Winter fund warms northern communities

A regional community fund is helping grassroots groups support people facing rising living costs during the winter months.

21 community projects across the North East have received grants through a winter wellbeing fund administered by housing association Karbon Homes. 

The £16,000 fund awarded grants of up to £2000 to organisations providing food, hygiene products and essential household supplies.

Among the recipients is Eden Miners Centre in Leadgate, County Durham, which secured £1940 to support its weekly warm and welcome hub. 

Andy Plant, trustee at Eden Miners Centre, said: “A lot of communities are in a bit of a social limbo these days, especially for older people who are more isolated and don’t go out as much anymore.”  

“We provide a welcome space for people where they can come and stay warm, charge their phones and use the computers, saving them from having the gas and electric on at home for a couple of hours. 

“We provide hot meals, tea and biscuits and a game of bingo. 

“Most importantly, it provides company for people. 

“We’d struggle to do this without the funding. 

“It’s really important to have smaller pots of money like the Winter Wellbeing Fund. 

“There is bigger money out there but there’s a lot of pressure when you apply for it. 

“It’s very useful having someone like Karbon doing small amounts of money that are reasonably accessible and you can do little bits with it and make a big difference.” 

In Blyth, Silx Teen Bar Youth Project received £2000 to provide regular meals for young people taking part in its employability programme for those aged 11 to 25.

Chris Antony, development worker for the Silx Youth Project, added: “Some young people are living in poverty or are homeless and we can give them the opportunity to have something nice to eat.

“It also helps to develop the relationships between the young people and our team. 

“It opens up opportunities to discuss the issues they are having, whether that’s at school or at home or safeguarding.

“We find young people lack knowledge or don’t know where to access the support, there aren’t organisations out there who provide this kind of support to them. 

“Our sessions are drop-ins. 

“You don’t have to be mandated to come here. 

“You can stay as long as you want and we’ll feed you. 

“Gradually, individuals start to get involved and want to do things. 

“This year, 53 people have got a job which is record numbers for us.” 

Paul Moralee, community investment manager at Karbon Homes, added: “We’re continuing to see the impact the rising cost-of-living crisis is having on communities, with more people having to make stark decisions between heating their homes and buying food and household essentials.  

“The projects we continue to support through our Winter Wellbeing Fund are helping people in our communities to access basic essentials and provide services that go some way to offset the cost of living, whether that be a warm meal in a social space, helping them find work or supporting them with their laundry.  

“This community support is hugely beneficial to boosting people’s positive wellbeing and creating a sense of belonging in the communities, which is exactly why we continue to support these vital projects.”

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