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Charity organisation still growing after £1.5m grant

AN organisation which helps families by giving them guidance on a host of issues is putting a £1.5m grant to good use as it continues to expand.

Changing Futures North East was set up under its current guise in 2012, with the organisation that started life as Headland Futures being given a rebrand and opening up to people who live across the Tees Valley.

The main aim of the organisation is to highlight the importance of relationships, not just in families but between individuals and communities, and a team of full-time staff and volunteers can offer help and support to patch up any problems.

Thanks to a grant of £1.56m from the Early Action Neighbourhood Fund – a funding pot contributed to by the Big Lottery Fund, Comic Relief and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation – Changing Futures North East is now well positioned to take on more work and ultimately ease the burden on public services.

Graham Alton, Chief Executive of Changing Futures North East, said: “We are delighted with the progress we have made over the last couple of years,

“We get a lot of funding from various organisations, and this grant of £1.56m has really enabled us to improve the services we offer. Early intervention is the key to what we do, and the work we do here means we can help to stop problems from occurring rather than having the likes of local authorities being left to pick up the pieces when the problem has escalated.

“There is already a high demand on children’s services, housing support and mental health budgets, but if we can get in early then we can stop things getting to that stage.

“The grant we were given is spread over five years, and from that we aim to reduce the spending on acute children’s services in Hartlepool by 10 per cent as well as improving school attendance, emotional wellbeing and overall reducing parental and family conflict.

“Budget cuts across local authorities are well documented, so the hope is that as we can continue to grow within the local voluntary sector and stop situations from getting to the stage where the council – and ultimately the taxpayer – foots the bill.”

The organisation, which is based from a headquarters in Abbey Street on Hartlepool’s Headland, has ambitious plans to draft in new staff to work alongside the existing team of 16 full time workers and 70 volunteers.

Graham added: “We operate as a service provider as well as a mentoring service, and it is fantastic when we get recognition from the likes of Comic Relief and Children in Need.

“We get a lot of funding from various organisations, but there are always opportunities for businesses to get on board with us and help us with what we are aiming to achieve.

“We have an excellent relationship with all of the local authorities throughout the Tees Valley, and going into 2017 our main focus is continuing to develop as an organisation while working to develop our staff through training and coaching.”

The work carried out by Changing Futures North East was recognised in the 2016 Hartlepool Business Awards, with the organisation crowned as the winner of the Community sector.

For more information about Changing Futures North East, call 01429 891444 or visit www.changingfuturesne.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ian Willis .