Copeland Council has set out its support for the borough’s most vulnerable residents at a meeting of the council.
The council’s social inclusion team helps residents access food and finances, break free from domestic abuse and homelessness, improve their digital and employability skills, enhance their health and wellbeing and increase their cultural awareness.
Over the past 12 months the team has:
- Supported 410 adults and 279 children to access healthy, subsidised fresh food and care items through the launch of Phoenix Enterprise Centre’s Thrift Hub.
- Provided 400 residents with food and fuel vouchers, and food hampers sourced from local businesses during the winter months.
- Provided nearly £20,000 in hardship grants for families in Copeland, administered by Whitehaven and Egremont District Credit Union.
- Reduced digital poverty by providing 300 devices and internet connections to school children to support learning at home, in partnership with Cumbria County Council, Sellafield Ltd and its supply chain.
- Signposted 253 residents to support services through the work of the Social Prescribing team.
- Supported 65 community groups and services who provide a range of support in their communities.
- Recruited more than 60 volunteers to help co-ordinate the COVID-19 vaccine roll out.
- Run festivals in Whitehaven and Millom attended by hundreds of residents seeking to improve their health and wellbeing.
- Provided funding for Citizens Advice Copeland and The Cumbria Law Centre to support residents to access legal advice, and free, independent, confidential and impartial advice on a range of matters including benefits, debt, utility worries and other financial issues.
- Helped create the first Youth Hub in Copeland in partnership with the Job Centre to support young people into employment.
The team secured £177,762 of external investment to support the projects that helped vulnerable people in Copeland.
Emma Williamson, social inclusion and community resilience team leader at Copeland Borough Council, said: “The last year has been incredibly tough for a lot of people.
“For some residents, COVID-19 and other issues saw them experiencing extreme financial hardship and our team has worked day and night to ensure that everyone got the help they needed.
“For others, lockdown brought severe isolation and left them without hope or access to their usual social support circles – again we stepped in to ensure that they had access to food, funds, mental health support and free advice.
“Our team worked around the clock last Christmas and during the lockdowns to ensure that our residents had access to the best possible support, even spending Christmas Day delivering food hampers to those that were lonely and isolated last year, and otherwise would have spent the day without a hello and a little something to say that someone was thinking of them.
“This Christmas we are working with our partners again throughout the holidays to support those people who are vulnerable or isolated.
“We can’t thank our colleagues and partners enough for their dedication and commitment to the people of Copeland and we will continue to support those in need to build a better future.”
