Charity of the Year - The Bridge
The Bridge is a registered charity (Charity No. 1050596). Their mission statement is to develop sustainable housing solutions for individuals and communities through partnership, empowerment and good practice.
| They want to develop support services and accommodation options for the homeless and vulnerably housed people in the Borough of Charnwood, Leicestershire. They have been operating successfully for the last 9 years.
Their main projects are: • Housing Advice – provides free holistic housing, council tax and housing benefits advice, legal representation, tenancy relations for issues involving private sector landlords and tenants such as disrepair and dispute • The Tenancy Support Team – assist homeless people to obtain and, more importantly, to sustain a tenancy, by helping with budgeting, benefits applications, gaining furnishings etc. They also have specialist teenage parent and family support workers, they have an excellent network of partnerships with other agencies and organisations to ensure clients get comprehensive support for all their needs • The Mediation Project – works with young people aged 15 to 18 to resolve disputes and prevent eviction of young people from the family home, can help with anti social behaviour, substance misuse, behavioural problems etc • The Christmas Shelter – annually provides accommodation, food and activities within a day and night shelter over the Christmas period, held in 2 local churches • The Education Project – raises awareness of homelessness in local schools and colleges and focuses on the realities of being homeless. These services are imperative as they help reduce homelessness and repeat homelessness by offering practical and empowering solutions to the service users. They also help to support other problems associated with homelessness such as domestic abuse, alcohol and substance misuse rehabilitation following the committing of offences, anti social behaviour, mental ill health, social exclusion and isolation. They work with a large network of partnerships that ensure all their clients receive the necessary support for all of the issues they face. This includes agencies such as Connexions, Turning Point, community mental health teams, drug and alcohol teams, youth offending teams, anti social behaviour teams, Charnwood Borough and Leicestershire County Councils, police, Sure Start, local schools and colleges, general health practitioners, Citizens Advice Bureau etc. All their services are provided free of charge to anyone living in Charnwood Borough and, if resources allow, sometimes outside this area. It is therefore imperative that we raise enough funding to carry on the services. |
 It was a big surprise but also a very welcome one, to be chosen as The Loughborough’s Charity of the Year, and we are looking forward to working with them over the next few months. Loughborough staff have the opportunity to volunteer for a half day with us and we are looking at ways to get them involved such as administration, helping with the garden, bag packing at local supermarkets etc. We are also keen for them to be involved in any fund raising ideas. We want to work closely with The Loughborough to ensure that both organisations benefit from the partnership. We are looking to put displays in both receptions and The Bridge will be regularly updating its news section on the website to inform users of what has been happening. We are looking forward to building an excellent relationship with The Loughborough and to working with them over the coming year. Emma Bull Development Officer visit The Bridge website |
