Two inspiring community champions from North Tyneside came together over the pandemic to form a charitable super-team, intent on tackling poverty and social isolation.
The founder of Shiremoor and Backworth community group, single mum Louise Jones, and the organiser of several mutual aid community groups, working police officer Janine Turnball, merged forces to launch Support and Grow North East.
It's gone from strength to strength, with the pair using their grassroots experience to build a "mighty" team of 40 volunteers and securing charitable status in early 2022.
The organisation aids the people of North Tyneside in many ways: providing food, hygiene products, clothing or furniture to those in critical need. They do this by signposting people to relevant third party services and by organising events to empower vulnerable members of the community and to improve mental well-being.
This "wrap-around care" is provided to people from all backgrounds, whether that's families fleeing domestic violence, refugees or the elderly.
Louise, who cares for her disabled child when she's not volunteering with the charity, explained: " Shiremoor has been described as a food and accessibility desert. So I organised a group of local people keen on helping one another and sharing resources.
"And then when Covid hit, we were put on crisis-footing because traditional outreach wasn't possible and there was a lot of isolated people in need. After meeting Janine, I realised we could better serve the whole area if we joined forces."
Janine confirmed: "When I was running the mutual aid group through coronavirus, we had to mobilise quickly. It was imperative that we delivered parcels to everyone who was clinically vulnerable.
"That proved a challenge, but it enabled us to really fine-tune our rapid response, for people both on and off of social media. Merging with Louise made sense, and she really understands the importance of harnessing the power of our communities."
Support and Grow North East uses the same model as each of the smaller groups, with seven volunteer area managers serving as a point of contact for the charity. The team have recently moved into their first office at Silverlink business park.
Operating in areas such as Meadow Well and Wallsend, volunteers live in those areas. "So they have good local knowledge and are trusted by vulnerable people," explained Louise. "We don't just parachute people in."
Over the pandemic these volunteers helped distribute laptops so children could continue with their schooling and handed out tokens for free school meals. The wider team also organised a huge panto trip during Christmas 2021, working with Newcastle's Playhouse to ensure everybody felt welcome.
"We made sure to reach out to people in the trans community, different faith communities, families with disabled children, among others. It was lovely to see everyone enjoying the show together," said Louise.
"I remember the faces of some of the kids, they were in absolute awe having never been inside a theatre before and some mums were visibly crying. It was a huge win."
"We don't expect anything in return," explained Janine. "But very often people will help will come back to volunteer with us - everyone has something to offer and it often proves to be a brilliant thing for people's mental health.
"The spirit of people is incredible, and time and time again we see resilience as people come together in a crisis. In the first year, we had no cash, but we fed families and organised events by harnessing the power of community.
"Analysis from Solid Base, a really helpful consultancy for not-for-profits, estimates that in that time we saved statutory services around £1m. We've added real value to the local area."
However, according to the Janine and Louise, the current cost of living crisis means it's becoming harder to provide support. Janine said: "People are terrified about the increase in fuel and food costs.
"A lot of people we support aren't on benefits these days. They are working families, elderly people or disabled people, who can't make ends meet.
"They are doing everything right, so we can't signpost them to benefit services or debt advice. So where do we send them?
"We are already seeing people coming to ask to ask for food parcels. Whereas before warm packs would be going out to homeless people, they're now going to families who can't afford their heating.
"Over January in was particularly bad. We've done our best to encourage people to use fuel vouchers and handed out a huge number of winter coats."
The volunteers are supporting those who have unfortunately fallen through the net of state care. As Janine explained: "We try and give the council as much feedback as possible about their service, both the good and the bad, and they are very responsive. We believe grassroots, community engagement is the way forward, with a more person-centred and bespoke approach.
Louise continued: "We don't align with any political party as a charity. But our aim is to change the narrative, moving towards acceptance that poverty isn't a crime.
"Covid has highlighted how so many people are just a day away from losing their jobs or homes. There's no value in the 'them and us' approach, instead we just need a benefits system that catches everyone who falls.
"There will always be a tiny percentage of people who abuse help, but the vast majority of people are in crisis. As one of the richest countries in the world, it’s outrageous that we are delivering food to working families, disabled families or elderly."
