by John Harris | Nov 24, 2024 | news
For a few months John has been working with Hammersley Homes – in Hampshire. Hammersley Homes provides a service to people with enduring severe mental health issues and psychotic conditions – a service that is not available elsewhere due to any statutory support being short term only – and without which the clients they support suffer. Now, most of these unfortunate and vulnerable people live alone, often in chaos and unable to manage; or they are homeless; or they live with family members who one day won’t be there for them. They live too often without friends, a sense of community, or a sense of purpose – things we all need for our general wellbeing. Working with a team of trained staff and volunteers, HH visit people who experience enduring mental health challenges and illnesses in Hampshire, relieving loneliness and doing what they can to help clients reach their own personal goals and live their best life. Through offering friendship and help with tasks which clients struggle to manage – such as cooking, online access, budgeting, incoming mail, benefits, social and community interaction, and hobbies – lives can be enriched. This grant of £20,000 will contribute to the key role of CEO. They had secured funding for the Outreach programme for the next two years but this does not cover other essential costs. The CEO role is pivotal to the organisation and services. She manages all eight staff, puts in place all necessary policies and procedures which safeguard the outreach workers and volunteers, leads on the proper financial management and income generation of the charity, develops methods to capture and assess the impact of the support provided, supports the trustees in developing the strategic and business planning, leads on collaboration with other agencies.
by John Harris | Nov 15, 2024 | news
John has been working with Together Dementia Support for some time now – and together have achieved significant results. The latest is a 3 year funding grant of over £300,000 from Reaching Communities to support their invaluable work in supporting people with dementia and their carers.The TDS Vision is that everyone living with dementia and their carers has access to support, friendships, stimulating activities and has their voice heard. This is done through these objectives: 1. To improve the quality of life of our service users 2. To amplify the voice of people living with dementia and carers, and showcase their talents, enabling them to participate in research and influence the provision of dementia services 3. To work with partners to improve services 4. To increase awareness and understanding of dementia and reduce stigma. This project, Together We are Strong, sought investment in 4 key staff roles – the CEO, Service Delivery Manager, Business Development Manager, Volunteer Coordinator and impact monitoring. These are key roles that the organisation relies on to be successful. The immediate outputs of a decision to fund would be the continuation of the management and provision of services and increased capacity to undertake evidence-based development work and fundraising. With the small, proposed changes to the business support side of their staffing, they should have more focus on income generation opportunities and the marketing and communication of their work. To date TDS has focussed almost entirely on delivering more services to more people. Now they are focussing more on showing the impact of what they’ve been doing and getting others to support that work.
by John Harris | Oct 25, 2024 | news
We are working with the Bridge Church in Otley (Leeds). The main aims are capital ones – raise funds for a new roof and to refurbish the Manor Room, which isa the main community space in the church. Also, we are supporting them with the running costs which pay for the community and social activities of which there are many – and we’ve just heard that a grant of £20,000 has come through. The church acts as a community resource open to all and they find ways in which people can come together for mutual support and connectedness. The church accepted a leading role in the Warm – Welcome Space movement in the town and continues to support those on low incomes. Third Sector Consultancy helped the church consult with its users and the surveys by participants and volunteers show that the community groups and activities play a significant part in community life. Participants and volunteers rated the importance of the groups to the social and community life of Otley as almost 10 out of 10. In telling us what people get out of taking part a huge theme was that of connectedness, of meeting people, of not being alone. For the mums and dads at the toddlers’ groups a very important theme is that of their children’s development being enhanced and mutual support. Other significant areas identified included: the lovely food, helping those with mental health issues, support for carers of those with dementia and intergenerational contact. One person said: “This lovely church and all its groups and activities are essential for families and the community of Otley. It has been a source of comfort and sociability for generations.”
by John Harris | Oct 17, 2024 | news
The effectiveness of our work is evidenced by our clients – Jess Dolan (CEO of ecoActive in London) had this to say about us following our support in gaining a £250,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund: “John and Rachel have been invaluable pillars of support since 2020. Their dedication has been evident through tireless efforts in researching funders, meticulously crafting grant applications, and offering precious assistance in editing and proofreading. Beyond this, they have played a pivotal role in refining our impact assessment, elevating the evidence we provide to funders. Their support has significantly contributed to expanding and diversifying our grant income, empowering our small charity to enhance our fundraising over the years.”The Hackney Buzzline is an exciting project aiming to set up a 4 kilometre ‘buzzline’ for bees.The Hackney Buzzline will be a four kilometre ecological corridor extending through and between four east London parks. The parks are all local sites of importance for nature conservation. The corridor will be built by sowing wildflower meadows, planting flower beds and creating ‘stepping-stone’ habitats for pollinators every 100-200 metres along the route.
by John Harris | Oct 17, 2024 | news
At at time when fundraising has become so much tougher this counts as a marvellous result! A grant of £19,000 towards a yurt and a programme and field co-ordinator. Growing Links in Penzance has a community garden which is open to everybody and they have volunteer sessions three times a week. They accept referrals on behalf of vulnerable adults from doctors, from rehabilitation, the detox centre, from the police, from social workers, from Family Services and the Ministry of Justice. The crucial issue is that they develop an all year round, accessible venue to use with different groups – holding up to 20 people What they need is a Yurt, a temporary building that can be erected and dismantled, where they can add a wood burner for heat in the winter months and it will have an insulating thermal layer for the colder months. Workshops held in the yurt will include connecting with nature for wellbeing, permaculture, exercise and healthy lifestyles. They also also have a programme and field co-ordinator on a part time basis, this person will organise facilitators to use the field and yurt as a space and for vulnerable adults to be able to join the workshops free of charge. The co-ordinator will be responsible for risk assessments, health and safety, equality and diversity, safeguarding.
by John Harris | Sep 19, 2024 | news
Another great result for Abigail Housing – supported by Third Sector Consultancy – is a 2 year grant of £60,000! This is to contribute to core costs.This grant will really help with the costs of both work in Bradford and Leeds. In Bradford they support destitute, appeals rights exhausted (ARE) asylum seekers. ARE asylum seekers are unable to access any benefits or housing support, and Abigail Housing provides free safe accommodation to this group. Abigail has have fifteen beds across four properties and are exploring partnerships to provide additional bed spaces. The Leeds project works with those recently granted refugee status. Refugees are given just 28 days from receipt of their status documents to find accommodation and financial support. Many have been out of the job market for years while waiting for the resolution of their claim. For a significant number of refugees, the relief of securing leave to remain is destroyed by falling into street homelessness. Our Leeds project works to support this group through providing accommodation for 60 adult refugees and 4 children (living with parents) across 16 properties. At the same time, they offer support around securing long-term housing and resettlement, benefits, and volunteering and employment, as well as health and education.
by John Harris | Sep 1, 2024 | news
We worked with Fusion Housing over a period of a year – here is what the CEO, Director of Operations and Director of Business have to day about us: ‘We’ve worked in partnership with Rachel and John to raise nearly £400,000 over the past year for our Food and More project. We’ve found them helpful, responsive and available to support us where needed. They’ve guided us in selecting appropriate funders; provided support in liaising with funders; advised us on consultation and budgeting; and written successful applications. We envisage a very positive impact from the new funding, which will make a real difference in the lives of our service users.’
by John Harris | Jul 29, 2024 | news
We have been working with Abigail Housing for around 3 years now. Our latest success in supporting them in securing a grant for £20,000 – towards the costs of their Bradford Drop-In. The Bradford Destitution Project Provides housing and support to people seeking asylum who are homeless and destitute who are working with a legal representative to re-engage with the asylum process. These are individuals facing homelessness who are among the most vulnerable in our society as they are left completely destitute with no legal entitlement to any resources with serious risk to their physical and mental health. The project currently supports 15 people in 4 shared houses in Bradford. A key part of the support we provide is through the Drop-in. Here people can collect food and toiletries parcels, the cash allowance we are able to give and updates on their asylum case. Staff and volunteers keep in touch with individuals, check on their wellbeing and make referrals, particularly around health and wellbeing issues e.g. to Bevan Health Care. This grant will contribute towards the salaries of the support staff – providing advice, support, overseeing the drop-in sessions, supporting the Experts by Experience Group and managing and supporting the volunteers.
by John Harris | Jul 13, 2024 | news
We are delighted to say that our work in supporting Otley Courthouse has resulted in a grant of £20,000 a great result as the Courthouse is a recent client for us and it’s always good to get that first result! Otley Courthouse is a local arts and resource centre offering a varied programme of community activities. Each week they host many groups and classes including: exercise classes, a community choir, chair-based yoga, Pilates, knitting, Under 5’s group and a dementia group. Our community café is open daily. They host a number of community groups including Otley Maker Space, Wharfedale Men’s Shed as well as a monthly craft fair, Otley Green Fair, an Arts Festival and Science Festival and school holiday activities for children and offer part time work and volunteering for young people.The grant will fund one staff member to co-ordinate volunteers. Over 12 months, they will train and support 80 volunteers including training 30 new ones. The training will be open to partner organisations and other community groups, providing networking opportunities. This will enable volunteers to run events, classes, deliver admin and publicity, and welcoming people, all whilst developing themselves.
by John Harris | Jul 13, 2024 | news
John has been supporting Together Dementia Support for two years now. They are based in Manchester and support both people with dementia and their carers – knowing that the wellbeing of those with dementia very much depends on the wellbeing of the carers. TDS has just been awarded £60,000 over 2 years from the Garfield Weston Foundation – to contribute to the running costs of the charity which supports around 1000 people each year.
