Crisis response 2020-2022
Weekly Food delivery for Vulnerable People (Emergency response)
Finding out that there were many more people who were not taking advantage of the many food delivery initiatives in the area due to language and other barriers, since the lockdown we started running a pilot scheme to deliver donated food along with fresh produce purchased from supermarket, supporting many households to continue to stay safe and self-isolate. This was initially funded from our reserve. Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund, we were able to continue and expand on the project, delivering food packages to the most vulnerable people in our communities whilst providing some regular face to face contact at a safe distance and a brief chat to check everything was okay and made sure they had up to date health information.
Training Community Champions with lived experience to help others (Employability)
Funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust Covid 19 Support Fund, this project enabled us to re-engage 2 experienced sessional project workers from refugee backgrounds to work intensively with community champions from various Refugee Community Organizations (RCOs). These community champions were supported to work among their own respective communities to deliver direct support to around 160 refugees and asylum seekers affected by the crisis in the Tyneside region. The work involved reconnecting with volunteers and help them identify beneficiaries most in need, deliver virtual drop-in sessions via zoom and WhatsApp to support service users with issues related to c19 with particular focus on employability, such as updating CVs and helping them apply for jobs, help with form filling and benefits, but also arranging mock interviews and helping with building confidence.