Member Article

Four-Figure Welfare Fund Boost For North East Homelessness Charity

A North East homelessness charity is extending the support it can provide to local people in crisis at a time of fast-growing need, with the help of a four-figure grant from the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation.

Oasis Community Housing runs a range of housing and support services to help address individuals’ immediate needs and the wider root causes of homelessness.

A core part of its work revolves around its Basis drop-in resource centres in Gateshead and Sunderland, which ensure vulnerable people can have their urgent needs met and can also easily access a range of services and specialists through a single location that can help them regain control of their lives.

Oasis Community Housing, which helps around 1,000 people every year, is now using the £3,000 Society grant to boost its welfare fund, which it uses to cover the cost of whichever items its service users require to meet their immediate and longer-term needs.

Food, clothing and emergency accommodation costs can all be covered, while for people moving into new accommodation, starter packs containing all the essential items they need to live independently are made available.

The funding is being provided through the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, which offers grants to charities and community groups located in or around the communities served by the Society’s branch network.

As part of its homelessness services, Oasis Community Housing also operates 45 one-bedroom flats which give service users their own space in which to live while also retaining access to support workers who can help them get their lives in order.

Hazel Ditchburn, corporate relationship manager at Oasis Community Housing, says: “Our Basis drop in service allows us to give people whatever immediate help they need, such as hot drinks and food, dry clothing or a shower, while also giving us the chance to offer a friendly ear and find out about their situation, so we can look at what help we can provide in the longer term.

“We sometimes only see a particular person once and can give them the help they need straight away, but for many others, the relationship lasts much longer and there are multiple issues that need to be addressed.

“Getting a grant of this size from Newcastle Building Society, especially in the current financial climate, means we’re able to plan our services with a much greater degree of certainty ensuring the people walking through our doors get the right help and support they really need.”

Robert Boak, manager at Newcastle Building Society’s Waterloo Place branch in Sunderland, adds: “Organisations like Oasis Community Housing step up to help vulnerable people who often have nowhere else to turn and their impact on local communities is immense.

“With the need rising significantly for the help they provide, Oasis Community Housing’s role has never been more important and we’re very pleased to be contributing to its essential work.”

Since its launch in 2016, Newcastle Building Society’s Community Fund at the Community Foundation has also contributed over £2.1m in grants and partnerships to a wide variety of charities and projects across the region, including the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and the Prince’s Trust.

The grants are so far estimated to have had a positive impact on more than 151,000 people.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Julian Christopher .