Latest research report from Church Urban Fund

 

Survival Strategies: A survey of the impact of the current economic climate on community organisations in the most deprived areas of England

Church Urban Fund's latest research report examines the impact of the current economic climate on community organisations in the most deprived areas of England.

It follows two reports published by Church Urban Fund in 2011, 'At the Cutting Edge' and 'Holding on by a Shoestring', which looked in detail at how public spending cuts were affecting people and organisations at a grassroots level. Returning a year later to the same organisations, we wanted to examine the ongoing effects of the economic climate.

We found that the current economic climate is having a significant impact upon community organisations and people living in deprived areas of England. This impact can be seen in the rising demand for services and the difficulty of securing funding.

However, in response to these difficulties, organisations are employing a range of survival strategies in order to meet rising demand with rising service provision.

For more information please contact Bethany Eckley using the details below.

Bethany Eckley

Research Manager

 

Follow me on twitter: @Bethany Eckley (CUF)

 

T  020 7898 1141

W  www.cuf.org.uk

M Church House, 27 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ

 

 

  

A company limited by guarantee. 

Registered in Cardiff No: 2138994

Registered charity number: 297483

If you work with people living in Blackpool, the council would like your views on the Blackpool Discretionary Support Scheme

 

 

Just a reminder that the Blackpool Discretionary Support Scheme consultation will close on the 18th January 2013; see below for further details:

 

 'From April 2013 Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans which are currently administered by the Department for Work and Pensions will be abolished and will be replaced with local discretionary provision.

 Blackpool Council would like your views to help us develop a local Discretionary Support Scheme for Blackpool people. Please complete the survey that can be found by clicking on the highlighted link in this email.

 

 If your organisation does not provide support for Blackpool people please ignore this email.

 

Please find the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FWXM26P '

 

 

If you have already completed the survey thank you very much for your response.

 

Regards

 

 

Jill Farrar

Special Projects Officer

 

Treasurer Services | Blackpool Council | Corporation Street | Blackpool | FY1 1NF

 

T. 476534

E. jill.farrar@blackpool.gov.uk

 

Blackpool: A fair place where aspiration and ambition are encouraged

W: www.blackpool.gov.uk

 

 

Are you ready to switch to a cheaper energy deal?
Visit www.readytoswitch.co.uk before 28th January

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The Cinnamon Network Micro-Grants

 

The Cinnamon Network Fund invites local churches who want to start a recognised Community Franchise project to apply for a micro grant of £2,000.

see http://cinnamonnetwork.co.uk/micro-grants/

Next Meeting of Blackpool food partnership steering group meeting

I've set up a doodle poll with some possible dates for our next meeting in the first week of February. Please go to the link below, tick your available dates and save them.

 

http://doodle.com/6z4z46k8ggkr49dt

 

Please do this before midday on Monday 14th and we will fix the date in diaries by the end of next week.

 

 

My notres from this weeks meeting follow

 

 

ACTION NOTES FROM SECOND MEETING OF

BLACKPOOL FOOD BANK WORKING GROUP

Monday 7^th January 10am at Springfield Methodist Church

A dozen or more of us were present and we had a good discussion of a range of issues as per agenda including the possibilities of partnership and funding with Blackpool Council,

The key decsions and action points were:

1. Methodist Action as the lead agency, accountable charitable body will need to set up a local provider board for this project which would involve a broad representative group including people in the room today. Stephen was asked to produce and circulate a draft "terms of reference" document covering the governance of the project.

2. Blackpool Council is taking on reponsibility for community care grants and DWP crisis loans and has a limited pot of money for this purpose. They aim to provide help in goods rather than cash and help with food for people in need was likely. They could potential fund a food bank project on the basis they would assess eligibility and refer clients. We debated various options how this might. Agreed we would each try to contribute to the Council's consultation exercise within the next few weeks. Jill from the Council would set out in writing what they felt was needed and appropriate. Methodist Action would produce a document which looked at costings and eligibility foe the food parcels. These to be circulated before our next meeting.

3. The next stage would be to get the churches on board in terms of collecting foodstuffs and money and volunteers in order to launch the service around Easter. Greg agreed to draft a Lent Appeal letter / leaflet for the churches Phil Moore to check out the intial storage possibilties at North Shore Methodist.

4. Existing food services such as the Blackpool Food Bank supported by Oasis, the Salvation Army and SVP could continue but we wanted to work together complementing each other and maximising the possibilities of bulk supplies etc. There will need to be some detailed conversations one to one and in the group to make this happen.. But we agreed the best name for promoting the wider work with transparancy would be Blackpool Food Partnership ..with subtitles such as (delivered by Methodist Action NW, supported by the churches and communities of Blackpool )...

5. We will meet again in about 4 weeks. Greg will set up and circulate a doodle poll to settle the date.

 

If you would like a word version of this to print please click below

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/89023969/together%20lancashire%20docs/action%20notes%20on%202nd%20food%20bank%20meeting.doc

 

If you have not done so already please sign up to receive our wider information bulletins about Christian social action in Blackpool either via our Blackpool blog at http://togetherlancashireinblackpool.blogspot.co.uk/

Or our Blackpool facebook group which anyone may join  at https://www.facebook.com/groups/tlblackpool/

 

Shalom

Greg Smith

Development Co-ordinator Together Lancashire / Preston Christian Action Network

34 Broadgate, Preston PR1 8DU

Phone no. 01772 827987 Mobile 07726177044

Together Lancashire, registered office Church House, Blackburn BB1 5AA

Registered Charity no 1147848 Registered company no 07966145

Together Lancashire Website http://www.cuf.org.uk/together-lancashire

Our Blackpool blog is at http://togetherlancashireinblackpool.blogspot.co.uk/

Our Blackpool facebook group which anyone may join is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/tlblackpool/

Serve Newsletter... events and funding etc.

Click here for the browser version of this newsletter           Funding, new resources, stories and events.     Funding If you're a Christian charity passionate about social inclusion, especially through healing or the arts, have a look at The Anchor Foundation. They offer grants between £500 and £10,000 to UK registered charities for a range of great projects. Whether you're breaking down boundaries with community theatre performances or splashing paint on canvas in your church hall, check out their website. Applications need to be received by 31st January and 31st July and are considered at twice yearly trustees meetings in April and November. http://theanchorfoundation.org.uk        New resources Are you and your church ready to be challenged and inspired to rethink mission? Check out Inside Out, a fantastic course from Tearfund, the Evangelical Alliance and Livability. The course is split into six sessions that take a fresh look at bringing change to your community. It's designed to be used with church groups and explores just how big God's mission is and how each of us can take part. Find out more on our website. Visit Just Map at www.justmap.org.uk to see an interactive map packed full of Christian projects involved in loads of issues from debt to disability. The website will help get you clued up on what's happening nearby and further afield.          Stories Prison Fellowship sharing God's love through the prison bars – Ron's* story of hope Ron began attending Sycamore Tree victim awareness programme, run by Prison Fellowship at HMP YOI Thorn Cross, bearing a heavy burden of guilt and sadness. Well into his sentence for causing death by dangerous driving, he was weighed down by what he had done and was struggling to face the reality of it all. At first Ron was reluctant to get involved but was helped by the relaxed welcome of the Prison Fellowship volunteers. By the end of the first session he did not want to wait until the final session to say sorry and he was compelled to write to his victim's family. Ron asked if it was possible for God to forgive him for what he had done. One of the Prison Fellowship volunteers shared the transformational 'TNT scripture', Romans 10:9-10. They explained that Ron only needed to believe in his heart that Jesus is the Christ, and that He died and rose from the grave to give him new life and forgiveness for all his sins. Right there and then, Ron asked Jesus to come into his heart and forgive him and the transformation was amazing! Week by week in the Sycamore Tree programme, Ron began to open up more about his feelings and the effect the course was having on him. In week three a victim of crime came to share their story and to talk about the hurt and pain of losing a loved one to murder. The reality of what he'd done hit Ron like a train. He spent much of the session sobbing out loud and being comforted by a volunteer. He was visibly moved by their story of forgiveness. Ron is just about to finish the course and is now thinking through the issues for himself. He has written to the family of his victim to express his deep regret and to offer an apology for what happened, well aware that this can never be enough. In the future, he would like to meet the family to say sorry in person and try to answer any questions they have. Ron is now training to become a peer mentor and has also asked if he could become a Sycamore Tree mentor. He would like to help other prisoners and visit schools and colleges to share his story. Ron feels very strongly about his responsibility to use his own transformational testimony and experience of Sycamore Tree. He wants to warn other young people about the ripple effect of crime and hopes that this will help to prevent further victims. Prison Fellowship aims to support prisoners by coming alongside them, praying and supporting them through practical programmes. We do this through our network of volunteer members and currently have over 1,700 members across England and Wales. If you have a passion for reaching out to those in prison there are many ways you or your church can get involved. To find out more, please visit the website www.prisonfellowship.org.uk * Names have been changed to protect those involved.       Events Raising Our Game The wait is almost over - our first Raising Our Game seminars kick off this year! Don't miss out on our events which look into Tearfund's '10 keys for impact'. The keys are all about transforming your local community and are taking place all over the country. Each one will focus on one or several keys. It's a great chance to be inspired, equipped, and empowered for change in your community. Visit our website for more information. Joining the dots and Raising our Game Venue: Liverpool Lighthouse, Oakfield Road, Liverpool, Merseyside L4 0UF Date: January 26th 2013 Time: 9.30am until 4.30pm This is not another Conference about Community Engagement! This interactive event in a marketplace setting, enables us to showcase a unique opportunity for you to: • See for yourself the various creative ways in which our local Churches are connecting with their communities at all kinds of levels • Have a practical opportunity to ask questions and see why and how others began their journeys of community engagement • Be envisioned, equipped and empowered to begin your journey During the day there will be a series of themed presentations from the groups represented as well as opportunity for you to ask your own questions during individual conversations. With sessions including: Community engagement - What's Church got to do with it? Dealing with Debt Food poverty Working with Children and Young People and their well-being Human Trafficking Homelessness There is also an opportunity for 3 projects to receive a grant of £2000. For more details and to apply for a grant visit our website. Register at raisingourgame@tearfund.org Turning spiritual passion into professional excellence, by serving the Church in its local context and celebrating everything we do to make Merseyside a better place to live. The Big Society – Seizing the Opportunities Looking at the practicalities of developing community projects Date: 7.30pm on Tuesday 22nd January 2013 (tea and coffee from 7pm) Venue: Kettering Corn Market Hall, London Road, Kettering, NN15 7QA Free admission: no need to book Organised by the East Northamptonshire Faith Group and the Peterborough Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship (Church of England). With presentations on… • Setting up a social enterprise – Sarah Kirkpatrick, Enterprise Solutions Northamptonshire • The Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, and more – Adam Simmonds, Northamptonshire Police & Crime Commissioner Group discussions on developing a community project, choosing one from: • Helping elderly isolated people • Responding to teenage pregnancy • Developing a youth mentoring scheme • Helping prepare people for work • Caring for the environment locally More details are available by phoning Dr Paul Buckingham (07971 074284) Andrew Presland (01933 316927) or by e-mailing andrewpresland@harboroughroad58.freeserve.co.uk

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