the project will go some way to tackling food poverty. Activities will include some arts and crafts, a scrap heap challenge, outdoor fun with shelter building, bugs and planting. A tasty but healthy menu has been devised giving parents and children alike the chance to get involved in preparing
their lunch time meal, recipes and food hampers will also be available for families to take and try at home. Achieving accredited awards through The Big Film
Young people from Adactus Housing’s supported projects have been given the opportunity to become film producers. The group of 12 young people have been working with REELmcr to create The Big Film – a documentary on projects funded through Adactus Housing Group’s Breathe Initiative Grants (BIG). The residents of supported housing are at risk of street homelessness. The project aims to facilitate a positive change in their lives’ of through building trust, self-confidence and pride and provide an opportunity for residents to try their hand at a profession they may otherwise not had a chance to engage in. While creating the film the young people will receive training in video production and will receive an accredited award for their efforts. Work is underway to plan a premier for the film alongside an awards ceremony for those involved. Adactus gets older residents online Adactus Housing Association are aiming to tackle digital exclusion with older residents. Initially the project will target all retirement living schemes owned by the group – covering the North West. Residents will be given access to Wi-Fi within the communal lounge area. This will encourage people to engage in a social setting and support each other’s use of the internet. Each scheme will then develop its own training plan and identify any additional equipment needs for residents. Once training has started on each scheme, Adactus will also be looking
to upskill individuals to become digital champions. Their role will offer support to residents while there is no scheme co-ordinator on site. Young Supported tenants Step Forward Adactus officers have been holding monthly drop-in sessions at supported housing Schemes in Wigan offering employment advice through the Step Forward programme. The residents of the five Supported schemes, which offer short term-accommodation for homeless 16-25 years olds, have benefited from one to one employment advice and guidance and have been supported to apply for apprenticeships and training. Adactus currently employs two apprentices who heard of the opportunities while living in the schemes. Alex Marshall, who recently moved out of the projects into his own flat, is a Grounds Maintenance apprentice working towards horticulture. Alex recently won apprentice of the year at the staff awards ceremony and said: “When I started my apprenticeship, I was unemployed, living in the hostel. The apprenticeship has enabled me to obtain my own flat through Adactus. This has given me independent living plus all the responsibilities that go with this. My role has given me a wider social network and lifestyle. My Partner and I recently got engaged and I am very excited about the future”.
Alex receiving his award from Adactus Housing Group CEO Paul Lees.
Bolton at Home Sown in Bolton Following a recent restructure we’re working more thematically across all our neighbourhoods and that has allowed us to start to bring together learning from the many and varied small scale food growing projects that have sprung up over the past few years. We’re developing a website that aims to collate everything residents need to know about growing your own in Bolton and we’re working in partnership with Bolton Urban Growers who help residents to grow their own food in their back gardens or yard. To promote this work to customers and colleagues we’re working with Len Grant, a local photographer, writer and sketcher who we’ve
worked with before on our award winning blog As Rare As Rubies. Len has been commissioned to tell the story of a food growing project in sketches. To quote Len “On a housing estate where many barely survive on welfare benefits, growing your own food might seem obvious. But Sown in Bolton is about more than putting fresh food on the table. It’s about making connections, building selfesteem, keeping active and learning new skills. Growing courgettes might just give you the confidence to apply for that job or training course you thought was out of reach.”
You can see more of Len’s work here and he’ll be tweeting on #sowninbolton. National recognition for helping local people into work Our work programme to get people paid jobs with our organisational partners has won a major 'responsible business' award. We ask our suppliers, as part of their contracts, to create jobs, work experience or training opportunities for the long-term unemployed on Bolton’s estates who need extra help to get into work. Business in the Community (BITC) recognised the value of this work and we were shortlisted for their 2016 Responsible Business Awards in the category of ‘employment for excluded groups’. We joined three other finalists - McKinsey and Company, PwC and the Waites Group. After being recognised in June as one of two award finalists from the north-west, out of 297 companies who entered various categories, we were announced as an overall
winner at the Annual Responsible Business Gala at the O2 in London on 11th July. Since 2013, our programme has created 66 paid jobs that would have otherwise not existed for people with low confidence, health and wellbeing issues, lack of experience and in need of new skills. A further ten people took a positive step towards employment through training and work placements. Run by the charity Business in the Community (BITC) the 2016 Responsible Business Awards celebrate businesses that take effective action to improve their local communities, create more inclusive working environments and tackle environmental challenges. The rigorous awards scheme has seen 297 companies enter this year with 103 shortlisted and 52 named as finalists. We were one of two organisations from the North West, along with Siemens, to be selected as a finalist. This was a major achievement in its own right and we received an award at an event at The Monastery in Gorton, Manchester, on 7th June Tenant Michael Gregory is a Ground Maintenance Operative with Glendale, who deliver our grounds and tree maintenance services. We helped Michael into work after he was struggling with unemployment and depression. Michael helped us present our programme to a Business in the Community panel, so we invited him to accept the award with Trish Quinn, our Employment and Skills Manager, and Chief Executive Jon Lord. Michael said: “I felt like a nobody before. I was out of work and this job has given me a new lease in life.” “My wife, who’s my rock, took me to my local UCAN centre and I’ve never looked back from that day. The staff made me feel welcome and comfortable and gave me the confidence to do training courses and improve my reading and writing.” “Then I got the opportunity to go for a trial with Glendale and I did a six week-course initially. I love getting up each day. I’m cutting grass, edging, pruning trees; and find it rewarding to look after estates. I’m also motivated that I can give my children more and even going to events like this are giving me new life experiences.” For more information on the Awards including the full list of finalists and their case studies, visit www.bitc.org.uk/awardstories and follow @BITC on Twitter #BITCawards. Bolton MoneySkills Service 'Bolton Anti-Poverty Initiatives' have received the "Best Partnership" award at the Institute of Money Advisers performance awards of 2016. This is for our work with Local Welfare Provision and Hoot Credit Union enabling customers who are not eligible for a grant from LWP to get an interest free loan instead. Bolton Money Skills Service is based within Community Housing
Services and is part of Bolton Council. The Money Skills service provides debt advice as part of the Council’s anti-poverty strategy. Two of the Money advisers are seconded from the CAB and a further trainee is via an agency that provides HB staff to the Council. In addition to providing debt advice Money Skills work in partnership with the Council’s Local Welfare Provision (LWP), Bolton’s Credit Union, Hoot, and furnture4U to provide interest free loans for essential goods to people in need of essential items. Hoot provides the loans, the Council underwrites the loan, Money Skills ensure the repayments are sustainable for the customer and the goods are bought via furniture4U. Customers apply to LWP for the items they need. LWP may award all or some of the items or refuse to grant anything. If the applicants fit the criteria and LWP think the applicants have disposable income they will make a referral to Money Skills to complete a full financial statement to assess whether applicants can afford to repay a loan. If the applicants can afford a loan then they sign up for a loan with Hoot and the goods are ordered from furniture4U. If the applicants cannot afford to repay a loan Money Skills will send the financial assessment back to LWP and request that they reconsider their decision not to award items. In most cases the goods are then awarded. In some cases LWP have agreed to underwrite that also cover other debts as well as the amount needed for the required goods. If all LWP applications were awarded fewer customers would benefit as the funding is limited. However as a result of this partnership the repayments made towards the loans are recycled and more customers can benefit. Case Study Mr S was referred to Money Skills (MS) from LWP. He had requested a fridge/freezer from LWP however he appeared to have available income. Upon checking his finances Mr S owed £355.00 in unpaid water charges (due via his rent) and £80.00 in rent arrears and was unable to make payments to either. Mr S also owed £584.80 for electricity arrears and was struggling to pay these off at £25 per week (£108.33 pcm). MS requested that LWP agree to underwrite a loan for £1,100 to pay off the £435 due to his landlord for rent and water, to purchase a fridge/freezer and to pay the rest of his electricity arrears. LWP agreed to this and a loan was awarded via Hoot who paid his landlord directly and a lump sum of £465 to EON towards his electricity arrears. Mr S agreed to repay the Hoot loan at £14.50 p.w. over 78 weeks and MS made arrangements with EON to pay his remaining arrears at £2.50 p.w.
City West Supporting new tenants We have recently rolled out the registration of all customers onto the electoral roll as they sign for the keys for one of our properties. By doing so will add to, or create, a digital footprint for our customers which will enable them to access more affordable credit and provide them with the option of not having to approach illegal or high cost lenders. We have identified a specific resource within the Income Management Team to work with new customers in the early stages of their tenancies. Using intelligence gathered through our pre-tenancy work, we can offer detailed support and advice in claiming benefits and setting up an appropriate rent payment method and this approach is having a demonstrable impact on the incidence and severity of arrears in these new tenancies. Digital Inclusion Digital Champions attended the first ‘Digital Inclusion Networking Event’ with Salford City Council at Swinton Gateway in May. The event promoted our DigiSmart program and other digital services available within the area. There are a number of multi-agency digital events taking place in Salford during the summer and our Digital Champions will be attending the events to promote the program and support the wider get online campaign. As part of the joint advertising and working campaign our service centre will be taking calls relating to the project as part of the joint marketing initiative. The ‘new look’ Villages & City West websites launched to customer on the 9th May, as part of the launch and linking to DIGISMART. The PCs in our reception areas allow customers to access to a wider variety of internet sites and Microsoft programmes, encouraging customers onto the digital journey. Throughout the launch week Digital Champions also located themselves in the reception areas with laptops and promotional material, speaking to customers about the new website, its functionality and the DIGISMART programme. Loan Sharks Now that payday lenders are moving towards more medium terms loans due to restrictions on APR rates, the threat from loan sharks is considerably greater. Loan sharks may move into the void creating in short term lending and, furthermore, people will turn to high cost high street lenders. This means that Credit Unions are needed more than ever to provide an outlet which is cost effective, unlike high cost lenders, and safe, unlike loan sharks. City West continue to work to educate our customers and support financial stability. We are also supporting the launch of an additional hub for Salford Credit Union at The Valley Customer Resource Centre. The hub will be staffed by the Neighbourhood Officer who is also on the
board of Salford Credit Union. This is a pilot project for Salford Credit Union as it will be the first cashless one. Moving in a cashless direction is one Salford Credit Union are keen to explore and many of their central services are already cashless. Tech & Tea at Amblecote Gardens
Earlier this year the Independent Living Service approached the innovation team at Salford Together to discuss encouraging customers living in Little Hulton to access digital technology. From those initial discussions the Tech & Tea project was agreed along with community mentor support to ensure sessions went well with classroom support. As an organisation we recognise that the need for our customers to have access to technology, to have access to facilities and understand its uses in particular for those customers who need to access the benefits service, shopping on line, skype and Facebook or other information. The sessions focus on types of equipment available such as desk top computers, IPads and hand held phones with internet capability to build confidence and ability to use. Customers attending the events are had the chance to access an online version of Salford Together‘s ‘My Wellbeing Plan’ which looks at general health, hobbies and wellbeing. The plan supports a customer to map their health related goals and wants using the plan to guide, encourage and record progress. Working in partnership with Salford Together we are able to deliver weekly computer sessions for older people aged 65+. As studies show that over 53% of older people that lack basic digital skills are over 65 and 69% are over 55 years of age we felt that it was an important project to support. Our focus on digital inclusion supports the continued work we all do as part of our antipoverty drive, it’s clear from customer feedback that the access to digital support and inclusion has improved people’s lives in a variety of ways such as cutting household bills, finding a job or maintaining contact with distant friends and relatives not just having a look at what’s out there.
Contour Homes TWO women from Limeside have been given a new lease of life, thanks to a skills programme run by their landlord. One has overcome problems with her self-confidence to become a volunteer, while the other has secured full-time work, following a taster course put on by Contour Homes. Mother-of-two Sarah Cocker, aged 33, of Second Avenue, had battled with her confidence for years, but completing the programme gave her the boost she needed. She’s now working as a volunteer at her local primary school, Oldham Oasis Academy, listening to the Reception class children read. Sarah, who is also studying for a qualification in English at Oasis Academy was at a Contour event last October when she put her name down to receive information about jobs and training. She then enrolled on the Inspiration Generation Programme, a 12-week course funded by Contour Homes and Regenda, which aimed to help Oldham residents learn new skills and give them a taste of different work opportunities. ‘I wasn’t going to go at first – I was really nervous,’ said Sarah, ‘but when I started talking I felt a bit more confident. ‘I’m really glad that I went. I’ve learnt new things and have make new friends. ‘I’m still dealing with the confidence side, but each week I go I’m getting better, and when my son starts school in September I will be looking for work’. Meanwhile, single mum-of-two Jade Cooney, aged 25, of Seventh Avenue, who attended the same the taster course, is putting barista training she received to good use and is working at a Manchester city centre coffee shop after being out of work for three years. ‘I was nervous at first… I didn’t realise how long it had been,’ said Jade. ‘My life feels much more structured now and I’ve got more into a routine. ‘My daughter’s so proud. She’s told everyone in nursery that mummy goes to work now.’ Sandra Bush, community engagement officer, for Contour Homes, who helped to coordinate the training, said: It’s been great working in partnership with Regenda to see many of the attendees progress to employment, voluntary work and further training using their newly acquired skills and confidence’. Inspiration Generation is just one of a number of projects Contour Homes is running as part of a major initiative across the North West called ‘Works For Me’, which aims to support tenants into work and training. To find out more about Works For Me contact the Symphony Extra Team. Pictured L-R: Sandra Bush and Sarah Cocker.
First Choice Homes Oldham FCHO’s dedicated team are hard at work creating employment and training opportunities for both customers and the local community. We see this as one of the main areas of focus for us as we seek to ‘improve lives in Oldham’; as both the largest landlord and one of the largest employers in the town. Our focus in building and supporting community resilience is to provide quality housing, job opportunities and opportunities to improve health. We want to support communities to thrive and for individuals to shape their aspirations and achieve their goals. We work with partner organisations and support initiatives which help to achieve this. In 2015-2016, a total of 102 Oldham residents achieved successful employment outcomes through these FCHO initiatives: Volunteering - 22 Jobcentre Plus Placements - 17 New apprenticeships created at FCHO - 3 Apprentices progressing to a traineeship - 5 Apprentices progressing into FCHO employment - 2 Lone parents supported by Groundwork Parent Employment pilot - 19 Get Oldham Working - 34 Customer Employment This year FCHO has introduced new employment service named ‘Directions’. This service helps customers with: CV writing and tailoring Support with application forms Accessing the hidden job market Information about in work benefits Careers advice Support in changing careers Contacting employers Training Work experience Volunteering Since its launch in April 2016 the service has seen 63 customers; 26 of whom have received job offers (41%). Volunteering and placements Volunteering encourages greater social activity in our borough and helps to engage local communities and bring people together. Individuals in Oldham are already volunteering and many want to do more. They provide a wide range of services which impact on important issues for all of us. Whilst people volunteer to give something back to their community, volunteering can also be a great experience for the volunteer who benefits from increasing confidence, acquiring
new skills, and developing friendships. Volunteering also offers the opportunity to gain much -needed CV enhancing skills and experience which may lead to paid employment. In 2015-2016, 76 volunteers supported FCHO with 2702 hours and 1077 hours of these were completed by customers. In return FCHO provided 1,111 additional internal/external training hours which includes inductions, Safeguarding, Equality and Diversity and mentoring & befriending. We also work in partnership with a number of other training providers/organisations and recently Mantra learning delivered the ECDL qualification to a number of our volunteers. 22 volunteers have secured employment and have progressed into work within the past 12 months. Volunteers have gained employment in various roles including with the HMRC, trading standards and FCHO. Skills for employment Skills for Employment offers unemployed adults support to develop a personalised training and support plan to help improve your skills and/or find sustainable employment. FCHO supports the contract by offering 8 week placements and non-accredited training. Case Study—Mary Brooks Mary was referred to the Directions Employment Service for support to look into work, by Naomi, the Volunteer Coordinator at FCHO. Mary was working in two part time Cleaning positions but really wanted to find a permanent, stable position. Mary had years of experience in Administration, however left this field a number of years ago and really wanted to get back into this field of work. Mary attended appointments with Sarah and they edited Mary’s CV, really highlighting her skills and experience. Mary was extremely motivated to return to work and was open to a number of opportunities which Sarah sent through to her. Mary was also being supported by Naomi, FCHO’s Volunteer Co-ordinator, who was really encouraging of Mary to volunteer or complete a placement to bring new, current skills to her CV. After attending an interview with Royton Medical Centre, Mary was given excellent feedback and was offered a positon as a Medical Receptionist Apprentice. FCHO congratulates Mary on the new role. “I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your support and encouragement in helping me on my path to gaining employment. I am so glad I decided to send a request email to volunteer with FCHO as I had no idea that it would lead to gaining the opportunity of working for the NHS as a Medical Receptionist Apprentice. I can honestly say my confidence was at a low when I sent that email but after our first meeting I'm happy to say all that changed. Again thank you all for your support and I hope to see you all again in the future”
Great Places Breakfast Club Great Places ran a breakfast club at the Primrose Centre in Oldham during the during school holidays. The focus was on providing a healthy breakfast and raising awareness of using fresh produce for meals. Children enjoyed making breakfast pizzas and fruit smoothies using spinach and fruit. They also had fun working with IFOldham making bird seed balls to hang on tree, sowing seeds and designing a garden.
Great Places Repair Team supporting employment progress
A Great Places customer, Joseph Heywood has been working within their repairs team to gain valuable work experience and skills needed to complete his Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) qualification. The link was made via the Great Places Social Investment Team, and everyone involved enjoyed the experience. A manager from the repairs team said, “The team has a great attitude towards work and will give Joe a valuable introduction into working in social housing and construction�. As well as working towards his qualification, Joe has also completed a placement with
Keepmoat and is continuing building his confidence and skills in the construction industry. “I’m really grateful that our repairs team are supporting Joe because it will really help him. It’s the next step he needs towards securing employment and the enthusiasm from the team to offer this kind of help has been fantastic. It’s important that we make the most of opportunities like these for our tenants,” said employment and skills manager Keira Burns. How Great Places Social Investment Team helped Aquail build his career
Aquail learned all about the apprenticeships that our Social Investment Team (SIT) are able to offer to our residents. Here, he takes up the story of how one of them helped him build his dream career. “I’m Aquail and I’m 21. I was told about the apprenticeship opportunities that Great Places offers and I was offered an interview for one of them in bricklaying. After the interview, the company contacted me to offer me the job – I was over the moon and accepted straightaway.” “I’d already started college on a bricklaying course at that point, the ultimate aim of which was to complete my diplomas in the subject, and I wanted to convert these qualifications so I’d have an NVQ. I kept working part-time in an administration and process role in the NHS as I studied, which allowed me to earn extra money and experience until I’m fully qualified.” “There were definitely some challenges that I faced as I worked towards my qualification. The biggest was actually finding the apprenticeship that would let me convert my diploma to an NVQ. The college only had a limited number of apprenticeships and I wasn’t lucky
enough to secure a position, so I started applying externally. With a lot of these applications I didn’t even get to the interview stage because I had no site experience, and I didn’t even get feedback on many of my applications.” “Great Places then stepped in and were able to give me the experience that I needed on a fully functioning building site. After getting such a crucial understanding of my chosen career, I was able to get a bricklaying apprenticeship with Crudens, who work with Great Places.” “I’ve now got lots of goals that I can work towards. In the short-term, I’d like to complete my apprenticeship and keep on getting really stuck in, getting as much experience as I can. I also want to learn as much as I can about the construction industry as a whole. Longer term, I’d like to work towards a higher position in the same industry such as site manager. I’ll do this by working through my current qualification towards higher level education.” “I’d like to thank Great Places for helping me onto my apprenticeship and giving me the opportunity to learn so much more about my chosen career. It’s genuinely been a lifechanging experience. Thank you.” Supporting self-employment ideas at Great Places Great Places Social Investment Team (SIT) ran a two-day workshop in partnership with Banana Enterprise last month, aimed at customers who are interested in starting their own businesses. The course delivered information on the essential skills needed to set up and successfully run a business to eight of our customers, all of whom had previously indicated that they’d be interested in ‘going it alone’. Their ideas for their own companies ranged from holistic therapies and crafts to soft furnishings, nail technicians and online retail. It wasn’t just our customers who were pleased with the result of the course. “Thank you or giving me the opportunity to work with your customers. What an inspiration they were – a fantastic, motivated, friendly group. It’s been a pleasure working with them,” said Jayne Allman, the CEO, founder and business advisor at Banana Enterprise. Employment and skills manager Keira Burns was also pleased with how the event went: “We’re seeing self-employment as an option for more and more of our customers and they’re thinking outside the box to make ends meet around family life. “We need to be able to provide them with the right information and support and the partnership with Jayne enables this,” she added.
Our customers were similarly pleased with what they learned in the workshop. “I came onto the course because I want to be my own boss and work around my daughter,” said Hazel. “I was offered the opportunity to attend and was pleased about that but anxious too,” said Michelle. “I hope to have enough knowledge to set up my business and am looking forward to finding out more about the IT requirements and creating a business plan,” she added. A follow-up session on book-keeping is planned for June and on-going support is being given to all attendees. Great Places Social Investment Team apprentice secures Job within the Salford neighbourhood team Liliana Centeio joined Great Places as an apprentice in December 2013 and, thanks to her hard work, completed a Level 2 NVQ in Housing by early 2015. She then applied for a Level 3 progression and was successful in her application, so she is currently ahead with her studies and on track to complete this later in the year. Liliana moved to the UK seven years ago. In that time she has raised two beautiful children alone, worked hard to learn both written and spoken English and secured employment opportunities that have helped her develop her career pathway and secure a future for her children. During her time in the Social Investment Team she has thrown herself into the various different aspects of the team’s work. Highlights of her work include supporting the team’s Toolbox project which developed its social value offer and maximized opportunities for Great Places customers and becoming a trained mentor which enabled her to support Great Places customers better. This helped with particular regard to customers that are vulnerable and have many challenges. Liliana was also able to utilize her command of Portuguese to help the Salford Neighbourhood Team with customers who speak these languages. Liliana was also nominated and shortlisted for the Women in Housing Award, which served as an acknowledgement of her progress and how she provided a first class service to tenants and her team. She proved herself to be passionate about supporting others as well as being committed to Great Places and motivated to succeed… and it’s paid off as Liliana has now secured a permanent role as a neighbourhood officer in the Salford Team.
Giving our customers help to gain digital skills Give and Gain Day is the only global day of employee volunteering. It’s now in its ninth year of celebrating the power of employee volunteering which enhances work companies do within their communities. This year’s day of celebration was held on 20 May and had the theme ‘digital inclusion’. Working with First Choice Homes Oldham, Great Places employment and skills manager Craig Stone looked at supporting people across the town in getting online. First Choice Homes organised the two volunteers who understood all things digital for the session, while Great Places gave the use of the Primrose Community Centre. The Social Investment Team (SIT) understood that some people struggle to navigate their way around employment websites, so they decided that helping customers how to use such sites would be the focus of the day. Four Great Places customers attended the event and, with support from the volunteers and Great Places’ community development co-ordinator Naseem Ahmed, took great strides in learning how to find work online. Two customers completed online applications for job vacancies they had seen while the other two learned how to use My Work Search. Craig Stone said: “This was a great opportunity to spend quality time with our tenants and support them on their journey into work. “The First Choice Homes volunteers were brilliant and it is another clear indication of the strong partnerships that exist between our social investment team and partner agencies across Oldham,” he added. Job fair a great success Craig Stone and Phil Walker from Great Places Social Investment Team were the key organisers of a job fair for customers held on 26 May. “The purpose of the event was to engage with partners to provide a local event that would meet the needs of customers,” said Craig. “We want to support them on the journey to a great future by helping them into work or starting to remove the barriers that could be preventing them from accessing work, which is one of the actions in our Sustainable
Neighbourhood Action Plan.� he added. More than 100 vacancies filled the two noticeboards from a range of employers as diverse as the NHS, the Army, Kier Construction, One To One Care, the DWP, Source Academy, Learn Direct, the local Development Trust, Voluntary Action, Children’s Centre, and Training and Resource Centre. There was a great atmosphere inside the hall as the occupiers of the stands dealt with the variety of customer needs and it would not have been possible without the support of a range of Great Places staff. Great Places Apprenticeship and Skills Event Craig Stone the Great Places Employment and Skills Manager for Oldham was aware that the soon to be de-commissioned Key 103 Apprenticeship Bus had not appeared at a community event in Oldham. The Key 103 Apprenticeship Bus is interactive and has been a huge attraction across schools and community events across Greater Manchester.
Craig met with colleagues from Positive Steps and Get Oldham Working and identified a number of dates when the Key 103 Bus was available. The central location of Oldham Library was confirmed as the venue for the event as this is easily accessible by public transport and is synonymous with learning. We agreed that we wanted to showcase the huge variety of apprenticeships on offer and invited a cross section of local training providers, the college and various support agencies that could help young people on their journey into an apprenticeship. The event was a success with 16 organisations present to promote hundreds of opportunities in a variety of occupational areas. Nearly 100 people attended and the feedback from the evaluations was very positive with 87% stating that they thought the event was either good or excellent. All Great Places tenants that attended were noted and will be followed up by the Social Investment Team. The Key 103 Bus with top tunes blaring out was a huge draw and will be sadly missed as it reverts back its day job.
Irwell Valley Housing Association In December 2012, Irwell Valley set up its own in-house repairs and maintenance company, Adamas. The aim of Adamas is to provide an excellent customer repairs service and to help Irwell Valley meet its five key priorities, in particular zero non-essential repairs, zero relet day and zero customer dissatisfaction. Using funding from our Golden Foundation we funded two apprenticeship posts within the new company to help the successful candidates to learn to become multi skilled operatives over a three year programme. The purpose of the apprenticeship programme is to provide training and employment to young people living in our homes and neighbourhoods, focusing mainly on the age group 18-24 years old. Our current apprentices are both residents of Irwell Valley and are due to successfully complete their training in November 2016 and we intend to increase our apprenticeships this year, giving the opportunity to five new residents to take up apprenticeships at Adamas. One apprentice, Daniel Crowther had this to say about his apprenticeship “Irwell Valley Adamas has given me the chance to pursue my chosen career path as a multi skilled tradesman and I am enjoying every minute. This apprenticeship has opened up many possibilities for me to develop and diversify within the organisation and I have made many new and valuable friends since I started. It is really a great place to work and I genuinely feel like a valuable member of the Irwell Valley Adamas team”.
Mosscare Mosscare and St Vincent’s Run for Homes Over 30 runners including staff from Mosscare, St Vincent’s, Rawlinson's, Trower's and Forbes, took part in our 5km run at Alexandra Park to raise awareness of the need for more affordable housing. A bake sale for the spectators raised over £100 for Boaz Trust who house destitute asylum seekers in Manchester. Rob Ferguson at Mosscare Housing Group said: “We’re really pleased to be able to support the Run for Homes campaign.
It’s a great chance for our staff to come together with staff from other organisations in the sector and raise money for a valuable housing service in our community.” A member of Mosscare staff said: “I told my children this morning that I’m running 5km today so they can have homes in the future.”
New Charter New Charter recruits 23 Apprentices New Charter Group is currently in the process of recruiting 23 Apprentices into roles across the business. The Tameside based employer has a strong track record of recruiting Apprentices from the local community, having recruited over 100 apprentices in the past 15 years, many of whom have moved on to permanent positions within the business. Catherine Bentley, Talent Manager said “We are delighted to be able to recruit such a high number of apprentices again this year. It’s important for us to ensure that we bring great people into our business and our continually evolving Apprenticeship offer is a great way to do this. It’s great that as part of this process we can provide high quality employment opportunities to support local people in building successful careers.” The Group have been keen to encourage applications from across the local communities and the Apprenticeships are open to applicants of any age. They have utilised a range of techniques to promote the opportunities resulting in over 350 applications. Promotional activities included local press and radio interviews, recruitment posters across the local community, schools and colleges and via the National Apprenticeship Service and the organisations own website. The Group also organised an “Apprentice Open Evening” at their Tameside HQ to encourage potential applicants to come along and find out more about the opportunities. The event was a huge success with over a hundred potential applicants attending. Selection processes are now well underway with new recruits joining the business from September 2016.
Oldham Coliseum Theatre Partnership Over the past 2 years Aksa Homes and the Coliseum Theatre have engaged in an indepth partnership designed to introduce Aksa customers to the performing arts in their town, build work related skills and promote integration. This partnership has now been opened to the wider group to allow New Charter Homes residents to benefit from some of the amazing opportunities that the Coliseum Theatre is able to offer. Oldham Coliseum Theatre has agreed provide to a series of work experience days in the theatres box office and other customer service duties. We have already managed to link two residents from the New Charter Work Club into work experience placements which are looking to are currently to offer more places. We are also able to provide up to 10 places on the Teaching Theatre Programme in September 2016. This is an in depth programme designed to promote pathways to work for 16-24 year old NEETS, training them in all aspects of the work that happens ‘behind the scenes’ in the theatre, leading to increased integration, aspiration and employability. We have also managed to secure a one year free entry for New Charter Academy into the Secondary Education Partnership Scheme. Through the Education Partnership Scheme students from approx. 12 schools will take part in a series of industry led workshops, master classes and an interschool performance staged on the Coliseum’s main stage. Schools will also receive theatre tickets and post and pre-show workshops to each of the Coliseum’s productions. Teachers will also be provided with training sessions to enable them to enhance future teaching in the classroom.
Residents from both Aksa Homes and New Charter Homes can also benefit from reduced price theatre tickets. Lower ticket prices will reduce barriers to access to the Theatre and we
hope to improve family and community cohesion and reduce social isolation. Testimonial from Yasmin who completed the Teaching Theatre Programme: ‘If it hadn’t have been for this course I wouldn’t have considered my options- it’s woken them up” Aksa Homes work club—Helping with employment skills, dressing to impress and the result is a job is secured Mrs B is in an Aksa (Part of the New Charter group) tenant living in the Oldham area who first attended the work club hoping to secure sustainable employment. She was struggling with her finances due to her husband being on a low income and she wanted to improve the household income as well as wanting to set a good example to her children. She was really struggling as she felt she had low skills and no experience so therefore would struggle to find employment. Mrs B hadn’t worked for the last 20 years due to family commitments and caring for her disabled brother. She had no confidence or any recent work experience. As a first step we worked on her CV highlighting any transferable skills she had from her time from caring for her brother and from raising her children. Once her CV was completed we worked on improving her confidence and she was referred on to in house training for confidence building, interview techniques, basic IT training and other external training to improve her chances of gaining employment. Whilst attending the work club she would assist other less able clients to complete their work search and through this she started to volunteer at the work club on a regular basis. She assisted other people with job search and often used her language skills to interpret in English and Urdu, a key skill she didn’t even realise she had. A job came up with a supported housing provider as a support worker and due to her previous experience of caring for her brother it was something she was really interested in. She felt like she wasn’t qualified enough or capable for this job. As a part of these positions there was an open day to address these barriers with potential applicants and answer any questions they may have. Mrs B attended this open day and was made to feel very comfortable and she was prompted to put in an application. Mrs B felt confident after attending the open day and started her application which the team assisted her with. Mrs B was offered an interview as this was her first interview in 20 years she was very nervous and felt she had nothing to wear to it. As a part of the Employability and Skills programme we offer Working Wardrobe which allows residents access to clothes that have been donated by different retailers for interviews and to support people who maybe struggling financially to become work ready. She accessed this service and was able to pick a smart outfit for her interview. Mrs B attended the interview and was offered a position and is currently waiting for a start date with the supported housing provider. This has job will have a positive impact on her household income as well as greatly improving her mental wellbeing. Through the interventions made at the work club she has been able to turn around her life and secure sustainable employment.
One Manchester Mind Your Money working with vulnerable groups Mind Your Money has been continuing to deliver financial inclusion projects across Manchester as part of the Talk Money, Stress Less campaign. Working with Justlife, an Openshaw based charity which provides support to people living in temporary unsupported accommodation, Mind Your Money has delivered a four-week intervention to service users. This has included one-to-one advice and support around accessing bank accounts, debts and benefits, problematic gambling and loan sharks. Discussions are now underway about provision of an ongoing service. Nine service users from the Oasis Centre, a Gorton-based organisation which provides support for vulnerable and disadvantaged adults, have also benefited from a four-week training programme covering savings, savvy shopping and loan sharks. Course participants have also created an information board which they will be sharing with even more service users at a money awareness event on Wednesday 6 July.
Anson Community Shop A new community food-sharing membership scheme supported by One Manchester is diverting an estimated 300kg a week of food and household goods, which would otherwise go to landfill, to Rusholme households. The Anson Community Shop which opened in April 2016 provides members with a basket of food and other household items worth at least ÂŁ12 supplied by Fare-Share, Tesco, M & S, and local donations for just ÂŁ2.50. Run by Manchester-based social enterprise Healthy Me, Healthy Communities and a team of dedicated volunteers, the scheme already has 55 members and is getting ready to extend its opening hours in response to the ever-growing waiting list.
Passivhaus project reducing fuel bills in Longsight
Residents of Erneley Close in Longsight have seen their energy bills fall by up to 80 per cent following One Manchester’s retrofit project, which has transformed two blocks of 1960s maisonettes into desirable, highly energy efficient properties which have achieved the Passivhaus EnerPHit standard. Figures just published from the first year show residents are now spending an average of just 47p a day on heating and hot water compared to the national average of £1.93 a day for similar properties of this age. The scheme, which was one of the first large-scale retrofit to Passivhaus EnerPHit Standard by a social landlord, was recognised with the ‘Award for Sustainability’ at the national Planning and Placemaking Awards in June. PopUp Business School One Manchester has been helping local entrepreneurs turn their businesses ideas into reality by bringing the PopUp Business School to Manchester. The first, week-long PopUp Business School was held in Hulme and was very well-received by the 24 people who attended, many of who are currently on benefits, have childcare to work around but who want to turn their hobby or business idea into a profitable business. Participants, who are looking to set up a wide range of businesses from ceramics to music to childminding, described the course as ‘absolutely fantastic’, ‘fun’ and ‘inspiring’. They
particularly welcomed the fact that they were able to bring their children along if needed, liked the informal approach where they didn’t feel they had to be ‘suited and booted’, and felt the school gave them lots of practical tools to help them get started such as building websites and setting up social media accounts, setting up PayPal accounts and using apps to take credit card payments. The second PopUp Business School will take place in east Manchester in July with 34 people currently booked on. Enterprise Week Staff from One Manchester went back to school in June to take part in St. Mary’s C.E. Primary’s Enterprise Week. The week was all about raising aspirations, with pupils from all Key Stage Two classes interrogating staff about the different job opportunities organisations like One Manchester have to offer. Our employment support adviser, customer service adviser and communications project manager answered some brilliant questions from pupils, with many getting straight down to business wanting to know how much exactly they could expect to earn should they choose to pursue a career in the sector. One Manchester apprentice recognised A One Manchester apprentice has been flying the flag for women in grounds maintenance as she was named runner-up in the Intermediate Apprentice of the Year at the Skills for Business Awards in June. Jay-Anne McCabe, who recently completed her Level Two in Horticulture, hopes her achievements will inspire other young people particularly young women - to take up apprenticeship opportunities. She said: “At first I kept worrying what people were thinking of me as a girl doing a job people are used to lads doing because I was the only girl in the team and on my course, but then I got here and thought ‘I can do this’ and I have done. The apprenticeship has given me so many different opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise. My goal when I started was just to stay in work but now I’m more confident and can see bigger opportunities. If I can do what I’ve done in two years, what can I achieve in the future?” One Manchester is currently in the process of recruiting six new apprentices to the following positions: IT officer, building surveyor, electrician, plumber, heating engineer and plumber. Financial Inclusion Conference – Save the date It’s nearly that time of year already. Manchester’s fourth Financial Inclusion Conference will be taking place on Monday 26 September 2016 at The Studio, The Hive, Lever Street in Manchester with Leader of Manchester City Council Councillor Richard Leese already confirmed as a speaker. Contact the Mind Your Money team for more information on 0161 227 1352.
Regenda Financial Inclusion Regenda continue to offer and promote schemes through the Credit Union, we currently give an incentive of ÂŁ10 for each new resident signing up and promote young saver schemes too. We are also working on joint projects alongside the Credit Union around Financial Inclusion issues with residents and local schools. Digital Inclusion Regenda have a portal at the St Chads office base for the public to use to access the internet. We also offer free Wi -Fi at the local tenants hall and in the library on the Limehurst Village estate. Regenda took part in Give & Gain Day on Friday 12th May, where many organisations teamed up across the Oldham borough to take part in a digital inclusion themed event offering advice around Employment & Skills and Health & Wellbeing. Regenda & Contour Homes teamed up and held a drop in service in the local library on Limehurst estate focussing on the main event subjects and also helping residents set up email accounts, advice around online banking and setting residents up onto the My Regenda Accounts. The drop in saw around 10 residents who all had different needs. We also offered an incentive around job searches whereby each resident looking for a job also received a free memory stick to store CV, covering letters and job applications onto. Employment and Skills Following a restructure earlier this year Regenda have newly formed Regeneration Team who now have a Regeneration & Employment Officer who focuses on helping residents into work. The new Officer Beckie Kirkland works with residents on an individual need basis to help them into work. The first assessment will be made with the residents around their skill set and may lead into training such as confidence building, Health & Safety training etc. We look to engage them in current projects, helping them build up a CV and create work experience opportunities to then help them apply for jobs and hopefully in to a sustainable job. Regenda also supports the weekly Hollinwood Job Club which is held in the library on a Thursday. A lot of Regenda residents come through this club due to it being based on one of our larger estates, so we are engaging with them on a weekly basis. Fuel Poverty Regenda have made the following improvements to properties in Quarter 1 via our Property Investment Team:
Switched 35 residents to lower cost utility suppliers Completed loft insulation in 3 properties Installed 109 new heating systems Installed 70 new windows Continue to complete stock condition surveys to provide improved data to make decisions on energy measures We have cleared 35 fuel metres on average around £10 per metre
Food Poverty Regenda Homes have supported the launch of the Limehurst Village Growing Hub Group. The group is made up of residents who volunteer and meet on site on a weekly basis. The group are on the site each week working on growing fruit/vegetables, growing tasks, meet new friends, join interactive workshops and learn how to cook and eat what they grow. The group is now constituted and have their own bank account. Residents who attend the group are now looking to apply for their own funding to help subsidise their own costs. They have recently held a fundraising event for the hub to raise money to buy a shed to store their tools. The project lead and Growing Ambassador Cherryl Brock explained the group are very enthusiastic and have lots of ideas of how they want to move forward. Cherryl has also engaged with Oldham’s Early Help Team who work on site on a monthly basis with their clients offering work experience, training and volunteering opportunities. The Group are looking forward to their first harvest in Autumn whereby they hope to sell some of their produce and make some more funds for the group. They are also working towards engaging more residents and volunteers to get them involved with the hub and also offer advice about what they can grow from their own gardens at home.
Stockport Homes Volunteering with Caretaking Team In 2014 we started a volunteering programme with our caretaking team. People interested in a career in caretaking could work alongside a member of staff, learning the role and receiving some basic training. The aim was to give them an insight of what our caretakers do on a daily basis, and prepare them for the recruitment process. We focused on long term unemployed people, who have been attending our job club on a
regular basis and showed a desire to move back in to employment. They didn’t need any specific experience or skills. To date we have taken on 10 volunteers, six of whom have gone on to secure jobs in the Stockport Homes Caretaking Team. Apprenticeship with Homechoice through ESF Employment programme In 2013 we had a lady move in to our temporary accommodation after losing her property. Although her first language was Chichewa her spoken English was good but had some issues with written English. She was referred by her Housing Support Officer to our ESF employment programme where she met with an employment officer. Through 1-2-1 meetings we discovered that after experiencing living in temporary accommodation she wanted to help other people in the same situation. Firstly, she was referred on to our in house employability programme and then attended our job club on a weekly basis. She applied for an apprenticeship position with the Homechoice team paying living wage of £7.20, so although she was 33 she was able to apply. We supported her with completing her application and gave her interview tips. She was successful and was offered an 18 month apprenticeship, part of which would be working in our temporary accommodation. She is nearing the end of her apprenticeship and has completed qualifications along the way including Maths and English level 1, customer service level 2 and housing level 2. She has recently applied and had an interview for a full-time post on the Homechoice team. Another young lady who had been visiting our weekly job club had been successful with a volunteering opportunity working with Stockport Homes Homechoice Team. Due to her hard work and determination she was taken on as a bank member of staff. She has been working full time over the last 6 months and is currently applying for a permanent position with Stockport Homes as a project worker assistant. Apprenticeship with Independent Living Services through Talent Match Independent Living Services recently advertised an apprenticeship post at £8.50 per hour covering clerical and administration support in all the service areas with appropriate training and support. It was agreed that we could offer it as a full-time post or job share to make it more accessible to single parents. All suitable Talent Match candidates (18-24 NEET for over 12 months) were guaranteed an interview. Two single parents from the Talent Match programme were successful with their interview and were offered 17.5 hr posts. Although they didn’t have all the required skills, their personal experiences, drive and determination to succeed was taken in to account. Both candidates were over the moon and very pleased with themselves for securing the apprenticeship post as well as the Talent Match Coaches.
Food poverty/employment: ‘Your Local Pantry’ trains the trainer Your Local Pantry is a network of four community food stores set up by Stockport Homes to provide local residents with a range of food and groceries for just £2.50 a week. One thing we have learned since setting up three years ago is that although we provide the food, not everybody knows how to cook it. We were very keen to demonstrate to members how easy it is to turn the ingredients available at the Pantry into a delicious meal for all the family – so we set up the “Train the Trainer” course.
Using funding from Forever Manchester, ingredients from Penny Lane Pantry and expertise from Stockport Council’s Food and Health Team, 20 participants were provided with the skills and knowledge to cook healthy meals from scratch – then use this knowledge to train others in their community. We also invited a number of people from a local drug rehabilitation unit to join in the sessions, recognising the impact good food can have on improving health – as well as
helping local residents to have a better understanding of the issues faced by people recovering from addictions. Four attendees went on to complete further training, including food hygiene qualifications and special diets courses, which is both a boost to their confidence and a valuable addition to their CVs. To continue to support our members to cook we signpost to community cooking sessions and produce recipe cards – especially where we have some more unusual ingredients in stock! A community café is also setting up next to our Brinnington Pantry, where we plan to work jointly to help promote healthy eating, skills and budgeting. Photograph shows local residents on the ‘train the trainer’ course at Penny Lane Pantry. Employment/Social enterprise: H3 (Helping the Homeless into Housing) H3 develops and delivers projects with and for local people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Stockport. These activities focus on preventing and relieving the effects of homelessness and reducing social and financial exclusion. Our overall aim is to support people to move on from homelessness in a sustainable way. H3 has developed a range of social enterprise activities to benefit its customers, one of whom now has a part-time contract to deliver cleaning services. As a close partner of Stockport Homes, H3 is in a fantastic position to develop social enterprise work through offering services to a friendly procurer for contracts under £5000 (no tender requirement). Since 2015, H3 have employed a beneficiary on a part-time contract to deliver six hours cleaning a week at one of the temporary accommodation schemes, Strathclyde House. Since gaining this contract, there have been two women who have been employed on this contract and H3 are looking to recruit a new beneficiary when the current worker is able to find permanent employment. This service provides better value and cost efficiency for Stockport Homes, enables H3 to support its customers back into work through a part time contract, and provides a small additional income to the charity. It is hoped that this contract can be matched by others in similar settings and increase the impact of this social enterprise model. H3 has also delivered painting and decorating services to Stockport Homes’ private lettings team and community venues team. In these instances, H3 was able to award vouchers to customers who took part in the work and use the money earned through the contract to bring in a skilled trainer to upskill customers on the job.
Fuel Poverty Case Study: Stockport Homes Energy Advice Mrs Smith lived in a Stockport Homes’ property with her husband and two children. A few years ago her husband became ill and sadly passed away, leaving Mrs Smith to look after the two children as well as take care of all of the financial responsibilities. This was an emotional and extremely difficult time for Mrs Smith. Mrs Smith’s husband had looked after the household finances and when Mrs Smith got around to dealing with the gas and electricity accounts she realised that they hadn’t been paid for quite a long time and there was a few thousand pounds of debt on the accounts. After discussing things with her energy supplier, she was told that pre-payment meters would be installed in her property to recover the debt. Pre-payment meters were fitted and Mrs Smith started to re-pay the debt. However Mrs Smith become ill herself resulting in mobility problems. At this point Mrs Smith was referred to the Stockport Homes Energy Advice Team as she was now struggling to physically top up her pre-payment meters due to the meter location. Mrs Smith’s initial query was to have her meters relocated to an accessible location. The Energy Advisor discussed with Mrs Smith how the debt accumulated and decided that this would be an appropriate case to apply to the British Gas Energy Trust to assist with her debt. The Energy Advisor completed the application with Mrs Smith and acted as her point of contact. The grant application was successful with a payment awarded to clear the debt in full. The Stockport Homes Energy Advisor continued to work with Mrs Smith to guide her through and discuss the different options for meters and energy tariffs. Mrs Smith decided her best option was to change her meters to credit meters and set up monthly direct payments. The Energy Advisor organised for credit meters to be fitted and switched both gas and electricity to a cheaper supplier, which saved Mrs Smith over £300 per year. Having changed to credit meters this also meant that Mrs Smith no longer had to worry about accessing the prepayment meters as this was difficult due to mobility problems. Mrs Smith was extremely grateful for all the help that the Energy Advisor gave her and very happy that the Trust Fund Grant cleared all of her debt. She has now set up an online account with her energy supplier, and after the advice from the Stockport Homes Energy Advice Service, finally feels she is fully in control of her utilities.
Wigan and Leigh Homes Work Placement Opportunities for Tenants and Residents Since January 2015 Wigan and Leigh Homes have provided support to our tenants and residents to help them find employment or training. Part of this offer is to remove barriers for those who are long term unemployed. As employers are looking for relevant and current work experience our tenant participation officers help our tenants and residents to gain meaningful work experience. As a company we can offer experience in various roles including Administration and Estate Caretaking. We have so far provided 20 people with an opportunity to gain relevant skills
such as using computer systems, dealing with customers, team working, confidence building, and tidying and maintaining our estates. We are flexible with the amount of time that people want to volunteer, we have had placements working with us for 2 weeks as well as long term placements for 6 and 12 months. There are also no age restrictions or criteria on ability. As well as providing work placements we also work with our contractors and external agencies to help our tenants and residents to find work placements in other work related fields such as trades, care work and retail. Once work placements have been completed our officers continue to support tenants into finding employment. Due to the skills and knowledge that tenants have learned whilst on a work placement we have been able to help 14 people move into permanent employment whilst continuing to support the other placements with updating their CV and interview advice. For more information please contact our Tenant Participation Officers Diana Baybutt or Tracy Lowe on 01942 486557 or email employmentandskills@walh.co.uk
FareShare
Over 5.8 million people in the UK live in deep poverty meaning they lack access to healthy affordable food. At the same time the UK throws away 3.9 million tonnes of good food is sent for disposal by the food industry every year. Community Food Members (CFMs) We distribute food to over 170 charities and community organisations - our CFMs - and new organisations are joining all the time. Our community food members provide vitally-needed meals, food parcels and snacks to hundreds of disadvantaged people every day. Industry Partners Our industry partners donate food, money and time. Every year our food partners deliver over 600 tonnes of fresh, frozen and long-life food to our depot at New Smithfield Market in Manchester. We receive a wide range of food - bread, meat, vegetables, cans, ready-made meals, dairy products, and drinks - we never know exactly what we'll get each week. Some partners deliver every working day, others once or twice a week, others, a few times a year. Our Team Together with a large team of invaluable volunteers, our staff respond to membership enquiries, deal with deliveries and store the food in the warehouse. The food is then
matched with the needs of our community food members, and delivered. Our aim is to make sure that everything delivered to us by our food partners finds a home. FareShare FoodCloud Are you a charity or community group that uses food to support with people in need? FareShare FoodCloud is reaching more stores in the Greater Manchester area this summer. This new initiative matches charities and community groups to local Tesco stores for free evening collections of surplus bakery, fruit and vegetables, and other foods. To find out more contact: Josh Perry, Regional FoodCloud Assistant for Greater Manchester 07572 227538 or email Joshua.Perry@fareshare.org.uk
And finally…
Thank you to everyone who submitted articles.
Don’t forget we need your stories on any of the work you are doing to tackle poverty for the next issue due out in October We’ve all made a commitment to share our ideas and initiatives so send your articles in however long or short they are, and please try to include pictures wherever possible.
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Please send all feedback, articles and suggestions to Julie.Ralph@boltonathome.org.uk
...Thank you