Issue 14 - Greater Manchester Housing Providers Anti-Poverty Newsletter

Issue 14

The povertyissue October 2016

Welcome to Issue 14 of the Greater Manchester Housing Providers focus on poverty newsletter. The purpose of the newsletters is to share ideas, projects and good practice. Our cover picture shows visitors to the Sunshine Café in Sale, more on page 15.

Greater Manchester awarded £9.7m to improve health and unemployment Greater Manchester is to benefit from £9.7m over the next three years to tackle poverty and improve people’s skills and health to help them back into employment and training. The money from the Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund’s Building Better Opportunities project has been awarded to Manchester Athena’s Motiv8 programme which will be delivered by five housing providers across the region.

The programme aims to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people aged 25+ who may be homeless, long-term unemployed, living with disabilities and health conditions, or drug and alcohol dependent. 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. The funding will also work with men and women who are underrepresented in the labour-market such as ex-

offenders, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups, ethnic minorities and migrant communities.

As the lead organisation for Motiv8, Tameside-based social landlord New Charter Group will work with housing partners ForViva, Stockport Homes, Wythenshawe Community Housing Group and Bolton at Home to deliver the Motiv8 programme across Greater Manchester.

The project is one of 38 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas in the country to be awarded Building Better Opportunities funding.

It will be delivered according to local priorities and is an example of how other programmes could be run as a result of new devolution powers.

Other specialist partners which are supporting the project across the region are; Wai Yin Society, Shelter, Home-Start, Migrants Supporting Migrants, LGBT Foundation, Challenge 4 Change and One Manchester.

Ian Munro, Chair of Manchester Athena and Chief Executive of New Charter Group said: “This project will help people who are the furthest away from the labour market to take steps towards improving their lives and we’re delighted to receive the funding.

“It is much needed funding for Greater Manchester and by bringing some of the largest housing providers in the region together, we’re in a much stronger position to deliver better services for the needs of our communities.”

Update on work done so far This section is your space to share with us any of the work you are doing to tackle poverty.

Here are just some examples of what housing providers are doing. If your organisation isn’t featured then why don’t you submit an article for the next issue due in January?

Bolton at Home Saving Customers Money on their Water Bills Bolton at Home is working closely with United Utilities to identify ways to help our customers save money on their water bills. We have recently contacted a group of tenants who are aged over 65 years to let them know of a new scheme called “Help to Pay” which will reduce their annual water charge to £250 if they are in receipt of Pension Credit (either Pension Guarantee Credit or Pension Savings Credit). Some customers currently pay up to £500 per year, so this is a huge saving for our tenants.

So far we have written to over 5000 customers and have followed that up with a text message campaign. Already 437 customers have switched to the Help to Pay Scheme making total customer savings of over £60k.

Starts With You Starts with you is a brand new social enterprise based in Bolton, and is part of Bolton at Home. It has been established to deliver a wide range of services including employment, family and personal support, community research, and environmental and cleaning services.

Starts with you aims to:  Support Bolton at Home’s social investment aims and strategic priorities by profitable but ethical trading.  Provide quality training and work experience opportunities for excluded groups, including the tenants of Bolton at Home and other housing associations to support their economic and social wellbeing.  Provide excellent, ethical services for customers and clients so that we develop a reputation for integrity and excellence.

Our customer digital inclusion training is now provided by two in-house staff via Starts with you and by making that change we can deliver more training with our available budget and we can start to build on our work with specific groups beyond those who are looking for work or in receipt of benefit such as older people.

For more information, visit the Starts with you website here: startswithyou.org.uk MoneySkills Energy project work Bolton’s Money Skills Service is funded by Bolton Community Homes, Bolton’s Strategic Housing Partnership. Our aim is to help Bolton residents by providing free information, money guidance and training to give people the money management, knowledge and confidence to help them take control of their finances and improve their money management skills.

After meeting with Leanne Wilkinson, Neighbourhood Officer from Places For People (PFP), and discussing the service that Money Skills could provide to their tenants it became clear that work around energy was perhaps a gap that Money Skills could help fill and support local residents with.

Due to problems around high fuel costs, difficulties with Economy 7 heating systems and damp issues in the School Hill, Farnworth and Horwich area we decided to trial offering an “energy drop in” and a Keep Warm Keep Well group session in those areas.

A central venue was booked at Allerton Court and letters distributed to local PFP residents.

Due to the relatively low numbers living in that area we decided to include other tenants living locally, including Great Places and Bolton At Home ensuring maximum coverage and exposure.

We were able to incentivise both the drop in and the group session which obviously helped to engage with residents. During the drop in we gave away energy saving items such as towel turbans, washing up bowls, dryer balls, hats, gloves plus much more. We developed an energy saving multiple choice questionnaire which had to be completed before a prize was given. We found the questionnaire was an ideal way of educating people about healthy temperatures, the causes of damp and condensation, how much certain appliances cost to run etc. We also found that it was a good way of opening up conversations about any problems a person might have with their heating which also lead on in some cases to conversations about other debts they may have.

The group session covers….       

Top tips on saving money around the home Which appliances use the most electricity in the home Energy efficiency in the home How to get the best out of heating systems Tips on reducing damp/condensation and black spot/mould How your home affects your health Understand about energy tariffs and getting better deals

Plus much more This project was then replicated in the supported housing schemes, Greenbank in Horwich and Millbrook House in Farnworth. We had a stall at resident events and other tenants at local PFP schemes were also invited. The drop in/sessions were very well attended.

With our most recent event at Greenbank in Horwich we decided to try something different and ask the participants who had booked onto the KWKW session to bring with them their gas/electricity bills so for those that wanted to we could carry out some searches for switching options for them then and there. We found this worked incredibly well and out of the eight participants that attended the session, six wanted us to carry out some searches for them. Each search carried out brought back potential savings of between £150 - £250 for each participant. A further two appointments were booked to actually help and complete the switches. One of the participants was more confident on the internet and having sat the session agreed to assist two further participants from the scheme. One Warm Home Discount advanced registration was also completed.

The session was evaluated by asking each of the participants that sat the full session a few questions. We assess their learning by asking these questions before and after the session: 

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How confident are you at using your heating controls in the home? - On average throughout the group - 54% increase after sitting the session Do you know what actions you can take in the home to reduce your energy bills?

- On average throughout the group – 54% increase after sitting the session How confident as you about reading your bills/meter and shopping around for a better deal on gas/electric? - On average throughout the group – 46% increase after sitting the session Do you know what causes damp/ condensation and what you can do to reduce this? - On average throughout the group – 92% increase after sitting

the session  Do you know what the effects are of cold temperatures are on your health? - On average throughout the group – 51% increase after sitting the session We also aim to contact the participants one month after sitting the session to see if they need any extra help and guidance and also to see if they have implemented any of their learning within their day to day lives. By offering this full overview of home energy use, customer’s bills should hopefully be lower resulting in increased available income for other household budget demands including rent. We feel that our energy guidance has a real benefit for people as even small behavioural changes can result in large savings. One to one appointments are also offered to help with:      

any billing issues, arrears trust fund applications energy price comparisons Warm Home Discount sign ups referrals for in depth Money Advice/insulation sign posting to other agencies

We are more than willing to offer a similar service to any of our partners. If you would like more information please contact Bolton’s Money Skills Service on 01204 33 1968 or email moneyskills@bolton.gov.uk.

Here’s what Places For People thought about the project…..

“The drop in and the Keep Warm Keep Well sessions were excellent. We had a higher turnout than expected and all of our tenants commented on how much they had learnt.

Many of our tenants were surprised , if not shocked, to find out how much some regular household appliances were actually costing them to run. The sessions also provided practical hints and tips on what they can do to reduce their consumption. I think this will make a big difference, by increasing their awareness this will enable them to decrease their bills”

City West Clifton Breakfast Club City West work in partnership Clifton Primary School’s breakfast club to provide a free breakfast to school children each day during term time. The breakfast club supports families who are experiencing economic difficulty, often because they are on low incomes including welfare benefits. It also provides opportunities for social development.

Clifton Primary School ran 160 breakfast clubs, attended on average by 50 pupils a day and serving an estimated 8,000 breakfasts during the academic year. The breakfast club attracted positive outcomes of being enjoyed by the pupils, some of whom no longer went to school hungry, and as reported by Head Teacher observations experienced improved attendance, punctuality, independence, confidence and social and cognitive skills.

The breakfast club has the potential to save parents £1,126 a year in childcare costs, per

child, for those who need it, plus ÂŁ200 a year for not having to pay for the breakfast club, when compared to the cost of other breakfast clubs in the county. External research reports breakfast clubs generally enable parents to study and that without them working parents might have to give up or change their job or take a pay cut.

Summer Kids Get Cooking City West work in partnership with the volunteers from Westwood Tenants and Residents Association and the Mary Magdalene Church to organise and deliver cooking sessions with families. This was delivered over the summer holidays offering parents to come along to the Magdalene Centre with their children and cook low cost, fresh, healthy and nutritious meals.

The project has been a massive success so far with over 60 individuals attending. The session is led by a qualified chef from within the community who is volunteering his time to deliver the cooking classes.

Food Club We work in partnership with the Mustard Tree Charity by sign posting City West customers to the food club in emergency crisis situations. Customers will receive a food parcel in the first instance if they have no food due to their personal circumstances. The Mustard Tree will also aim to sign up the individuals to the Food Club. The Food Club initiative enables members of the public who are on benefits or in receipt of low income to join the club at a small charge of £2.00 per person per week but the individual will receive 10 items of food from within the shop which they are able to choose themselves to make a meal for themselves or the family.

Fair for You City West Housing Trust are currently working in partnership with ‘Fair for You’ in order to develop a clear partnership approach to supporting customers in making their house a home through a provision of access to home furnishings.

Fair for You is a service designed to offer lower income households access to short term affordable loans in order to purchase a range of household items - beds, sofas, dining and bedroom furniture, as well as baby items - prams and buggies and cots.

Operating in conjunction with the credit union, Fair for You provides all customers with robust loan advice and guidance including a call from a loans officer to verify they have understood the loan, that it is affordable and to offer that overpayments can be made resulting in customer paying less interest; 40% currently overpay. For those customers that Fair for You cannot help, the service will redirect customers to www.turn2us.org.uk for a grant search and benefit check to be completed.

The service offers a 24/7 web shop providing access to a virtual high street whereby a number of products are available. A recent price comparison exercise evidences a significant difference between Fair for You against other high street lending providers. City West will therefore be working closely with Fair for You in signposting our customers to safe, affordable lending, supporting our customers in balancing the costs of relocating to a new home.

Great Places Park Cake Event takes the biscuit In response to the large scale recruitment by Park Cake for the Christmas production of cakes and all things sweet, the Great Places Social Investment Team in Oldham, Callie Goodram and Craig Stone organised an event at the Primrose Community Centre to support tenants and residents in the local community to complete written application forms. Customers were also supported with applications to Home Instead Senior Care and Housing Units Retailers, as well as registration with Get Oldham Working, CV and cover letter writing and mock interviews.

The event was a great success with 24 people attending, 16 of which were Great Places tenants from the local community. Ably supported by Sheila Bishop, Dave Stewart and Naseem Ahmed, 15 residents completed application forms for Park Cake, which were duly hand delivered on the same day.

The mock interviews also proved very popular with interviewees having to answer 10 of the most common interview questions to encourage them to talk about themselves, begin to recognise their own skills, knowledge and experience and to provide relevant examples with their answers.

One person who had mock interview has already secured work with Debenhams and said, ‘The mock interview helped out a lot, as many of the questions we covered, came up in the interview, so I was able to answer without hesitation.

Thank you very much for your help.’

Craig Stone, Employment and Skills Manager said, ‘This was a real team effort between the Social Investment Team and Housing Services to support our tenants into employment in the priority ward of Coppice’ Brunch Club at the Crossley Community Centre in Oldham Over the summer Great Places ran a brunch club for families in Chadderton . The format was similar to the Holiday Kitchen project and ran twice a week from 11am–1pm over the school holidays. Over fifty children and their parents took part in the project which promoted healthy lifestyle activities and provided a nutritious brunch with food supplied by Oldham Food Bank.

Oldham Play Action Group provided lots of fun play activities including arts and crafts and

Oldham Athletic Football Club delivered football skills sessions.

The project was also supported by the wonderful volunteers at the Crossley Centre who ran cooking sessions for the families and by IF Oldham who created healthy snacks and led sessions on planting winter vegetable in the community garden at the centre.

A big thank you to all the partners who helped to make it such a fun and informative summer and to all the families who took part.

Learning English in Burnley Community Development Coordinator Louise Ramsey has been supporting the people of Burnley to improve their language skills and remove the barriers to employment.

Residents have been able to improve their language skills during weekly English lessons at the Chai Centre, Burnley. Seventeen learners are supported by two Great Places residents who volunteer as tutors, Hajara Bibi and Kudsia Ashfaque.

Learners have enjoyed cooking, walking and health and well-being themed sessions as part of the course.

Computers for Claremont attendees excel Since its establishment by Great Places a year ago Computers for Claremont has continued to give residents the opportunity to gain vital computer skills. One of our residents, Paul Mills, attended all sessions during the last cycle and obtained an incredible 11 certificates by the end of it in various areas including completing forms online, using email and using internet safety.

Paul says “The sessions have really helped me a lot and I now feel more confident when using a computer and the internet, I will use what I have learnt to help me find work” Keira Burns, Employment & Skills Manager and Aviel Lowndes, Community Development have continued the development of the project which has resulted in it now being supported by more resident digital champion volunteers than staff including previous attendees who found the sessions so valuable they wanted to give back and help others through similar learning.

Ian - Tenant Digital Champion Volunteer says “I didn’t really know what to do with a computer before the sessions it was all a bit alien to me but I was really grateful for the help Great Places staff offered me and I have now purchased my own Laptop. Now I know what I’m doing I want to help others build their confidence too.”

Reading Every Day at Mereside in partnership with ROGO This pilot project demonstrates how Great Places Housing Group worked successfully in partnership with Mereside Primary School and Mereside Children’s Centre to address the need to improved children’s reading/literacy skills for our tenants and residents of Blackpool, confronting one of the factors to end the cycle of poverty.

To address this need we delivered an after school programme at Mereside Primary School and Children’s Centre in June 2016. During this after school scheme eight families with children ages 3-9 and their parents engaged in different activities to turn their children’s literacy development into a joy rather than a chore.

The programme was led by the school and supported by local volunteers over four weeks to improve the dedicated literacy learning time parents have with their children. Through different activities we up skilled parents to help them develop their confidence and improve attitudes towards reading. Using easy to do at home literacy games and play, a dedicated 15 minutes parent and child reading time and a communal meal to finish off each session, parents learnt fun ways to help their child’s literacy skills, built relationships with school staff and each other.

Jemma, mum of four said ‘It has always been a struggle to get my children to focus but it was great to learn about little tips like trying different materials like the children’s newspaper, encyclopaedias and signs, things I would never have thought of trying’.

90% of parents reported an increase in their confidence and understanding of literacy development and spend more time supporting their child’s development.

A group of core volunteers have been established who are continuing to working with the school and in the community. A best practice model has been developed, opening up the opportunity for similar projects to be rolled out at other sites.

Volunteers on this project are now undergoing accredited training through Blackpool Council to feed into the council’s initiative to help parents develop the skills to support their children’s early literacy development through home visits.

National Citizen Service National Citizen Service is one of the programmes delivered by The Challenge, a government backed scheme to connect people and encourage social integration open to Year 11 and 12 students to help them build skills for work, life and transition to adulthood.

Great Places were involved in two projects within Greater Manchester.

Langworthy Emmanuel Centre - Salford This project involved 15 young people from all over GM participating in a two week residential followed by two weeks based in Emmanuel Centre in Langworthy to undertake community action. The group consulted local people, then based on this they project planned to refurbish a chill out corner of the centre for families to relax. They also organised a launch event on Friday August 12th inviting Langworthy councillor Cllr Gina Reynolds and Cllr Ronnie Wilson representing the Emmanuel Church Council to cut ribbon and formally open the facility with local families also attending. 

A second group undertook a further project continuing the improvements at Emmanuel, painting and decorating etc. A number of the NCS graduates from Langworthy have gone on to take part in a six month Great Places pilot, launched at the start of September, looking to devolve more decision making to young people, while harnessing their problem solving and creativity to produce responses to local issues. Great Places provided partnership to support each project with some funding, materials and project management advice.

Parkside, Whalley Range – Manchester Parkside in Whalley Range last year received funds from the residents fund at Great Places.

The funds were put towards paint to give the fences a facelift and ten young people from the Challenge came on site to give us a helping hand. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t in our favour and it made painting very difficult. However, the group got involved in removing tree roots, planting and litter picking the site. The residents were very happy with the work and they really worked hard despite the weather. 

Emma Payne from the Challenge commented: “Our summer delivery of the National Citizen Service has now come to a close and so I'd like to say a big thank you to you and Great Places for being a part of it.

It was amazing to have Great Places as a new partner this year and I received brilliant feedback from the team, just a shame about the typical Manchester weather.”

Karen Burns, Employment & Skills Manager said “These young people are our future and have volunteered their spare time in the summer- for them to experience different ‘real life’ stories and social interaction will help guide their future career paths”.

24Housing Awards 2016 – Welfare Wise Irwell Valley has recently been short listed for a 24Housing Award in the Welfare Wise category. In their submission Irwell Valley have had to demonstrate how they have assisted customers in preparing for the changes brought about by the Welfare Reform.

Irwell Valley has invested vastly to ensure that their customers have the support and knowledge available to them to deal with the Welfare Reform. They have recruited specialist colleagues such as an Income Management Officer to purely manage Universal Credit (UC) cases and assist and support those claiming or about to claim UC. Prevention colleagues such as the Financial Inclusion Officer (FIO) and the Debt Prevention Officer (DPO) have carried out work to ensure customers are fully informed of changes brought about by the Welfare Reform. More recently these colleagues have offered home visits to all those customers that are to be affected by further reductions to the Benefit Cap in Autumn this year. Assistance has been offered around budgeting, income maximisation and support with Discretionary Housing Payment Applications.

To help support customers, Irwell Valley has developed sound relationships with external partners such as Manchester Credit Union and food banks across the area. Irwell Valley’s Sunshine Café in Sale provides clients referred by the local food bank with a discounted hot meal. Funding is also given to the Citizens Advice Bureau to provide specialist advice to Irwell Valley customers around money, debt, benefits, employment and much more.

Irwell Valley continues to see a weighty return on their investment in Financial Inclusion, which they strongly believe is increasing the sustainability of their tenancies.

Credit Union Partnership In 2013 Irwell Valley secured funding from the Golden Foundation to enter into a partnership with Manchester Credit Union. This partnership continues and ensures their customers and colleagues have access to affordable credit and a safe place to save along with alternatives to high street bank accounts.

Every quarter Irwell Valley provides information to their customers via ‘Money Matters’ an insert that is sent with rent statements to their general let customers. Information regarding Manchester Credit Union and the products they can offer is a regular feature within the ‘Money Matters’ along with other useful information such as loan shark awareness, updates on welfare reforms, help for those experiencing financial difficulties and United Utilities schemes available to reduce customers water bills.

The partnership with Manchester Credit Union is also promoted on their website and social media and they have also promoted it at a number of their social events attended by their customers, running a competition for new members using funding from the Illegal Money Lending Team as an incentive to join.

The partnership has significant benefits for their customers offering alternatives to high street bank accounts particularly for those who have previously had bad experiences with high street banks. Customers can apply for loans through Manchester Credit Union offering an affordable alternative to Payday lenders, Illegal Money Lenders and companies charging high interest rates.

As part of the partnership Irwell Valley colleagues can also become members of Manchester Credit Union and take advantage of their services, payments via payroll deductions are offered making it easier to save.

The partnership with Manchester Credit Union has meant that Irwell Valley colleagues are all trained and able to assist their customers to become members whilst in the neighbourhood by using their IPads to sign their customers up online.

The Manchester Credit Union partnership is likely to become even more significant as we see the roll out of Universal Credit expand over the coming years.

Sowing the Seeds of Change Recently, Irwell Valley Housing’s Golden Foundation granted funding to its Neighbourhood Team to offer local young people the opportunity to use their imagination, resourcefulness and hard work to create a garden using recycled materials. As well as building a great community resource the project supported the young people to learn skills such as budgeting and value for money.

We contacted the local primary schools within the Irwell Valley Neighbourhoods to see if they were up to the challenge of creating a garden using recycled materials. Each school that took on the challenge was encouraged to generate as much recycling and learning into each entry. 12 in total began to build their gardens come Spring 2016. These gardens were developing across Manchester from Radcliffe to Haughton Green. We were blown away on seeing the gardens on judging day.

As a neighbourhood team and organisation, we are quite aware of the impact of poverty.

We have noticed in our work that our young people are slowly being de-skilled in this technological age of austerity. With cuts to school funding; classes like home economics,

Lynne Ambler and Danielle Makin enjoy a seat at Tatton Park

We were blown away on seeing the gardens on judging day.

wood shop, and specialist clubs. Young people are missing out on some basic life skills.

This project inspired young people to repurpose used items and give them a new life. The fixed monetary amount supplied for the project allowed young people the idea to focus on budgeting and value for money.

Young people from all over the region found themselves digging, planting, and watering.

Some even took a turn painting, using basic tools, and everyone used their imaginations.

The winning school located in Sale West, Trafford included the entire school in their project.

Firs Primary School ran a school wide competition to design a garden which showed off their mascot, a dragon.

The young people supported by their schools fantastic teachers helped make this project a roaring success. The winning school has received a very welcome £500 prize for their hard work which they are intending to spend on answering the age old question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” They want to build a small chicken coop on site to supply their own cafeteria with eggs.

Contact us at comments@irwellvalleyha.co.uk for more details.

Strictly Lunch – Good food, good times, make friends Irwell Valley launched Strictly Lunch at the Sunshine Café in Sale in August 2015. The project provides subsidised lunches and social activities for over 65s in a safe, comfortable environment. It is an opportunity for elderly residents to come together and enjoy a hot meal and to make new friends and simply get out of the house. By providing this service we are aiming to reduce social isolation and tackle poverty in older people living in Sale.

Research by Age UK highlights the reason we introduced the Strictly Lunch:    

One in five elderly people skip meals to save money One in seven pensioners live in poverty One million older people haven’t spoken to a friend, neighbour or family member for over a month Loneliness can increase your risk of premature death by up to a quarter

The lunches take place every Tuesday and Thursday and are attended by around 15 people per session. Customers pay £2.50, and Irwell Valley fund an additional £2.50 which pays for a two course lunch and a hot drink. Activities such as bingo, cards, and dominos are played and films are also shown on a projector. The lunch was initially just one day a week but due to the success and high attendance rates additional funding was provided so that we could increase to two days a week from July 2016.

Funding for the subsidised lunch is provided by the Irwell Valley Golden Foundation which was established to fund projects which support people to find solutions to local problems and encourage positive change. In addition to the funding the lunch sessions are run by Irwell Valley colleagues who prepare and serve the meals and organise and host activities.

Some quotes from customers highlight the success of the project: ‘Enjoy games of bingo and dominos and the company of all the people who go we all enjoy it. It breaks the day up by going out since my wife passed away.’

‘Enables us to get out and have a lovely time there each week.’

‘I look forward to it so much, Thursday can’t come quick enough I have made new friends there, and the meals are wonderful.’

‘I enjoy going to the Sunshine Café on a Thursday it gives me something to look forward to each Thursday and we have a nice dinner and meet friends for a laugh and a chat.’

For more information please contact Louise Phillips, Neighbourhood Manager, Irwell Valley on 0161 610 4822.

One Manchester Community finds solution for the future of Fallowfield Library A Manchester library is now officially in community hands following a three-and-a-half-year endeavour by local residents to secure its future. When Fallowfield Library was threatened with closure due to budget cuts, the local community led by the Friends of Fallowfield group, mobilised and, with the help of Manchester City Council and the place-making organisation One Manchester, formed a Charitable Incorporated Organisation to take over the lease and begin a new chapter.

The result is The Place at Platt Lane; a modern, sustainable community library and resource centre which shows how, with a little support, communities can protect and in this case enhance, a valued community asset.

The trustees, mainly local community members who are passionate about Fallowfield, have worked tirelessly to find out what people need and want from The Place at Platt Lane and find ways to deliver this by working with dedicated volunteers, Manchester City Council’s Libraries service and a growing list of community groups and partner organisations.

To date, 80 volunteers have worked with One Manchester and the council to transform Fallowfield Library into The Place at Platt Lane, making it possible for a library service to be on offer 18 hours a week, as well as delivering a wide range of activities, services, educational courses and events to be enjoyed by people of all ages throughout the week.

Since April 2015, it is estimated that The Place at Platt Lane has generated almost £1.5 million worth of social value to the community.

This figure accounts for the thousands of hours contributed by volunteers and the wide range of projects which the library supports including: English classes; an older people’s group to reduce social isolation; IT groups to improve digital skills; faith groups; knitting groups; a community choir; a money advice service; various clubs for children and young people; and a range of courses ranging from photography to family history to courses supporting women running their own businesses.

Volunteer Lil Luckham, a founding member of the Friends of Fallowfield and a trustee of the library, said: “I can’t put it into words what stands out about this library – which I guess is

ironic – but in all seriousness, there is a feeling I have here and it’s evolving into something very special. As an example, we sell books on a Saturday morning and offer tea and cake.

It’s only a small gesture but it has blossomed into something very important. With no original grand intention, it has become a regular social isolation café; people have told other people in the area and now we have visitors who wouldn’t normally see anybody else all week. They’re offering each other advice and asking us to help them with phoning people or to use the internet, for day-to-day issues.

“Essentially the library is all about bringing people together; different ages, cultures, genders, and creeds. How do you put something like that into words; something that you might take away and show to people? It’s incredible.”

Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure at Manchester City Council, said: “The Friends of Fallowfield Library have shown great dedication in developing a sustainable, community-led plan for library services to be delivered from the Place at Platt Lane. We will continue to work with the Friends group and One Manchester, providing the staff support, computers and books needed to keep library provision at the core of this vital local hub.”

Dave Power, Group Chief Executive of One Manchester, said: “The Place at Platt Lane is a fantastic example of how, by working together with communities and other partners, we can find innovative ways to deliver the services our communities need.

“It has been a privilege to not only support the people of Fallowfield in saving their local library but to assist them in widening its services and overall offer, all of which is thanks to the sheer drive and determination of the Friends of Fallowfield. We saw their passion from the very beginning and will continue to do all we can to support the team in ensuring a successful future for the library and the community.”

Regenda The Growing Hub Limehurst The Growing Hub Limehurst has now become constituted over summer opening up many opportunities for the group.

The Volunteers have been successful in securing £1k in funding from local sources and fundraising over £300 themselves.

They have just completed a People’s Help Trust funding application for £5k and if successful will be starting a local low cost gardening service for Limehurst residents. The volunteers involved are really excited when their fruit and veg is coming into bloom as they can offer this to residents who attend the weekly session and will also be looking to sell the produce in the future.

Oldham Job Fair Regenda and Contour Homes took a joint partnership approach at this year’s Get Oldham Working Jobs Fair.

We spoke to many people living in Oldham looking for work, not all Contour and Regenda Residents but we were still able to show them some of the jobs available which had been printed off and give them some advice on where to visit.

Limehurst By the Sea Event Our summer season finale was taken over by the amazing Limehurst Arts Society. Project Leader Shonagh Ingram re-created the seaside scenes right in the middle of Limehurst giving many families across the estate a chance to feel like they’d been ‘beside the seaside’.

The Limehurst Arts Society signed up another 150 residents to the society giving them access to more exciting events to come.

Holiday Kitchen Regenda successfully rolled out another Summer Holiday Kitchen programme this year with six main families engaging in the fun provision from nutritional session to drama sessions.

All the families reported to enjoy the provision and were very positive about having a local summer project they could bring their children to.

Southway Employment Support Helping tenants move into work will be one of our key priorities over the next year. This involves both preparing tenants for work and providing opportunities to gain the knowledge, experience and skills to improve their chances of securing employment. Volunteering has proved to be a successful means of achieving this so we intend to create even more opportunities for residents to get involved. Three of our Quids In food club volunteers have managed to move into work and all say it was the experience gained volunteering at the club that helped them get the job and it gave them something interesting to talk about in their interviews.

The Timebank One of our most successful volunteering projects is the Timebank which now has over 350 members. Every hour worked by a member is banked and they can then call on another member to work for the same amount of time. Someone with gardening skills for example who has spent two hours planting and lawn mowing would then be entitled to two hours of another member’s time to repair their computer. Having such large numbers means the group contains people with a broad range of useful skills, which is one reason for its popularity.

Growing food – Community Gardens Southway have also developed community gardens throughout the area so most tenants can get involved in growing fruit, veg and herbs. Withington Fire Station have donated space for one garden including using helmets as planters.

Access to Affordable Credit Our Southway Solutions affordable loan scheme developed in partnership with South Manchester credit Union has continued to be successful with almost 400 tenants having borrowed since we launched it in October 2014. The scheme was used by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as part of an international study on affordable credit and after the

report was published we were invited to take part in a webinar to talk about the project.

Over 100 guests participated and we were inundated with questions about the project which demonstrated the high level of interest that existed in the housing sector to help tenants access affordable credit.

Annual Anniversary for our ‘Quids In’ food club Our Merseybank ‘Quids In’ food club in Chorlton has now been open for a year and continues to expand and attract new members. Run on a ‘Pantry’ model and staffed by volunteers, the club has over 100 members and every Friday serves around 60 families. The second food club we opened in February at the Westcroft Centre in Burnage has also been a great success and despite limited space manages to serve 40 members. Many are larger families as those affected by the Benefit Cap were particularly encouraged to join. Our food supplier Fareshare tell us 23 tonnes of food has been distributed via the clubs since opening. We plan to open another three in the near future to ensure all our tenants have access to the service.

Summer Breakfast Club Over the summer we sponsored a breakfast club for families in the Old Moat area of Withington working with the Children’s Centre and Community Minded. For five weeks around 60 children were provided with breakfast and a morning of activities and parents were given extra food parcels to take home. We also organised a community chef to deliver a cooking session. The children got involved in preparing the ingredients and were shown how to make Burritos which they enjoyed tasting afterwards.

Stockport Homes Domestic abuse support The Ongoing Women’s Local Support (OWLS) group was established following a contact between a Neighbourhood Housing Officer and a tenant who had experienced domestic abuse within the home.

A Neighbourhood Housing Officer identified through the cyclical Current Tenant Visits that there was a gap locally in the support offered to women who were experiencing abuse. She carried out a fundamental role in supporting the group from its inception, working with the Customer Involvement team and Stockport Without Abuse (SWA), a local charity that supports people who are affected by domestic abuse, to help establish O.W.L.S. Funding was obtained through a successful Community Fund award of £550 together with a grant from SHL of £250.

The group meets together as a constituted group to provide advice and signposting to survivors of domestic abuse, utilising their experiences on resettlement and living in temporary accommodation amongst other topics. The Neighbourhood Housing Officer continues to support and raise awareness of the group locally and other SHL staff regularly utilise the services of the group to the benefit of customers, helping them to sustain tenancies and move on with their lives. Building on the success of the group, future plans

include:  Developing a relationship with local schools to raise awareness of the signs of abuse within the home.  Invite mental / sexual health speakers to the meetings to raise awareness of issues women who have experienced domestic abuse  Organise Activities and Family Days  Involve Health Visitors for supporting people with young children  Involve Stockport Homes to provide Housing Information  Expanding in the future to provide similar services to men who have experienced domestic abuse Customer training and development programme Stockport Homes has delivered a free customer training programme (Skills for Life) since 2007. A review of the current customer training programme was undertaken during 2016 to identify new ways of working. This highlighted that there was limited provision for identifying people who want or need further support to achieve longer term aims such as securing employment. Last year, 52 per cent of SFL attendees chose not to undertake any further courses or learning opportunities with Stockport Homes.

As a result of the review, it was decided that training should be more tailored to customer’s aspirations and linked to employment, with taster sessions leading to individual learning pathways. Six themes were identified  Social inclusion  Digital inclusion  Employment  Health  Community development  Participation For example, care is a growth area of employment in the borough, so a care pathway has been established to guide customers through the process of getting a job in care. This includes visits to care homes, specific skills training such as first aid and help with applying for vacancies. Our first pathway has just been launched, so we will report back in future editions as to how this new approach is working.

A link to further information is here www.stockporthomes.org/advice-and-support/learningopportunities/ Free counselling service In June 2016, Stockport Homes launched a free counselling service for tenants and staff, via Relate Greater Manchester South. This was in response to feedback from housing staff about low level mental health issues being a major barrier to customers sustaining their tenancies and gaining employment. The service can help people  Struggling to come to terms with a relationship breakdown or losing someone important to them  Worried about stress in work or at home  Supporting people to feel happier with who they are

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Improving relationships by working out better ways to communicate Dealing with changes in people’s lives, like having children or living with a long-term illness

Relate provide counselling sessions delivered by counselling students attending university locally. This allows the student counsellors to gain valuable experience, and provides an easily accessible and free service for local people. Sessions are held in two local venues, with more to be added as the service develops. Customers can self-refer or be supported by a member of staff to complete the simple online referral form. All cases are triaged, and any cases requiring a more experienced counsellor are agreed on an ad hoc basis.

To date, there have been 37 referrals, six from staff and 31 from tenants.

Symphony Getting digital with Contour Homes.

Contour Homes, as part of the S4B PFI consortium, is working with a local community group so residents can learn for free with V.A.P. Voices of Active Parents (VAP) formed in 2013 for local people to help them connect with children and their education. The group has now been developed into a wider community project and now host free weekly computer training classes at Elizabeth Yarwood Court, Brunswick , Manchester where Contour Homes manages homes under a PFI. Dianne said: “The courses are open to all local people to come along and get used to using modern technology, build their confidence and learn new skills.—“Everyone is welcome, no booking required and you can attend as many as you like. Please just come along”.

The sessions are provided free with a local volunteer tutor on Thursdays 1:00-2:30pm and Fridays 10:00-1:30am.

The Wellbeing Café Contour Homes, as part of the S4B PFI consortium, have established a new Well Being Café in Brunswick, Manchester.

The Well-being Café based at Brunswick Church officially opened on Tuesday 17th May, National Vegetarian Week (16-22 May) To mark the occasion, a free vegetarian lunch was

on offer as the church opened its doors for the residents of Brunswick to come along and sample the delicious food provided by Scheme Manager Donna Shaw.

The lunch was repeated on Thursday 19th May, when catering students from Manchester College came along to showcase their skills and cook for the visitors. A live cookery demonstration was performed by student Ayham Alsahley, when he cooked up a delicious stir-fry for the spectators to sample.

The Well-being group chair, Craig Eastham, said “the event was a great success where people could meet new faces and try some new dishes – a brilliant start to the Well-being Café project and a great way to celebrate vegetarian week” The Well-being café is open Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30-13:30, with free use of laptops and Wi-Fi also available, with people on hand to offer help and advice. The Café is set up to be a place to provide support and community connection for all residents to sport community wellbeing and combat food poverty. The café is free but donations are always welcome

Teenagers’ film puts volunteering in Oldham in the spotlight More than 70 people joined a group of teenagers to celebrate the end of a community project that has taught them vital life skills… and turned them into young film-makers.

The youngsters, aged 15 to 17, have spent part of their summer holidays researching and making a film to encourage more people in Oldham to volunteer.

Supported by housing association Contour Homes, the project was part of the National Citizenship Service (NCS), which brings communities together and builds young people’s skills and confidence.

The group of eight spent three weeks learning about teamwork and leadership, while taking on a media challenge to make the film promoting volunteering in Oldham.

The teenagers interviewed people from local organisations – Regenda Homes, Hollinwood Work Club, Hollinwood Hub, Oasis Academy, Mahdlo Youth, Oasis Academy Limeside and Avenues and Hollins Community Hall – before editing the footage to create a short film encouraging residents to get more involved with local projects.

And last week, the group hosted a final launch party, where they showcased the film alongside an Olympic fun day for family, friends and members of the community.

More than 70 people attended the event at the Avenues and Hollins Hall, where they enjoyed a day of food, face-painting and games – all organised and paid for by the teenagers themselves who raised £142 to cover the costs.

One of the group, Shonal Kapoor, aged 15, from Chadderton, said: “Planning the project has been a great experience which has taught me the importance of careful strategy and logistics.

“It’s good that we are helping to make a difference in the community and hopefully we can encourage more volunteering in the area.”

Remaining funds are being donated to Hollinwood Hub. Contour Homes’ community investment officer Stephanie Hill, who has worked with the group, said: “There are lots of people in Oldham who want to give their time to support the local community, but aren’t sure where to start.

“This group have done a brilliant job at getting the message out, and should be proud of themselves for organising such a successful event.”

Trafford Housing Trust Building resilience through Stronger Families Partnership In 2014 the government started the new initiative of the troubled family phase 1 agenda to offer early help/ interventions and support families with:  getting children back into school  reducing youth crime and anti-social behaviour  putting adults on a path back to work  reducing the high costs these families place on the public sector each year Trafford Housing Trust introduced a new full time member of staff to join the Stronger Families team in partnership with the Local Authority. The Trust’s Family Intervention Worker, Sonia, now works with 24 families offering support in the above areas. The Stronger Families approach takes a new more holistic way of working which involves whole families rather than individual interventions.

Working with the whole family ensures that the changes are sustainable, not just for the parents but for the children, with more successful outcomes. This approach helps the family with avoiding crisis situations or dealing with crisis situations a lot better.

Sonia has been working with the families, providing support to seek employment or volunteering work which is up-skilling customers and giving them the confidence to achieve. She has built positive relationships with external parties who can provide additional support for the customer and also Trafford Housing Trust staff. Working closely with these agencies is proving to be of great benefit for the families involved.

Sonia has been up skilling members of Trafford Housing Trust staff with new ways of working through a range of training course which will help our customers reduce the risk of eviction, and support them into work, training or volunteering. Sonia is improving the situation of families across Trafford by delivering support until agencies and services no longer need to be involved.

Tackling Poverty by improving Mental Wellbeing Over the past two years the Trust has identified an increase in the prevalence of mental health issues. This has undoubtedly impacted on many of our core functions and with external support services diminishing due to recent austerity measures; we have often found ourselves in a position of limited knowledge and available support for our customers.

As a result, the Trust has embarked on a ground-breaking innovation.

Last year, the Trust employed a Mental Health Practitioner to join the neighbourhood team.

The mental health practitioner is working alongside housing officers to ensure a positive

relationship with customers who are experiencing psychological or emotional distress and services who offer support to them. The Trust’s mental Health Practitioner provides advice and guidance in conjunction with the Housing Officer teams to ensure that customers are able to connect with the right services at the right time.

The Trust is improving the lives of customers by linking them in with emotional support that they feel is right for them by work alongside them in a peer-to-peer approach to build resilience. This is improving tenancy sustainability, reducing inequalities and aims to promote access to primary care services to prevent crisis intervention later down the line.

The Trusts’ Mental Health Practitioner has been building positive partnerships with other agencies to help remove barriers that customers experience when accessing services and improve communication. She also provides advice, guidance and support for the housing officers and other staff making referrals to outside agencies providing health and social care support and services. She has also been supporting the Time to Change campaign by contributing her knowledge and experience to training and discussions.

Outcomes for customers have included; reduced hoarding, referrals and support to access primary care services, customers gaining specialist mental health services, inpatient care, reduction in substance misuse, increased care packages, prevented evictions and customers having their benefits reinstated. This work is directly serving to reduce poverty in Trafford by improving life chances and empowering customers to become more resilient, with better access to services when they need them in the future.

Building more affordable homes The Trust announced in August that we are entering into a pioneering partnership to deliver 2,000 new homes across Greater Manchester and the North West over the next four years.

Trafford Housing Trust and L&Q will create a 50/50 joint venture, bringing their balance sheet capacity and expertise together to enable both organisations to deliver more houses more quickly, than each could individually. The partnership will enable a faster pace of house building in the region, and enable larger, more complex projects to be delivered. It will expand the Trust’s footprint beyond Trafford to incorporate projects in other Greater Manchester boroughs such as Stockport and Salford, with a plan to develop further schemes across the North West.

Any profits generated from the joint venture will be re-invested back into the local area to create more homes for local people in the years ahead. The Trust is pleased to have found a progressive and like-minded partner that shares our ambitions to build more homes and to help more people out of poverty.

For further information on the Trust’s work to tackle poverty, inequality and injustice, email customer.hub@traffordhousingtrust.co.uk

Wigan and Leigh Homes Financial Support Team Wigan and Leigh Homes Financial Support Team provide advice and assistance in many forms to our tenants and have had some real success stories. The team can help with benefit applications, debt advice and money management but also assist with helping tenants find cheaper deals for utility providers, mobile phone contracts and internet packages to name a few.

In addition to providing debt advice, our officers also spend time with our tenants finding out as much as they can about the family which enables us to assist them in sustaining their tenancy long term.

The team have been helping people affected by the under occupation charge to downsize to smaller, more affordable accommodation. More recently we have set up a process to help tenants who have had their gas capped due to affordability issues and this is helped by the information coming through from our contractors when carrying out gas safety tests. They are trained to identify issues with tenants whilst in their home and feedback any concerns they may have about any financial difficulties tenants may be experiencing.

Case Study Susan (not real name) had rent arrears of over ÂŁ1300, was not engaging with our rents staff or Housing Benefit Team and therefore was not in receipt of housing benefit. She was under occupied by 2 bedrooms. Susan was a vulnerable tenant who suffered from sciatica, COPD, dangerously low blood pressure and was alcohol dependant with a failing liver. She had also suffered domestic abuse from her ex-partner and her children had been removed 2 years ago.

A referral was made to our Financial Support Officer (FSO) who visited Susan and built up a dialogue with her. It quickly became clear that she was receiving the wrong benefits but hadn’t notified agencies as she was frightened that she would have nothing to live off if all benefits were cancelled / stopped. It was also discovered that she was being targeted by people on her estate, which included receiving verbal threats and physical violence against her which had resulted in her drinking more and suffering depression.

The FSO initially resolved the financial issues and ensured all correct benefits were being received by Susan, secured a one off discretionary housing benefit payment (DHP) to reduce her arrears and applied to the Retail Trust* who also paid ÂŁ600 towards her rent account.

The FSO assisted her in moving to a smaller property away from the area she was living and ensured full housing benefit was in payment going forward.

Susan had an appointment with DWP and so the FSO arranged for the alcohol worker to accompany her in order to allow some intense mentoring to take place. Susan is still supported by the drugs and alcohol and mental health teams as and when required. The FSO arranged for Susan to register with a new GP following her property move and has advised her that she must tell her new GP that she is only prescribed her anti-depressants 1 week at a time due to previous suicide attempts. The FSO is still working closely with Susan to open a new bank account so that she can pay bills via standing order and avoid spending her money on alcohol. Support is also being provided in regards to a PIP claim due to her mental and physical health issues.

Although Susan is still alcohol dependant, she is drinking less, is much more settled in her new home and openly talks to the FSO when she has any concerns or requires his help.

In 2015-2016 the team secured funding from varying sources to help our tenants.

*For more information visit https:// www.turn2us.org.uk/

Wythenshawe Community Housing Group Wythenshawe and Manchester to benefit from support health and 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 underrepresented in the labour-market 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.

Bishop of Manchester officially opens UNIT-E The Bishop of Manchester Dr David Walker officially opened ‘Unit E’, a food storage warehouse in Wythenshawe Town Centre.

The Bishop took the opportunity to meet Trustees and Volunteers at the warehouse, run by Wythenshawe Community Housing Group‘s Real Food Team Unit-E stores food before distributing to seven food banks across the area, working with the Trussell Trust model in partnership with the ‘The Food Poverty Group’ WCHG’s Unit-E is a real opportunity to make a difference in the Wythenshawe community.

Utilising the Trussell Trust model has resulted in a collaborative and sustainable approach, bringing people and organisations together to focus on, supporting individuals and families living in food poverty and addressing the long term solutions.

The Food Poverty Group was originally the vision of the late Paul Goggins MP, who was passionate about making a difference and improving the lives of people in the Wythenshawe area.

WCHG has continued the work in partnership with the Food Poverty Group on this project to leave a lasting legacy for Paul’s vision for the area.

Get it right from the start WCHG’s financial inclusion and allocations team have been working extensively to look at making sure new and prospective tenants fully understand the cost of running a property.

WCHG has run two events where prospective tenants were able to come along and work with the financial inclusion team to understand how much it costs to run a tenancy and how they can budget effectively to make it affordable. The course included advice on how to get the best prices for utilities, healthy eating on a budget and how to avoid getting into debt.

Feedback from the course was positive and those attending felt that they were better equipped to manage a tenancy of their own when they were offered a property.

As part of the allocations process new tenants will go through a money health check to identify any issues of affordability. The money health check will look at a prospective tenant’s financial circumstances and identify if they will be affected by the Governments Welfare Reform agenda, including the move to paying rent based on the local housing allowance. This will have a significant effect on single people under 35 who will only be paid at the shared accommodation rate, which could be a lot less than the rent being charged.

There are also cases where additional benefits have been identified and the new tenant has been supported to make a claim for this. It is essential that new tenants are given the best possible start in their new homes and fully understand what they will need to contribute to their rent. It also allows prospective tenants to make informed choices about their accommodation and where a property is not financially viable, for them to look for more suitable alternatives.

WCHG take a responsible view to the allocation of properties as we believe in making sure that new tenants get the right start, resulting in them avoiding problems in the future and being able to sustain their tenancies.

Celebrating five years of Employment and Enterprise Support Wythenshawe Community Housing Group is celebrating five years of its Real Opportunities Programme and the opening of the Enterprise Centre.

Real Opportunities is in its fifth year since launching, during which time over 800 people have been helped into work, challenging poverty the negative effects of long term unemployment. The advice and guidance service works with partners and communities groups, to ensure local residents can get the support they need, regardless of their circumstances.

The Real Opportunities name and brand has developed over the years, working with local employers to offer exclusive vacancies to its members, including the likes of Amazon, Metrolink, Beckston Lewis, Sim Trava (Costa), Virgin Media, Manchester Airport, Vodafone plus many more.

More recently, Real Opportunities is driving the ‘Skills

for Employment’ Initiative which is a great way for local people who want to experience different work environments, gain skills, improve confidence and self-esteem before they apply for positions in the job market.

Another milestone is five years of the thriving Enterprise Centre based in Benchill which is home to an impressive 25 small to medium size businesses, 17 of them from the M22, M23 area of Manchester. 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.

WCHG announce 130 New Homes for Wythenshawe Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) is delighted to announce plans for 130 new homes in Newall Green, Wythenshawe.

This £11.7 million impressive development on Greenbrow Road is due to complete in late 2017 with a show home and marketing suite opening in spring 2017.

The development – on a brownfield site at Greenbrow Road, west Wythenshawe – will create 52 houses for sale and shared ownership and 78 apartments for affordable rent through WCHG. The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) have part funded this project at £1.84m with the scheme being awarded to Lovells construction following a competitive tendering process.

The new homes will be built to Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes incorporating high -efficiency boilers, high-specification floor and cavity insulation and photovoltaic solar panels.

To find out more about this development contact Garden City Homes on 0300 777 7177 Email: enquiries@gardencityhomes.org.uk.

WCHG’s Futures Programme Very Own Success Story The WCHG Futures Programme specifically targets those considered furthest from employment, providing the experience and support needed to break down the barriers to employment of poor work history, confidence and training.

The twelve month programme equips trainees with experience, qualifications, personal development opportunities and mentor support, giving them the essential work skills required for the job market. Our Futures Programme found national status when it was recently featured by Placeshapers at the Chartered Institute of Housing national conference

in Manchester. This national network of more than 100 community based housing associations has already helped 60,000 people build a career.

Placeshapers ‘We Work’ focuses on 15 powerful stories of how lives have been transformed.

They highlight how partnerships between PlaceShapers, local agencies and businesses provide people with the support they need to get into or return to work, or to start their own companies. Many of the people had been long-term unemployed.

Toni Fleming from Manchester explained how Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG), made the difference between independence and a life spent in poor health, struggling on benefits.

Toni said, “I grew up around unemployment, so I wanted to be different and work all my life. But after I was made redundant, I was out of work for two years, and I started to suffer from depression. I felt worthless, so I needed to be needed and snap out of it. Having a job – they need me to be in every day and that’s what I need in life.”

Through our Futures Programme, Toni started volunteering in her community then got help to apply for a job in street cleansing. She was the only woman to be appointed and complete the 12-month training programme including a Bike Back to Work scheme. She now cycles to work and has seen a big change in her health, wellbeing and fitness.

You can watch our very own Toni Fleming debut film at https://youtu.be/CjuMrdRaWRk. You can also watch all fifteen short films at http://www.placeshapers.org/we-work Real Food Geodome Official Opening The Real Food ‘Geodome’ is a ‘living classroom’ located at Manchester College’s centre for sustainability, at the back of their Brownley Road Campus in Wythenshawe.

It houses an integrated ecosystem to produce food and has been designed to showcase modern indoor growing techniques and demonstrate what sustainable food production can mean in an urban setting.

The Geodome aims to inspire and excite young people to understand

where their food comes from. It is part of the Real Food Wythenshawe project promoting sustainable food and aims to introduce students to the issues around environmental change and food security whilst promoting sustainability and encouraging students to become Real Food Ambassadors for the future.

The Geodome houses aquaponics, vermiculture, hydroponic and mushrooms, working together to produce healthy sustainable food for the college students and local residents.

An education programme is being offered to all primary & secondary schools in the Wythenshawe area. There is a varying programme of activities to get involved with at the Geodome; outdoor education workshops include:  Reduce, reuse, recycle – composting, wormeries, aquaponics, food miles  Growing your own packed lunch – Seed growing, basic tool use, healthy diets  Alternative growing techniques – Aquaponic, hydroponics, healthy soil  Improve young people’s understanding of what constitutes healthy eating and a healthy diet, as well as increasing their knowledge of how food is grown The Geodome was officially opened by Wythenshawe and Sale East MP Mike Kane, Group Chief Executive of WCHG Nigel Wilson and Principal of the Manchester College Lisa O'Loughlin.

Unlocking the talent in Wythenshawe Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) Real Opportunities programme is working with a local employer to help unlock the talent in Wythenshawe.

Real Opportunities is WCHG’s programme that enables local people to access local jobs by working with employers to help meet their recruitment needs.

Having recently moved into the Enterprise Centre on Benchill Road, Beckston Lewis asked WCHG’s Real Opportunities to help find 18 customer service advisors for a new contract they have won.

Last month 13 Wythenshawe people started their training as customer service advisors with Beckston Lewis.

The Enterprise Centre is supported by WCHG to provide business advice and support to Wythenshawe entrepreneurs. Having the Real Opportunities team based in the same building means that more and more job opportunities are being passed through Real Opportunities.

If you would like to learn more about Real Opportunities or The Enterprise Centre please contact Nathan Jack on 0161 9046 1056.

Other stories you may be interested in…

Greater Manchester Poverty Action Inspired by the evidence base of the Greater Manchester Poverty Commission’s (GMPC) report of February 2013, Greater Manchester Poverty Action launched early in 2014.

A small number of public, private and civic sector individuals formed a ‘coalition of the willing’. This coalition has since grown to nearly 90 organisations and individuals.

They aim to  Raise awareness surrounding issues of poverty, and activities which are addressing them  Network those who are working to address poverty in Greater Manchester  Be a catalyst for action within Boroughs and across Greater Manchester as a whole  Help provide a voice for those in poverty across Greater Manchester  Support and challenge the culture and practices of social, public and commercial sector organisations in relation to addressing poverty The group continues to develop its activities and is doing some great communications work which includes articles and reports, guest blogs and a regular newsletter. You can find out more here and you can also sign up to receive the newsletter to your inbox.

The group have been doing some work to give a voice to those in poverty. They’ve made a series of short films which can be found on their YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrwKJRsF5w41DIGFluZoutQ They’ve also created Poverty Monitor, a set of poverty indicators in graph form and mapped down the lowest level possible. It is designed to help people concerned about poverty in Greater Manchester to monitor the level of poverty and its distribution across the city.

It has been developed jointly by Greater Manchester Poverty Action and the University of Manchester. More information is available here.

And finally… 

Thank you to everyone who submitted articles.

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Don’t forget we need your stories on any of the work you are doing to tackle poverty for the next issue due out in January. We’ve all made a commitment to share our ideas and initiatives so send your articles in however long or short they are, and please try to include pictures wherever possible.

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Also let us know if you’d like to be added to the mailing list.

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Please send all feedback, articles and suggestions to Julie.Ralph@boltonathome.org.uk

...Thank you