Continued support for our customers through the pandemic
Throughout this year, we have continued to divert much-needed resources to support our most vulnerable customers, colleagues and those charitable organisations in our communities that have been hit hardest.
Established in 2020, as part of our response to support customers through the pandemic, our Resilience Fund made £130k of financial support available to fund community-based projects in 2020/2021. Separately we contributed £35k through our Hardship Fund to support the co-ordination of customer referrals to Local Authority Support Response Hubs, bridging the gap between a crisis event and statutory provision by providing our customers with food, fuel and other essential items.
Between April and November this year, we have provided over £35,500 of Resilience Fund financial support to community-based projects and initiatives, and 76 customers have received Hardship Fund contributions.
A new Digital Hardship Fund has also recently been rolled out into our communities, enabling customers to access digital resources to help them find employment or enrol on online skills courses.
Between April and November 2021, our tenancy coaching service helped 253 customers with financial wellbeing support generating £32,835 for affected customers.
During this same period, £66,666 has been invested into our network of community centres and 494 people have been supported into employment, training and volunteering opportunities, 196 of which are Great Places customers. A further 380 customers have received employability guidance and support from our teams.
During these months, we have also secured £362,914 of external funding to deliver services and £32,816 of social value monies and gifts in kind has also been invested into our communities.
One customer to benefit from our financial support was Mr X, a Ugandan national who arrived in the UK in 2015 as a refugee after experiencing considerable hardship in his home country. Mr X arrived in the UK on his own with no family or friendship support and has struggled to adapt to the structures of UK society, including finance management.
By reaching out to us, Mr X was able to access the financial support and advice he so desperately needed to help settle in his Sheffield home. Read his story here.
If you are struggling financially and need some support, please reach out to your Neighbourhood Services Manager or Customer Relationship Manager.
