Staff at an advice centre in Nottingham have spoken out about how the past couple of months have been. It has been said that many people who they help and support have a “fear of the unknown” as they experience the strain of the cost of living crisis, high bills and delayed benefits.
The St Ann’s Advice Centre on the Robin Hood Chase is a part of the network of advice centres across the city that will benefit from the Robin Hood Fund. Staff have spoken out about how the last couple of months have been supporting people.
The centre has recently introduced a warm hub once a week where many people and families on a Wednesday night have attended. The money from the Robin Hood Fund received will hopefully allow the centre to expand some of their services.
READ MORE: Organisation benefiting from Robin Hood Fund 'overwhelmed' with the response so far
As staff have worked tirelessly to help others, Rachel Graham, a community engagement worker at the advice centre, spoke more about the warm hub. She said: “We had the idea before it became a government idea and launched it about four weeks ago.
“On a Wednesday, the centre is open until 8pm for the warm hub. We give people soup and a roll and those who come can play bingo. It’s been good, some people stay all day on a Wednesday.”
Money can be donated to the Robin Hood Fund fundraising page by clicking here.
The warm hub at the advice centre has been supported by St Ann’s local ward councillors - and with the support the centre hopes funding will take them through to February or March. Rachel continued and said: “It’s becoming a supportive group and people are making friends, it gets full.
"There are a lot of families that won’t have a full standard Christmas this year and the school holidays are a big thing as the heating will be on throughout the day. We also have families come to the warm hub which means children are understanding that they might have to go to another place to keep warm.”
Over the Christmas period, the St Ann’s Advice centre will be hosting a Christmas event which will involve free food and more on December 9. There will also be an elders' Christmas dinner on December 13. Bags of Blessings and the Mighty Creatives, supported by Arts Council England, will be donating gifts to the centre.
Sally Marshall, advice centre supervisor, said that she’s been noticing how fearful many service users are for the future. She said: “People are worried, it’s fear of the unknown, we know nothing about next year but fuel will be through the roof and everything’s going up.
“Universal Credit is a month's wait and people don’t get it after a month. It's five to six weeks later and sometimes people don’t know what they’re going to get.”
With many services users being eligible for help from the HouseHold Support Fund, there was one day when more than 100 fuel vouchers, funded by the Government and distributed on behalf of the city council, were given out within three hrs at the advice centre as people waited in a queue.
The Robin Hood Fund has been relaunched by Nottinghamshire Live in tandem with The Nottingham Project to raise vital money for vulnerable people across the city.
Money raised through The Robin Hood Fund will go to Hope Nottingham, the city’s largest food bank, which will ensure that the food bank network receives the extra support to respond to increased needs; the Citizens' Advice Centres in and across Nottingham which distribute supermarket and energy vouchers; and the Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS), known for ensuring that grassroots organisations receive the help they need to keep going.
On the impact of the money raised by the fund, Rachel added: “With the Robin Hood Fund we hope to build on the warm hub, paying for an advice worker to give crucial advice to people there’s so much remit to engage and it will benefit so many people.”
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