The poverty issue January 2017
Welcome to Issue 15 of the Greater Manchester Housing Providers anti-poverty newsletter, shining a light on the work we do to help reduce poverty and some of the projects and communities we work with. Our cover pictures shows an exhibition of drawings by Len Grant for Wythenshawe Housing Group highlighting the work and stories of their Real Food volunteers, more on page 33. I, Daniel Blake – Have you booked your community screening yet? Daniel Blake, 59, who has worked as a joiner most of his life in the North East of England needs help from the State for the first time ever following an illness. He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children. Katie’s only chance to escape a one roomed homeless hostel in London is to accept a flat some 300 miles away. Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy now played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern day Britain. The stories of Daniel and Katie and others like them will be all too familiar to some of us. The People’s Assembly, a broad united national campaign against austerity, are facilitating community screenings of the film to get it seen by as wide an audience as possible. To find out more visit www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/blake_screen . 1
What’s happening… Two bite size pieces of news appeared on Twitter within minutes of each other recently. The first was a graph from Ipsos Mori showing that anxiety levels about poverty and inequality in the UK are at their highest ever levels; the second was reporting the recent JRF research which shows that despite economic growth in Greater Manchester many people are still not feeling the benefit and we still have ‘significant’ poverty, stubborn unemployment and falling wages.
Residents go to the polls in less than 100 days to elect the first GM Mayor. The JRF says the new mayor must use their powerful new post to create more and better jobs and the number one priority should be economic growth that benefits everyone. Greater Manchester Housing Providers will be using their influence to get housing and poverty reduction high on the agenda. Together with the National Housing Federation we’ve produced an infographic, see back pages, which summarises housing’s significant contribution to the GM economy, which includes our poverty reduction work. Our refreshed Anti-Poverty Pledges give more than a nod to the devolution agenda with a commitment to support the GM Combined Authority to provide the homes needed in the region alongside a commitment to prioritising the delivery of low cost rented housing. Other new pledges are around tackling poverty through procurement using social value, a strengthening of our offer on employment and skills and a commitment to improve staff awareness and understanding of poverty through training. The new pledges will be circulated in due course and will feature in the next newsletter along with some case studies.
How you can help… Firstly you can look out for the new pledges and use your influence to build on the work you’re already doing. Secondly you could contribute to this newsletter and share your expertise with others. An article, opinion/comment or just some general feedback is always welcome—you can contact me on 07766 726402 or email me at Julie.Ralph@boltonathome.org.uk 2
Bolton at Home Erasmus Project – Building Better Futures for our young people Volunteers from Bolton at Home and contractor Forrest flew to parts of Eastern Europe to take part in a project that's improved the lives of people living in deprived areas. A group of 12 young people and apprentices supported by staff travelled to Budapest in Hungary to carry out construction work, which included helping to build a refugee centre. They also made improvements at a nursery and a church, and supported teachers at a local school. The group worked alongside Oltalom Charity Society, an organisation which provides help to disadvantaged, vulnerable and endangered people in order to restore a good quality of life for the future.
A further group of 12 went to Romania, above, where they worked in partnership with FAST Charity Romania to improve the homes of the Roma communities within villages across Sacele. As well as building work which included connecting houses to a water supply, the volunteers spent time at the ‘integration centre’ and supported the education of children and their families and their integration into the wider community. Shauna Morton, our Head of Community Investment, said: “For our apprentices and young people, it was a chance to develop new skills and experience an entirely new country, while making a meaningful difference to the communities. “Some of our customers originate from Romania and Hungary so the trip has had great benefits for the young people and our staff in terms of learning about a different culture and picking up on best practice, which also promotes social inclusion. “These are very disadvantaged communities and this project has genuinely improved the lives of those people living there.” The project was funded by Erasmus+ and all volunteers are either part of Bolton at Home's or Forrest 's apprenticeship programme, or are currently in education or training. The apprentices are studying a range of disciplines, from joinery, decorating, plastering and bricklaying, to administration, health and social care, and performing arts. The volunteers were supported on the trip by employees from Bolton at Home and Forrest. Bolton at Home staff members used our ‘Give and Gain’ scheme, which allows them to give up five full working days a year to help the voluntary sector. 3
Bolton Moneyskills works with Asda to improve young peoples financial literacy Moneyskills have been working with young people aged 5-25 since 2014, providing financial capability sessions, aiming to reduce future poverty, by way of education. This has recently taken a different direction after a meeting with one of ASDA’s community champions. Following on from that, a joint working venture was developed, resulting in the delivery of a money skills presentation at Little Lever high school, followed by both money skills and ASDA working with the pupils in an ASDA store. The Money skills session enabled pupils to consider the long term cost of items that they purchased on a regular basis, and consequently how else this money could be spent. It also encouraged them to explore their own feelings surrounding peer pressure, and of valuing the things that we already have. During this session they learnt how to conduct a shopping list on a budget, how to prioritise needs and wants, and finally they experienced the differences between shopping for food online and shopping in store. Feedback received showed that 100% of attendees not only enjoyed the joint sessions but they were also surprised at the cost of living and now understand why we need to budget. This project proved to be highly successful and not only supported the school in the work they are doing with each year group on social enterprises but has also strengthened community partnership working. It has given many people an insight into how the act of tacking poverty can be addressed before the issue even begins, in the hope that education and knowledge will go a long way to making our adults of tomorrow even more financially capable. #BoltonAtWork 2016 Following the success of #SownInBolton, Bolton at Home invited writer, photographer and sketcher Len Grant to tell the story of our employment support programme. Through his sketches and interviews, Len was able to tell some personal success stories and get the work club message across not only to customers but to other parts of the organisation. Each of our neighbourhood advice centres (UCANs) have computers available for job searching and each week hold a work club offering specialist advice. The staff are hugely passionate about helping others and can support customers with all kinds of issues that might get in the way of being ‘job ready’. Our UCAN centres are driven by the needs of the people that walk through the doors; that’s why we think they’re different. You can see more of our stories here. Here’s what Len observed during one typical morning. 4
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Arawak Walton Keeping it local - tackling poverty through procurement Since its creation through merger in 1994 Arawak Walton has tried to harness local talent to enhance the communities we serve. We maintain close links with Cariocca Enterprises whose vision has been driven by the same powerful purpose since its humble beginnings – commitment to helping the inner city residents of Manchester to succeed in business through a range of programmes and projects, creating both wealth and jobs for the area. Cariocca provide a range of services including affordable premises, training and work placements. Arawak Walton has supported Cariocca in numerous ways over the years including Board support, offering employment places and accessing the services of small start-up businesses. A good example of a small business we have been able to support through procurement is Go Window Blinds. Anthony is a local business man, originally from the Moss Side area of Manchester with a BME background. He started up his own blinds company 10 years ago with the support of Cariocca’s affordable premises scheme. Sustainability has been pitfall at times for Anthony as private clients do not really offer repeat business. Customers such as Housing Associations can provide a vital lifeline in terms of returning business and have allowed Anthony to make contacts within the sector. Anthony is a valued contractor of the organisation and through building a trusted relationship we can be sure he will offer affordable, quality products. We have many small local contractors who are able to offer us value for money as well as going the extra mile for tenants. The nature of smaller contractors means they are both accessible and knowledgeable about our stock and tenants. Having a wide mix of service providers is key to the success of using smaller enterprises so no individual becomes too reliant on the business of one customer. Having regular work coming in from a HA can be the daily bread and butter that allows a start up to establish and grow in the wider community. You can find out more about Arawak Walton’s work in their annual report here.
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First Choice Homes Oldham From rehab to employment with the help of get Oldham Working Having spent many years unemployed due to various addictions Scott Greenwood now finds himself working again.
Working 30 hours a
week Scott carries out handyman duties for the firm each morning but at 6am he joins the security team in the monitoring station for 3 hours first. Handing in his own driving licence and participating in various addiction help programmes Scott has now graduated totally clean and in a position to apply for work. Responding to a flier that was pushed through his door he was successful in gaining a place on the training programme. PARFAS CEO Michael Braddock spoke about the scheme saying, “It’s an excellent way for us to take on new staff without a big financial commitment as the council pay half of his salary. Scott impressed us when he came for interview and hasn’t stopped impressing us since. He carries out his duties meticulously with a big smile on his face. We are delighted with the way he has fitted into our organisation.” Michelle Plevin, Get Oldham Working Apprentice Programme Officer who worked alongside Scott through First Choice Homes Oldham pilot supporting him through the application process said: “After just meeting with Scott once I was amazed by his personality and I knew a traineeship would be perfect for him. He attended all of our meetings with great passion and eagerness to thrive. I was thrilled that he had been put forward for interview. He never ceases to amaze me because his passion will take him far and I could see this from the moment I met him. I do wish Scott well and I know that he will go far in his chosen career.” Oldham born and bred Scott, father to three boys, feels so lucky to have been given this opportunity, “I can’t believe how lucky I am. I’ve managed to maintain a relationship with each of my boys through my difficulties and now have the chance of this job. I’ve done various jobs over the years including being a Sky engineer, office work and doing lots of travelling but had to give it up when alcoholism got a hold. I graduated through the One Recovery programme and saw this leaflet that had been pushed through my door I thought I’d give it a go and it’s paid off!” Get Oldham Working is a council initiative run in partnership with employers across the Oldham borough aimed at getting the unemployed onto trainee or apprenticeship programmes offering employment opportunities.
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Great Places Supporting communities through procurement and social value At Great Places one of our values is to promote partnerships, efficiency and value for money, and our procurement processes are designed to support these goals by providing opportunities to local businesses, social enterprises and by creating social value. We do this is by ensuring that social value and a focus on local supply chains are at the forefront of our thinking when each procurement process is being developed. It’s about creating a mindset where we think about the positive, and potential negative, outcomes that a procurement exercise can create and trying to ensure we don’t exclude smaller and local organisations from the process. We frequently split larger spends into smaller “lots” in terms of geography and value. This allows us to encourage more local suppliers, and enables smaller companies to bid for “chunks” of bigger work. We also realise that the procurement process can be daunting for smaller businesses, so try and keep the requirements on bidders to a minimum to enable more bids from smaller companies.
Our recent procurement process for a tree works contractor was awarded to GM Treestation, a social enterprise that’s ethos fits closely with ours. The positive social impacts of GM Treestation were instrumental in their success in the procurement process. We work closely with our Social Investment Team to ensure that social value requirements are included in our procurement exercises. We frequently give a percentage of the overall marks available in procurement process to social value questions. This allows bidders to explain what they will deliver in terms of training, apprenticeship, charity or community work if they are successful. We have also built in contractual requirements for some suppliers which results in a percentage of the contract value being rebated back to our Social Investment Team. This is then used to deliver projects that maximise the positive social impact that GPHG delivers. Our commitment to deliver positive social impacts extend beyond our requirements to comply with the Social Value Act. Our procurement team are passionate about achieving the best outcomes for the organisation, and delivering Value for Money for Great Places and the communities that it serves. Community kitchen crowdfunding campaign for Oldham Food bank Great Places have been working in partnership with IF Oldham, Oldham foodbank, the Real junk food project and the Oldham food network to tackle food poverty in the area. The 8
kitchen at the new food bank site will be used to cook fresh hot meals and inspire and grow roots to community enterprise whilst celebrating the diversity of Oldham’s rich food cultures and building food resilience. The Oldham Food Bank are working with food and growing groups across the Borough to create this vibrant kitchen which will bring people together over a brew and a bite to eat.
Our two local community centres, the Crossley Centre and Primrose Bank, have pledged support and held a charity quiz and supper to raise funds and other Housing Providers such as Regenda and First Choice Homes are supporting the project. Great Places also donated a consultancy day to build local organisations knowledge around crowdfunding as an alternative method of funding community projects. The campaign is currently over half way to their target of £13,850 which they must reach by the 8th February to receive the pledge donations. This will also trigger £10,000 of match funding from Santander. To make a pledge please click here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/oldham-food-bank-community-kitchen/? Spotlight on poverty Great Places staff have been involved in an internal campaign over that last 3 months to highlight the causes and issues around poverty and how all staff can help those in need. Activities have included:
A winter warmer collection where staff donated 10 sacks of hats, gloves, socks and scarves to homelessness charities across all our neighbourhoods
A toy collection to create a toy and book library in our Distribution Centre to support families facing hardship throughout the year
Poverty articles in internal staff magazines including interviews with staff who are volunteering at local food banks
Frontline staff poverty training including the causes, recent statistics, what support Great Places and partners can offer and signs that a customer may be struggling.
Updating our Equality Impact assessments to include poverty proofing in our policies 9
and procedures We are also holding screenings of I, Daniel Blake in partnership with Home Mcr across our group and in our communities to raise awareness of the issues many people are facing. Raising aspirations for young people
Great Places recently hosted 19 year 11 pupils from Knutsford Multi Academy Trust at our head office in Manchester. The visit was designed to showcase different job roles within the housing sector and to give pupils practical information on recruitment and what employers expect from their staff. The visit was organised by Trevor Langston from ‘The Pledge’ which has been currently running in Macclesfield and Crewe. The young individuals got to speak to Web Developers, Housing Officers, Community Safety Officers, Communication Officers and IT helpdesk Officers. The year 11s were told about the different paths they could take to get started in these professions, the importance of ‘transferrable skills’ and if they required professional or academic qualifications. One of the exercises delivered on the day made them think about different skills and responsibilities of certain roles and the routes into each role. Feedback from the session was extremely positive with 100% of pupils said they learnt more about what employers look for when employing young people and 100% advised they had enjoyed the session and found it invaluable. Gas safety and the role it plays in identifying hardship Great Places gas safety team and our floating support service have been working in partnership to identify and support households in financial hardship. The floating support team recognised that an early indicator of financial difficulty in a number of cases they had worked on had been gas capping. They set up an arrangement with the gas safety team to notify them when properties had their gas capped so they could contact the residents and 10
ascertain if it was in fact a support issue that had led to this. This interdepartmental project has been incredibly successful in supporting early intervention and preventing households falling further into crisis. The next step is to continue this approach with our asset management team using data on where work couldn’t be carried out due to various issues relating to property state or tenant vulnerabilities as a trigger to offer tenancy support. New opportunities club launches in Salford Great Places are supporting a new opportunities club in Langworthy which is dedicated to getting Salford residents into work and improving their lives. The club offers free information and advice around personal health and saving money, training and upskilling in computers and technology, and assistance with job hunting. The club runs every Wednesday at Langworthy Cornerstone between 10am and 12pm. For more information email cwoc.club@gmail.com. Working with supported housing residents Residents at Ellen Court, one of our supported schemes for young mums, have successfully completed AQA accredited skills courses in cookery and hairdressing and beauty. Connexions ran the courses every week over summer, and in August the residents celebrated their achievements with an awards ceremony. The cookery students even served up a buffet for the event using their new skills. Staff at Christine Court, a supported scheme for young Mums, have been linking in with the FareShare and Tesco Foodcloud scheme to collect food waste from local stores. Participants are notified by text what items are available then staff collect the donations and distribute to residents. Residents have seen a really positive impact on their weekly food budget and Great Places are looking to roll out the scheme to other supported schemes across the region.
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Guinness Partnership Guinness and Depaul UK help Manchester homeless people get ready for work Twenty-six homeless under 25-year-olds from the Manchester area were offered the chance to build confidence and gain life and work skills in a week-long project run by The Guinness Partnership and DePaul UK. The project offered hands-on experience, with visits to local employers and practical workshops, as well as ongoing support as the group were partnered with individual mentors. The week began with two days at the White Hall centre in Buxton. The group took part in team building exercises, including using a climbing wall, a zip wire and making a ‘leap of faith’, where they climbed a high post and jumped off it. An evening around the campfire was an opportunity for the participants to share their stories and develop their new friendships.
Having bonded over their outward-bound adventure, the participants got down to some more practical work during the week. The aims were to help with the skills needed to get ready for work and find employment. This included how to write a CV and then tailor it for specific roles, what to expect and how to behave in an interview, as well as money management and life skills. A local theatre company presented a mock interview situation, and then challenged the group to give their own interview presentations. The experience saw many of the participants grow in confidence – so much so that some were able to give presentations to the rest of the group after just 15 minutes of training. They also benefited from practical experience in the workplace, visiting the offices of The Guinness Partnership in Oldham and speaking with senior members of staff. All were offered valuable one-to-one mentoring, and some will soon be ready to start applying for entry-level jobs and apprenticeships. This is one of five successfully delivered work ready programmes this year overseen by Thames Reach and McKinsey & Company, a global management consultancy, and has contributed to 150 people achieving fantastic progress. Further programmes and partnerships are being explored for 2017. 12
Irwell Valley HA Small things can make a big difference - Supporting our Cyclists Recently two groups of Irwell Valley customers from Norwood Road and Langham Court have worked alongside Neighbourhood Managers to secure funding to install secure bike racks in the external communal area. Many customers are making the choice to use a bike as their main source of transportation. They are relying on their two wheels to get them to work, doctor's appointments, and visits with family and friends. As the main transportation, it becomes essential to secure the bike when it is not being used. It was noted in Tenancy Audit visits with customers that many were bringing their bikes into their flats to keep them safe. On occasion we have found bikes chained to the fixtures in the communal areas, consequently these need to be removed immediately due to fire regulations. The idea was born to work together to secure funding to install a bike rack to remove barriers to customers using their bikes and encourage others to get a bike. Customers were successful in securing £1728.99 in funding to put the plans into action. Comments from customers have been positive as follows; Mr. Jarmon commented “the decorating in our communal area is so nice and I fear that bringing my bike up and down will damage it – I could really use a safe place to lock my bike up that isn’t my flat”. Miss Jones added “I thought my biking days were over as I have nowhere to store a bike, but this funding has enabled me to get riding again “ Mr. Hill says “My bike is my main transport, I would be lost without it, this will really benefit me – I’m really pleased. “ National Loan Shark Awareness week Week commencing the 12th December 2016 was national loan shark awareness week. Irwell Valley supported the campaign by getting the ‘Stop loan sharks’ message out on social media alongside promoting their partnership with Manchester Credit Union as a source of affordable credit. This year partner agencies were asked to post pictures wearing the shark masks in unusual local places. This picture was taken at one of Irwell Valley’s Christmas social events in December 2016. Christmas Shoe Box Appeal This year Irwell Valley decided to support the Manchester Homeless Shoebox Appeal which 13
entailed donating shoeboxes filled with essentials of clothes, food and toiletries. The charity has teamed up with the Manchester Street Angels who will be distributing the boxes around Manchester. Volunteering with The Horwich Hub Adamas, the repairs and in house maintenance team for Manchester based Irwell Valley Housing Association have been providing volunteer resources to support The Horwich Hub. The Horwich Hub is a self-funded community resource offering a wide range of support and activities for people across the community. The work they do includes:
Drug and alcohol work and support for homeless people
Supporting new tenants and those on low incomes with furniture, white goods and food
Community sessions such as meditation, art groups and up cycling and recycling projects
Housing advice such as support to fill in forms and benefits and debt management guidance
The Horwich Hub also works with young people to encourage them to gain an understanding of wider society by involving them in outreach projects. The Hub acquired a shop, and approached Adamas to donate some resource for refurbishment works. Adamas donated two men for two days providing support where there were skills gaps such as electrical work. The support provided by Adamas meant that The Horwich Hub was able to bring all activity into one place sooner and saved rental costs for the use of another facility. Work with Food Banks Due to the increased need for emergency food parcels Irwell Valley has partnered with a number of food banks across Greater Manchester allowing them to provide vouchers to their customers in need of emergency food parcels. Irwell Valley colleagues also donate food items for their ‘grub tub’ located at their Bolton Office this is then delivered to Storehouse, the local food bank in Bolton. Irwell Valley delivered their final donation for 2016 in December, which was greatly received by Storehouse. Over the Christmas period Irwell Valley took the opportunity to nominate one of their customers for a Christmas hamper provided by Urban Outreach. This was greatly received by the customer who had been struggling financially. 14
The response from colleagues, contractors and even some of our customers was amazing meaning we could make over 130 boxes and donate a further two crates full of food. This was a huge team effort with colleagues contacting shops for extra shoeboxes and a production line of people wrapping shoeboxes, sorting items and filling the boxes. The campaign response was fantastic and collecting over 2500 boxes overall much more than the 200/300 they were expecting! The boxes will be checked and handed out throughout the year, not just over Christmas, and some items will be distributed to support agencies so that nothing is wasted. Benefit Cap Project Following the announcement in the Summer Budget in July 2015 and the Spending Review in November 2015 that the Benefit Cap limit would be reducing Irwell Valley has been working to prepare affected customers for the change. Information regarding the Benefit Cap and updates on the roll out of the changes have been provided to customers via ‘Money Matters’ an insert that is sent with rent statements to general let customers each quarter, and also published on the website and social media. Irwell Valley has received data from all the local authorities within their management areas advising of the customers who have been affected or are due to be affected by the reduction of the Benefit Cap. Their Financial Inclusion Officer has offered assistance by visiting or offering a home visit to all customers that are affected by the changes. Their Financial Inclusion Officer has been able to offer customers money guidance to help them look at their budget and ways to maximise their income to enable them to afford their shortfall of rent. For those customers with multiple debts customers have been referred to third party agencies for specialist debt advice. In cases where the customer is or will be struggling to manage the increased shortfall of rent the Financial Inclusion Officer has assisted customers with the completion of a Discretionary Housing Payment application, to date the majority of these applications have been successful. The Financial Inclusion Officer has discussed with customers the possible exemptions to the Benefit Cap. A number of customers have now become exempt from the cap due to moving into employment or claiming an exempt benefit. Irwell Valley has also carried out training to prepare colleagues in their Income Management Team for the changes and enable them to be able to deal with queries from customers. 15
New Charter In order to help residents tackle rising costs of food and food poverty, New Charter Group launched the ‘Dukinfield Pantry’ in our Dukinfield Hub. The Pantry is a co-operative, community food store where members are given access to discounted groceries sourced through the national charity FareShare. FareShare collect surplus stock from supermarkets and then distribute to the pantry and other community groups. Money collected from memberships is reinvested back into the pantry to buy additional staples that members may need. For just £2.50 per week local residents can join as a member and benefit from approx. £15 worth of items from a huge variety of groceries, fruit and veg. All Members will be offered the opportunity to access further advice and support relating to their situation; this includes:
Money advice
Debt advice
Housing advice
Training / employment support
Cookery skills
The scheme is run by volunteers and we are always looking to provide additional volunteer opportunities to help people in the local community learn new skills and to meet new people. The Pantry aims to unite different groups within their Pantry community and to develop community pride. To date we have 70 scheme members and interest is growing. The pantry is open on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from 9:30am – 12:30pm
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One Manchester Community growing project One Manchester’s Support and Wellbeing team is working with local residents to reduce food poverty, increase access to fresh food, and improve wellbeing and community cohesion with the launch of three community gardens which will give local people the chance to grow their own vegetables. The gardens in Hulme, Moss Side and Rusholme will be launched with a series of family fun events taking place at each of the gardens on Thursday 6 April.
Remote fuel top-ups One Manchester’s One Money team has been piloting a new way of helping customers experiencing fuel poverty to top-up their gas and electricity meters. Instead of giving cash to customers in crisis or accompanying them to top-up their meters, the team is now able to send customers a code which can be redeemed solely for electricity and gas top-ups. While there is a cost per transaction to use the Auriga Energy-operated system, it is anticipated that this will be significantly less than the staff cost associated with the old system of managing top-ups.
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Water meters By working closely with United Utilities, One Manchester has been trying to ensure customers are getting the best value for money based on their water usage. Since August 2015, the team has helped 596 customers access water discounts totalling ÂŁ127,746.05, which equates to a total average saving of ÂŁ218.66 per person, through water meter installation, assessed tariffs and the Help to Pay scheme. One Money at Anson Community Shop
Having helped get the Anson Community Shop off the ground, a successful food membership scheme which gives Rusholme and Longsight residents access to a basket full of surplus foods for just ÂŁ2.50, One Manchester is launching a benefits and money advice outreach service from the same venue, to offer additional support to members who are struggling financially. Run by specialist debt advisers from its One Money team, the outreach service is an attempt to take services out to people who might not otherwise access much-needed support with managing money, debts and benefits. Following a successful pilot project before Christmas the service will be officially launched in mid-February. Welfare Reform website One Manchester has launched a website providing up-to-date information and advice on benefit changes, as part of a wider campaign to encourage customers to seek help before they reach crisis point. Our One Money team has been working hard to get the message out to people who might not think they will be affected by the changes or who are confused by what they need to do next. To view the website, which includes downloadable resources and links to useful organisations, please visit: www.onemanchester.co.uk/welfare-reform 18
Regenda Santa’s Grotto Event at St Chads On Wednesday 14 December Regenda supported the local Children’s Centre based at St Chads with their annual Santa’s Grotto celebration. Regenda helped organise the event, as well as supply gifts from Santa for over 50 children across the Limehurst estate engaging with 46 families in total. A great working partnership between Regenda and The Children’s Centre helps provide sustainable communities, working with residents across the area. Residents were also able to engage with the Limehurst Arts society at this event where we had volunteers there helping the children make Christmas badges. The overall event was a great success and making links within the community in this capacity helps to make a place more resilient and build relationships with our residents helping to lead them into employment, training and skills support.
St Chads Christmas Hampers One of our seven pillars ‘Our Communities’ is all about supporting our communities and helping transform them to become more resilient. Regenda have made a donation to a local charity ‘His Church’ this year to help distribute food hampers in the local area. At the beginning of December we received a huge pallet of food which then needed packing and distributing to the elderly, vulnerable and in need residents of the East Region. Our volunteers came on board helping to support the packing of the hampers. Then over the last week Officers across the region have been out and about in Rochdale, Oldham, Ashton and Limehurst delivering over 40 hampers. 19
Creative Credit 2 – Financial Inclusion Project The Creative Credit project is a year-long programme working with local schools to help educate pupils about financial inclusion matters. Through the project we have been able to fund to employ a Creative Credit Officer to engage with young people and coordinate advice and support for them to set up Young Savers clubs with Oldham Credit Union and a help train local volunteers. The main objective of the project is to help teach pupils and parents from local schools in Hollinwood to manage their finances better. In a project led by Regenda Homes and Oasis Hub Oldham with support from Oldham Credit Union, Contour Homes and Oldham Council the Oldham Coliseum will be using drama based activities to raise awareness of loan sharks, budgeting advice and simple ways to look after and save their money.
Over 250 students and their parents were impacted by the project that took place at Oasis Academy, Oasis Primary Limeside, Lyndhurst Primary School and Limehurst Primary School. Here the play in a day workshops and feedback sessions were held over a variety of dates engaging with many pupils in the schools and their parents all around how to become more careful managing your money. The project has lots more planned and we hope to obtain funding for another year to impact even more residents in the Hollinwood area. Employment & Skills Update – New Business Start-ups Upturn Enterprise Ltd was initially commissioned by Regenda in 2013 to provide back to work support for residents of the Limehurst Village estate in Hollinwood. This took the form 20
of regular job clubs located at the Limehurst Library, together with support in CV writing and interview preparation. This was supplemented in 2014 by the introduction of an initiative to support business start-up and self-employment. A fund to issue small grants where appropriate was provided by Regenda in order for the recipients to overcome initial start-up barriers. Since then we have supported around 10 different residents into starting up their own business. There was a variety of businesses from hairdressing to maintenance companies and childminding services.
All residents engaged with a programme of support which
enabled them to tap into funding to help them start up their own business, the majority of which are still running today. Their services are also being accessed by local residents. Below are a few success stories so far…. Graham, Building Maintenance – Graham received support from Regenda in 2014 to start up his own building maintenance company. As Graham would admit he was struggling paying his rent and bills and was unemployed. After being in the building trade for many years he had the idea of starting his own local maintenance company.
With the support of Regenda Graham was able to do this. Through Upturn Enterprise he was coached and given advice around starting the business, he was then able to access the funds to support the start-up, which then allowed him to buy materials, equipment and also lease a van to get about. Graham tendered for some work that was happening in the local Spar and won the contract; this got him well known and from then on he’s worked on a variety of local contracts. Graham is still trading and doing really well as a self-employed contractor. Leanne, Childminder – Leanne approached Regenda in 2014 about becoming a childminder in her own right. For years she had acted as an Assistant to her Mum but now wanted to have her own clients. Leanne passed a Childminding course which was funded through the startup grant.
This then enabled her to have her own clients as a Childminder. Two years on
Leanne has now teamed up with her Mum and is offering childcare provision to local residents using the Tenants Hall as a base for activities. They are also running a low cost before and after school club provision to support working local residents. 21
Stockport Homes Holiday Kitchen – a creative approach to tackling poverty driven inequality For the second year running, throughout August 2016 families in Brinnington (one of the areas in Stockport experiencing relatively high degree of social deprivation- has pockets amongst the 5% of the most socially deprived nationally) were given the opportunity to join Stockport Homes in their ‘Holiday Kitchen’, in partnership with Brinnington Children’s Centre. After completing sessions including crafts, gardening, a ‘Road to Rio’ sports day, an orienteering challenge in a local park and a final beach party, families provided feedback including:
93% of parents said that they now felt more confident supporting their children to try other things and half said they felt an improved confidence in doing activities with their child/children
71% of parents felt that they and their children had learnt new things at Holiday Kitchen
64% of parents felt that Holiday Kitchen had helped them to do more physical activity
Parents said that Holiday Kitchen had helped their family have fun together, reduced them feeling stressed about what to do with the children, helped them financially, and helped their children to eat regular meals
We are now looking forward to sharing our learning with the other delivery partners and looking at ways to expand the HK programme into other areas of the borough next year.
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Contact: Phillip Worthington, Customer and Community Engagement Officer, 0161 474 2862 Proactively supporting customers affected by the revised benefit cap The Money Advice Team has worked proactively with customers who were likely to have been affected by the reduced Benefit Cap that locally came into effect from 7th November 2016. The team made contact with all affected households in advance of the change and provided advice and support on their options. This included providing detailed information about the potential changes to their benefit entitlement; what this would mean in terms of the loss of income for the household and discussing any options to try to prevent any hardship they may experience as a result of this change. The team was successful in making contact with 80% of the 122 likely to be affected. 77 of those tenants were seen face-to-face by a Money Advisor and comprehensive advice was provided, which included a detailed assessment of their finances. As a result of the advice given, 20 households took action and found work or had experienced a change in their circumstances which meant they would no longer be affected when the reduced Benefit Cap was introduced. The Money Advisors proceeded with applications for benefits that may result in exemptions from the Benefit Cap for a further 20 households. As a result of their intervention, the team secured favourable decisions in five cases before the change took effect, which meant those families who were at risk were no longer affected. The team felt confident that the households engaged, who were previously unaware of the financial implications of this welfare reform change on them, were now prepared for this change and would be equipped to seek further support as and when needed. Contact: Leanne Merga, Money Advice Team Leader, 0161 474 4609 23
Skills for life – employability programme: pathway into the care and support sector
Stockport Homes are constantly developing their employment support offer to meet the needs of employers and tenants alike. Having identified that the care industry created the largest number of job vacancies locally in the area (entry level and skilled positions), we decided to devise and run a pilot training pathway specifically for this sector, giving job seekers the knowledge, skills and insight into the sector. Of the 25 people who had engaged, some had been in long term unemployment, whilst others were interested in exploring a new career in the care and support industry. We had some people who had personal experience of caring for others and were keen on developing their skills for a career in the care and support sector. We worked with the largest care home provider in Stockport to develop a pathway programme to support and prepare people for working within the care sector. We also engaged with a number of other local care companies to ensure our pathway programme covered a variety of jobs in the care sector, including home care, advice and guidance and support work (children and adults). The course ran over five weeks and included training on safeguarding, first aid, conflict management and communication skills. As part of the pathway we had five employers who were recruiting for staff meet the participants to explain their recruitment process, skills they are looking for and benefits of working for them. Participants that wished to put forward an application were then supported with application process by Stockport Homes employment staff. Over the duration of the course we had over 25 people attend. The majority who wanted to explore a career in the care sector decided to apply for the positions on offer. Due to the positive feedback from participants, we have started planning for the next course, and are also developing similar pathway programmes for the retail and construction sectors. Contact: Iain Forrest, Employment Creation Officer, 0161 474 2168 24
Symphony Courtney is a Gem A Graduate has got her big-break, thanks to a national mentoring programme to help university students into careers in Housing. Courtney Taylor, aged 21, from Bradford, studied for a BA (Hons) in Geography at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston. On leaving education, she struggled to get work experience, and break into her chosen career of Housing Management. ‘I’d been applying for jobs, but most required lots of experience. ‘My mum works in Housing and I’d studied a module at Uni and really got into it – I really wanted to take it to the next level, as I’d seen what an impact it can make.’ So when Courtney’s mum Sharon told her about the Graduate Employment Mentoring (GEM) Programme, a national scheme to help graduates onto the career ladder, she applied straight away.
In July, Courtney sent in her application and after passing a telephone selection process was invited to Contour’s Head Office for an interview, where she was offered the position. She is now working full-time, training as a Neighbourhood Officer, at the Oldham Office on Hollins Road, learning all aspects of housing management and preparing to manage her own patch at the end of the year. Courtney said: ‘I was over the moon when I heard I’d got through – to finally get into Housing, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. When I rang my mum she was screaming down the phone. ‘As a graduate it’s hard to find work due to the need for experience, but GEM 25
opens doors, as it gives you hands on training and responsibility, but with the support of having someone there.’ Courtney added: ‘It’s exciting, but a little bit scary as I’ve entered the real world now. ‘But I’m looking forward to all of the challenges and getting started and making the most out of it!’ Andrew Lord, Neighbourhood Lead for Contour Homes, said: “We are delighted to once again be a partner for the GEM Programme. This is a great opportunity for Courtney to develop her skills and begin her career in the housing sector. I am looking forward to supporting her development over the course of the year.” Contour Homes, part of Symphony Housing Group, is running a major initiative across the North West called ‘Works For Me’, which aims to support tenants into work and training.
Anti-Poverty Research Project Housing Associations from across the North West recently came together to measure their success in helping reduce poverty for social housing tenants. The partnership forum, organised by Symphony Housing Group, took place on Friday 13 January and aimed to identify projects to be assessed by independent researchers Housing Association Charitable Trust (HACT) and with funding provided by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, who work to inspire social change through research, policy and practice. More than 12 housing providers attended to put forward some of their employment and skills projects, to be assessed using the Gold Standard in measurement, Randomised Control Trials enabling them to prove their effectiveness on reducing poverty and social exclusion. The meeting took place at Symphony’s Didsbury office and attendees included Yorkshire Housing, Trafford Housing Trust, North Star, Arawak Walton, Aspire, Places for People, Progress Housing Group, Adactus, Great Places & Together Housing. James Williams, Manager at Symphony Housing Group, said: ‘It is vital that we evident the effectiveness of our employment and skills projects, so by undertaking this independent research, we hope to demonstrate how social housing providers are a key tool in contributing to a poverty free UK.’ The Anti-Poverty Research project is in partnership with HACT & JRF (Joseph Rowntree Foundation) and is open to all nationwide housing providers. To suggest a project to be measured please contact Frances Harkin, HACT on frances.harkin@hact.org.uk 8500.
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020 7250
Trafford Housing Trust Joint Venture Creates Local Employment Jobseekers in Trafford have taken part in an intensive twoweek construction training course as part of Trafford Housing Trust and Wates Residential’s redevelopment of the former Bayer complex in West Timperley, now renamed as ‘Stonebrook’. Twelve over 19s took part in Wates’ ‘Building Futures’ programme, designed to give jobseekers a career kick-start in the house building industry.
The programme comprised
trade sessions, including carpentry and brickwork, as well as CV and interview workshops with Wates Residential and its supply chain partners.
The opportunity formed part of Trafford Housing Trust and Wates Residential’s regeneration of the 1.4-hectare site off Manchester Road, which will become a development of 33 family homes and 29 apartments. Building work began earlier this year following planning approval, which was unanimously granted by Trafford Council in November last year. The new development will be complete by next summer. The Building Futures programme at Stonebrook forms part of Trafford Housing Trust and Wates Residential’s joint pledge to use the building work to provide training and employment opportunities for local people.
As part of the on-site training scheme
candidates were rewarded with a QCF Level 1 Award in Building Crafts and a CSCS registration to help secure future training and work experience on building sites, as well as a full set of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The programme, which took place at Stretford Public Hall, involved attendees carrying out a community project and a smaller number of DIY jobs to support the hall, a community owned asset which recently announced the launch of a community share offer. Launched by Wates in 2005, Building Futures is accredited by the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and has so far seen over 1,000 jobseekers gain work experience across the UK. Larry Gold, Director of Laurus Homes said: "One of the key aims of Stonebrook is to 27
create a wide range of business, training and employment opportunities for local people, and we’re really happy to see that the events which have taken place so far through Building Futures have been a success. We look forward to helping many more people find work as the build progresses, and our ambitious development programme will provide even more local opportunities.” Trafford Housing Trust’s Customer Support Team Trafford Housing Trust’s Customer Support Team helps the Trust in furthering its ambition of eradicating poverty in Trafford by providing free, specialist advice and support to customers around debt, welfare benefits and financial capability. As Welfare Reform continues to be implemented, many customers have seen significant reductions in their household income and have, and will continue to have to adapt to a new way of budgeting their household finances on a monthly basis. This is proving very difficult for many customers who are falling behind with their household bills. There has also been a shift in working contracts with many employers now offering zero hour contracts. This means no fixed income and ever changing benefit entitlements and the implications that come along with this for not notifying change in circumstances resulting in large benefit overpayments. These are then usually recovered from ongoing benefit entitlement leading to further reductions in disposable income, yet customers still need to try and maintain contractual ongoing commitments. The latest figures from the Bank of England show unsecured consumer credit, which includes credit cards, car loans and second mortgages, grew by 10.8% in the year to November to £192.2bn, £66.7bn of this on credit cards alone which is at an all-time 11 year high. Consumers increased appetite for consumer lending, means further monthly outgoings for already over stretched budgets and many of THT customers are now feeling the strain. As a result of all of these changes the THT Debt Advice Team has seen a significant increase in the levels of debts customers present with, and with no or limited disposable income available, they are often left with limited options other than to consider insolvency (such as DRO or Bankruptcy) to resolve their current debt liabilities. Irrespective of the financial impact to the Trust (i.e. writing off rent arrears as a result of such actions) our advisors remain impartial and assist customers with their applications as necessary as the bigger picture is lifting customers out of poverty. Our Welfare Rights Team have also seen a marked increase in cases over the past two years. The Welfare Rights officers are noting an increase in complex cases, with more Tribunals and benefit reviews as the migration of DLA to PIP has ramped up. As a result of this increased demand we have now increased this team by 50% to meet customer need. Our Positive Start’s service continues to ensure new tenancies are sustainable and that customers have what they need to move in. These Officers help customers with budgeting, housing benefit and council tax support applications, energy advice and applications to charities for grants, white goods, furniture and basic household items. 28
Times are tough for our customers and THT are committed to providing the support needed to help customers weather these challenges. As a result of our interventions, our customers are more financially resilient, have access to advice services when needed and are in receipt of the benefits to which they are entitled. Last year, the team assisted 1762 customers, managed £1.5m of customer debt and obtained financial outcomes for customers of £2.6m. The Neighbourhood Teams, Stretford, Urmston and Old Trafford, who are located at Trafford Housing Trusts’ Stretford office work hard to promote THTs Statement of purpose and Vision:“We are a force for good driven by social justice, inspiring people and neighbourhoods to be the best they can be.” “We strive for a society transformed, free from poverty, inequality and Injustice…” One of the ways they do this is by supporting Stretford Foodbank, a charitable incorporated organisation which works in partnership with the community and local churches “Helping Local People in Crisis”. For customers who are in crisis the Team can issue Food Vouchers for Stretford Foodbank who then supply the customer with a 3 day emergency food supply of nutritionally balanced food. In 2016 Stretford office issued 67 vouchers. To support Stretford Foodbank and help raise funds and donate food, Stretford team have:
Donated Advent Calendars
Set up a Reverse Advent Calendar – Each day staff add an item to the box and on Christmas Eve donate the contents to a Foodbank.
The Staff at Sale Point also took part
in this event having their own box in the Bistro.
Name the baby and parents competition – staff either donated money or food to take part
New Year Weight challenge – Simon Butler from the Responsive Repairs Team won and donated his winnings
Collect Food and change throughout the year
Donated Easter Eggs
Sponsored two horses at Stretford Foodbanks Race Night to help raise funds for a van
Pick up and drop of Food from various collection points
The Team also work with other departments within THT – Customer Support, Money Support Team, etc., to offer support and advice, making referrals to Trafford Assist and other organisations when required. Gloves, scarves and hats were either donated or knitted to support Big Issue Vendors with their “Spread the Glove” campaign and £20 was raised for their “Big Issue Knitathon”. As well as doing the above, staff have also raised money for Key 103s “Cash 4 Kids” for families in poverty to ensure children received Christmas Gifts. The staff at Stretford Office feel that no-one should have to face crisis on their own, go hungry or have to decide if they should have a meal or heat their property and will continue to support Customers and other Agencies the best they can. 29
Wigan and Leigh Homes Supporting people into work through Community Warehouse Wigan & Leigh Homes commenced a scheme in February 2015 of enhancing void properties in lower demand areas or properties that are lower demand property types. This involved additional work to the usual void standard and involved decoration and the fitting of carpets and curtains/blinds. Two contractors were employed to deliver this service, one of the day to day repair / void repairs contractors and Community Warehouse. The Community Warehouse is part of the Queens Hall (a local Methodist Church) Action on Poverty family. The charity aims to help those who are suffering as a result of poverty, debt or homelessness. Our services help people through crises and to rebuild their lives, giving them stability and peace. The Community Warehouse provides work experience and employability skills to individuals in long term unemployment. They work predominantly with people who have been out of work for a considerable amount of time and have diverse barriers towards gaining employment. These barriers can be a history of alcohol and substance misuse, previous homelessness, ex-offender, mental health issues and low work skills or no work skills. They help clients improve their confidence, self-esteem, team working and personal skills by engaging them in a diverse range of practical activities from painting and decorating, carpeting, bicycle repair, joinery and furniture up-cycling to upholstery and computer maintenance. To date Community Warehouse have carried out enhanced void works on 177 properties. This work not only supports their operation but supports Wigan & Leigh Homes vision of creating sustainable communities by enabling us to make an improved housing offer.
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Wythenshawe Community Housing Group Real Food Wythenshawe Update Detailed below are some highlights of the fantastic work that has been done by the Real Food Team part of WCHG. If you haven’t already seen them you should take a look at their website and Facebook pages for some inspiration. www.facebook.com/Real-Food-Wythenshawe-542435969254785/ www.realfoodwythenshawe.com/ Unit-E food warehouse
In support of End Hunger UK, WCHG launched Unit-E in October 2016. Unit-E food warehouse supplies food to seven food banks in Wythenshawe. Unit-E worked with a number of new groups made up of corporate volunteers helping support Unit E. Manchester Airport Risk and Audit team supported Unit-E with a new filing system for food trays, Vodafone painted and decorated Unit-E’s office space. Unit-E launched two open days to the public on the 7th & 8th December and hosted ‘Soup Kitchen’ events providing tomato and basil soup with food that was destined for landfill. The 31
events were a great success bringing in local people who kindly supported us with food and cash donations. We are planning more Soup Kitchen days for January and February with a second open event for the benefit cap families. The shop window premises were dressed which generated great interest with the project generating 2,000 hits on Facebook, bringing great awareness to the community. Real Food Kitchen The Real Food kitchen cooked and promoted 5 simple meals, costing less than one pound to make from scratch for local people and gave out 62 tasters and 45 recipe cards.
Support for local families On the 9th of December we provided food and gifts to the Santa’s Helper event in partnership with our colleagues from Tenancy Support. The event targeted larger families in Wythenshawe to offer future support when the benefit cap is implemented. WCHG were overwhelmed with the generosity of people in Wythenshawe. So many local people have come to the Unit with bags of food and cash donations. One family had used their work bonus to buy a large quantity of food for the Unit. They had taken their children shopping for the food and then they brought it to the Unit to see how we distributed it. A local Indian group donated quarter of a tonne of food and one thousand pounds in cash. Manchester Airport named Wythenshawe Food Bank as their designated charity and asked all their staff to donate new toys and food items for their Christmas appeal. Lots of toys and food were donated which arrived at Unit-E in an Airport bus!!
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On the 21st of December we hosted a ‘Pop Up Pantry’ at the Unit. The concept of the day was to provide Christmas food and toys to those families that were just about managing. We distributed to 92 households which equated to 25 Large Family food parcels and 67 Small Family food parcels a grand total of 351 bags of food. Real Food petitioning Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva Another piece of work we have been involved with is a group of staff and pupils from St Ambrose School in Altrincham. The school is an Edmund Rice school whose policy is to educate young people about advocacy. As part of this work the school takes part and interest in the Universal Periodic Review of countries around the world. It is an opportunity to bring countries to account regarding ongoing long running issues that affect people, for example poverty, homelessness and food. In April 2017 the UK will go through the UPR in Geneva. The UK government will be challenged on a an number of issues that affect people’s rights. Wythenshawe Food Poverty group was been given the unique opportunity to supply anecdotal evidence about the real issues facing people living in food poverty in Wythenshawe. Real Food launches ‘Turn & Face the Change’
Wythenshawe Community Housing Group’s Real Food Wythenshawe’s project have officially launched the ‘Turn and Face the Change’ Exhibition in Wythenshawe Town Centre, opposite the edible interchange. The team have worked with local Manchester Artist Len Grant on the project which tells the stories of the many different volunteers through drawings and photographs of Real Food Volunteers. The exhibition will be used to help evaluate the Real Food programme, a project which aims to engage and excite the people of Wythenshawe in growing and cooking fresh, sustainable food. 33
Len Grant said, “I’ve been bowled over by the passion shared by both staff and volunteers for this innovative project. I hope the exhibition will highlight the great work being done in Wythenshawe to encourage people to change their eating habits. The portraits I’ve drawn are a fun way of getting over an important subject. I’m sure they will inspire even more people to get involved.
Jacque Allen Executive Director of Housing said, “The portraits look fantastic and they are in a great location for everyone to see in Wythenshawe Town Centre opposite the Interchange and Metro stop. We have wanted to work with Len for some time and this was a fantastic project for him to be involved in and showcase the great work that is going on in Wythenshawe and that of the fabulous Real Food Team.” Len Grant is a Manchester based award winning photographer and writer. Len has made urban regeneration a major theme of his personal and commissioned work over the past decade. He has photographed the construction of many of Manchester’s significant buildings and recorded much of the city’s recent rejuvenation. For more information visit lengrant.co.uk or realfoodwythenshawe.com Amberley Drive Community Orchard Thanks to a grant from Tesco, Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) are to transform a patch of disused ground into a beautiful community Orchard. Work began on the Amberley Drive orchard in October 2016 after WCHG were successful in gaining £10,000 from the Tesco ‘Bags for Help’ fund and work is due to be completed in March 2017. The site had previously lacked any form of maintenance and the money will be invested to 34
remove waste, fell dangerous trees and maintaining the health of the trees. The orchard will be used as an outdoor classroom by local schools in the area and for the community to enjoy. WCHG are working in partnership with Groundwork and Wythenshawe’s Real Food Team on the project. WCHG Environmental Services manager Barry Warner said,” Amberley Drive is a site that is crying out to be used by the community, schools, hospital patients and anyone looking for a bit of nature to unwind and enjoy. This funding will allow us to create a unique local nature spot that can be used by so many different groups for so many reasons, students, families, children, patients, horticulturist, and gardeners, anyone - looking after local produce for local people” The area will be transformed by creating a walkway for plants to attract pollinators like bees and butterfly's, while local history will also be incorporated into the project, as there is an original bridge which is reputably part of the original Salt Road from the salt mines of Cheshire into Manchester. A safe pond area will also be created to provide water for plants and allow users to study pond life. Fruit trees, such as apple and pear, will be planted which will be used by all users of the orchard and the Real Food Wythenshawe Team, who will distribute into the community, with any left-over apples donated to the Moss Cider Project Hazel and Willow Trees will also be planted to provide a resource for people and students to try their hand at sculpture. Seating will also be created by WCHG staff members, who are completing training qualification opportunities through the Wythenshawe Futures programme. Carbon Literacy
Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG|) has committed to train 100% of staff about the issue of Carbon Literacy as part of the CL4RP project. WCHG will have delivered the training to all staff by March 2017. The Group sees this as essential to support Greater Manchester reduce its carbon footprint as well as raise the awareness of the potential impact of climate change and fuel poverty on vulnerable people, who are more likely to be affected than any other group in the community. WCHG will be delivering Energy Best Deal sessions to front line staff to raise the awareness around fuel poverty and how people can reduce the cost of their energy bills. The sessions will be delivered between now and May 2017.
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Supporting customers affected by welfare reform As the number of customers claiming Universal Credit is increasing WCHG is working in partnership with Wythenshawe JCP to provide one to one support to our customers in the job centre. We will provide weekly surgeries in the job centre so customers can seek advice straight away. We can provide budgeting support, debt advice, welfare benefit advice as well as being able to provide documents that they are required to provide to the DWP to support their Universal Credit claim. This direct link with the job centre is crucial in supporting our customers to prevent delays in their benefit payment and provide advice to help them manage the transition onto the new benefit. We have a dedicated financial inclusion officer contacting all of our customers affected by the benefit cap. We are being proactive in contacting them now before the cut has hit their benefit payments; this is so that we can prevent debts, including rent arrears. When we contact our customers we are assessing their situation with a view to lessening the impact of the cap. We are doing this by maximising income either through referring to Real Opportunities to support them into finding paid employment (if they do this they will no longer be affected by the cap), claiming sickness benefits that they are entitled to claim but not currently claiming, resolving debt issues they may have and providing budgeting support so they can manage on their reduced income. Welfare provision applications Over the winter period the team received a high volume of referrals for food parcel vouchers, as a result of benefit delays, debts or low income. During the support process we also checked that every customer requesting a food parcel voucher had enough money on their gas and electricity meters so they could heat their homes during the winter period. We provided additional support by contacting customer’s suppliers directly and arranging for an emergency credit to be paid onto their accounts and in other cases we were successful in applying for support from the Welfare Provision Scheme (who either provided a cash grant or a voucher which the customer could use to top up their meters with). We also offered additional support from our Financial Inclusion team to address the issue causing the request for the food parcel voucher. 5th Year Birthday Celebration for Benchill Enterprise Centre The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Carl Austin-Behan celebrated ‘five years in business’ with Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) at the Enterprise Centre in Wythenshawe in support of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2016. Over the past five years the centre has gone from strength-to-strength creating a thriving hub of activity for local small businesses and budding entrepreneurs. 36
The birthday celebration offered business advice workshops for local people providing networking opportunities for local businesses and current business tenants. The Centre is a Hub of networking and activity which is a great environment to do business. Since being opened by Sir Richard Leese and Paul Goggins MP in October 2011, the Enterprise Centre has provided office space to over 80 businesses and provided business support to more than 250 Wythenshawe entrepreneurs. Over 1,000 local people have also been supported by taking up free business advice or training.
Situated in the heart of the community the centre provides affordable all-inclusive office space and designated starter units alongside offering free business advice and support, workshops and training programmes for local people. Lord Mayor of Manchester, Carl Austin-Behan said, “The Enterprise Centre has made a hugely positive impact in changing the lives of local people. The team deserves congratulating for their tireless work supporting local people into employment, and helping transform many ideas into successful enterprise. In just five years, the initiative has provided help, support and invaluable business advice to many hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and I wish the team every success for the future." Executive Director of Housing Jacque Allen said: “Real Opportunities and The Enterprise Centre have supported 100s of people into work, either by helping people to apply for jobs or by supporting them to start up in business. We will continue to support Wythenshawe people to use both these successful services for another 5 years. For more information visit www.wythenshaweenterprise.com or call 0161 946 1056
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Wythenshawe and Manchester to benefit from support on health & unemployment
Wythenshawe Community Housing Group is proud to have been chosen to be the lead delivery arm for Manchester and Wythenshawe to support up to 1,000 unemployed people improve their lives and move closer to employment. The project led by New Charter housing group is one of 38 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas in the country to be awarded Building Better Opportunities funding by the Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund. People aged 25+ who are homeless, long-term unemployed, living with disabilities and health conditions, or drug and alcohol dependent are much less likely to get work. Motiv8 will give Manchester’s residents who want to work that leg up that they need. The funding will also work with men and women who are under-represented in the labourmarket such as ex-offenders, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups, ethnic minorities and migrant communities. It aims to tackle the barriers that prevent these groups of people from accessing support with more opportunities for education and training, improved health and wellbeing services, better financial help and new programmes to build people’s confidence. Chairman of the WCHG Board, The RT Revd Dr David Walker, The Bishop of Manchester said, “The job market is far from a level playing field. However, I do believe that the work we will now be able to do will help to redress some of the particular disadvantages faced by different groups both in Wythenshawe and the wider area. We can work with people to develop and demonstrate their skills so that they can go on to find sustainable employment. Nigel Wilson, Group Chief Executive of Wythenshawe Community Housing Group “We will support up to 1000 unemployed people to help improve their lives and takes steps towards employment. It is a great example of how housing and other voluntary sector partners can bring additional investment to Manchester and help people improve their lives”. Wythenshawe Community Housing Group is the delivery lead for Wythenshawe and for the city of Manchester, and will work with other housing providers and partners across the City to help achieve programme objectives. 38
Other stories you may be interested in… GMPA has created an emergency food provision map of the region The most well-known food bank service, The Trussell Trust now has 54 distribution points in Greater Manchester but there are many more emergency food providers including churches, community centres, charities, and local action groups. In Greater Manchester, GMPA has mapped 135. Only thirteen years ago there were almost no food banks in the UK. They already existed in many European countries but from 2004 they began to spring up here in every town and city. The financial crisis and austerity measures since have seen them become a part of our landscape. There are now an estimated 2,500 places in the UK where those in need can collect a food parcel. As part of their plans to draw together people with strong common interests under the broader heading of poverty they formed a Food Poverty Special Interest Group which met for the first time in September 2016. One of their first objectives was to create this food map as they believed that a single source currently didn’t exist and they hoped that it would be useful and informative. An almost unexpected outcome has been that it is also a very powerful image demonstrating how critical the situation in the region is at the start of 2017. “You don’t go to a food bank for fun, you don't go so you can save your money to spend on something else.” says Tom Skinner, a Director of GMPA “You go because you have no choice if you want to feed your family or yourself.” and he added "Will we ever again be a country without need for them? There are so many people going hungry right now, sadly it's hard to imagine a UK without food banks. But we have to try. In the meantime, we'll make sure people know where they can go if they are in need." They would welcome information about any foodbank they may have missed and are short of some items of data such as hours of opening or referral method for a few food banks. The GMPA Emergency Food Providers map is freely available to everyone. If you have any information that could improve the food map please email contact@gmpovertyaction.org
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Can you help? An appeal from Trafford Hall Trafford Hall, the National Communities Resource Centre, was set up 25 years ago by Anne Power, Richard Rogers and Brian AbelSmith. Today Trafford Hall faces a funding crisis, having lost all of their government grant without warning. Trafford Hall is the home of The National Communities Resource Centre, a charity that provides training and support to low income communities. Since 1995, the Charity has supported over 100,000 to develop the skills and confidence to help themselves and their communities. They need your support to continue this important work at Trafford Hall. Changes in government funding means they need all their Friends to help them drive really positive change in communities across the country. Jon Snow has made a video appeal on their behalf as he is a Patron and strongly supports their work. His message is linked to a crowdfunding appeal. If you can help in any way, however small, please click on www.crowdfunder.co.uk/jon-snow-appeal to donate. It would also be great if you became a Friend of Trafford Hall. Becoming a Friend of Trafford Hall will help them deliver the training and advice to communities which will enable them to be resilient in times of need. The link is www.traffordhall.com/support-us/. Every donation will help their work. Regular donors will receive a twice-yearly newsletter, priority booking for Trafford Hall events and accommodation (subject to availability) and a hosted visit to Trafford Hall as a thank you for your ongoing support.
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You can find out more about the work of GM Housing Providers by following them on Twitter @GMHousing 42