The Tameside Household Fund 2021 - 2022 was an Action Together programme funded by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. The aim of the fund was to primarily provide support to households in the most need of food, energy and water bills. It could also be used to support households with essential costs related to those items and with wider essential costs. In exceptional cases of genuine emergency, it could additionally be used to support housing costs where existing housing support schemes do not meet this exceptional need.
The groups funded through this grant were:
| Active Tameside | Early Help practitioners identified an increase in people living in poverty who are unable to purchase white goods, beds, settees, white goods, and household items. As a result of this, Early Help, Active Lifestyles and Action Together piloted a two-month project to support families with White Goods, Household Packs and Furniture supporting 18 families. The main aim of the project was to support children, young people and families to have basic household goods. In April 2022 the organisation were awarded a further £13,000 from the Household Support Fund which supported 51 families and a further £4,000 was identified via Early Helping supporting a further 15 families. Overall, between January 2022 – March 2023 the partnership supported 85 families with white goods, furniture and household packs. The fund enabled children to have their own beds, a place to put their clothes and space to play and do their homework, significantly improving the lives of families. |
| Age UK Tameside | To get older people to attend the centre for free meals, use this as an opportunity to talk to them about their wellbeing during the colder months, disseminate covid stay safe information, promote our self- isolation support project and covid recovery community support service.The other part of our project was to deliver winter warm packs and stay warm information with lots of useful resources and stay warm items for indoor and outdoor use. The pack include covid stay safe information promote our self-isolation project and covid recovery community support service. We worked in partnership with two of our well-established stakeholders, so we were able to reach the Asian community again with this year’s winter warm initiative and build on our relationship with a new partner to help us reach the West African community. |
| Ashton United in The Community | We repeated our successful 2020/21 Winter Pressure Fund activities providing vouchers for essentials, and activity packs that kept people mentally stimulated during the long winter months. We also enabled people to keep warm and well by providing access to nutritious foods, warm clothes, bedding, and heating. |
| Barty's Foodbank | Barty’s Foodbank works out of a container unit located on the Stalybridge Labour Club’s Car Park and provides essential food supplies for over 80 families each week. Demand rocketed in the between 2019 and 2022 – especially during Covid with families being furloughed or made redundant. The Foodbank not only provided food parcels for the most needy members of the community but used its contacts and experience (often via social media) from amongst its volunteers to obtain essential household items (such as televisions, washing machines, fridges, beds and bedding) whilst also providing practical advice and support to families. |
| Carmel Church | Through the fund the organisation ran a project to supply food only vouchers from a supermarket for a weekly shop of £75.00 per family, £50.00 per individual. Many of the church members contributed to the project to supply 40 families/individuals with vouchers. This enabled them to use the money they would set aside to spend on food to pay for extra gas/electric over the Christmas period to buy presents for their children. The organisation purchased the food vouchers, assessed any families/community members who they were working with and distributed the vouchers from the centre. |
| Community Cutz CIC | The organisation ran two free weekly sessions where the community could come to a safe space to engage with other local people. During these sessions they received free refreshments (warm food & drinks) and could speak in confidence to a member of the team about any struggles or challenges they faced. They were also able to speak out about their circumstances and ask for any help or support they needed with regards to food, clothing, and personal hygiene. Our team were then able to provide them with direct and personalised support either by providing them with clothing, emergency food parcels, food vouchers for the pantry or a care bag. With the food vouchers they received an individual voucher worth £7.50 or a family voucher worth either £15 or £22. They could use the vouchers at St Martins church weekly food pantry or at Peggies Café in Droylsden. |
| Community Matters | The organisation provided a monthly bag of sanitary, cleaning products and toiletries. The savings to the residents enabled them to spend the money saved on energy costs. The aim was to provide 100 bags per month to residents in Hattersley / Mottram. Bags were provided for Feb, March & April then Oct, Nov, Dec 2022. Months when people will be spending a higher proportion of their income on domestic energy costs. The target group for the monthly bags were people living in the area who are accessing local support e.g, the Foodbank, The Bread & Butter Thing, The Community Matters Café etc. |
| Curzon Ashton | The main aim was to weekly produce 100 complete meals every week which were ready to reheat. This ran for 12 weeks. Their partners The Veterans Food Company designed the menu, ordered products, shopped for the food, and cooked. All work was to a HACCP standard (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point). The Veterans Food Company provided staff to deliver te programme and Curzon Ashton Community Foundation liaised with Heavens Kitchen and Street Life to collect and distribute the meals. |
| Dukinfield Moravian Church Hamper Outreach Project | As an ongoing project since December 2012, the organisation have provided hampers which consist of basic food to local needy families chosen by their Social Workers. As well as nutritional items, they have consistently provided clothes and bedding not to mention toiletries such as; soap, facecloths, toilet rolls, toothbrushes and toothpaste. Recently they became more aware that personal hygiene products are becoming a problem to purchase as some household budgets are stretched. These products include; sanitary items, underwear, shampoos, bodywash, etc. They have since started to supply these additional items on a regular basis. |
| Dukinfield Pantry | The grant went towards paying for 12 months of Fairshare packages which were distributed to families in Tameside and across Greater Manchester |
| Haughton Green Community Forum | The organisation provided families and individuals who were experiencing financial hardship, with items that supplemented or complemented their weekly food requirements. This included sanitary essentials, hygiene products, items for household chores, as well as seasonal foodstuffs. The Haughton Green Centre is the main Denton Hub for the nationwide food programme “The Bread And Butter Thing”. The capacity is double the regional average and they offer discounted food to approximately 150 people a week. They identified families or individuals who were struggling and provided packs of household, hygiene and day to day childcare items free of charge. Also these were supplemented with seasonal food as demand for this increased. |
| Infinity Initiatives CIC | The proposal was to have a limited amount of money which could be used at the managers discretion where there is an immediate need and to have the rest available upon application. The client undertook a brief assessment with their key worker with regards to what their needs were and were then asked what they needed and told it would be going to panel to look at what more could be done as an organisation to support. At the meeting the panel looked at all options and ensured that existing offers were exhausted and where necessary released funds to support in whatever areas are needed. Every effort was made to pay any bills or order any items direct with the organisations so unless absolutely avoidable no money will exchange hands. |
| Mossley Foodbank | The aim of the project was to help those households who are struggling with day to day living and meeting the costs of modern life expenses. They offered this service through anyone attending the Foodbank. |
| New Life Church, Ashton | As part of the existing package of support offered, the project enabled the organisation to support people in a very practical way at their point of need |
| Reach Church | The grant was used to provide these basic kitchen supplies together with larger white goods and boiler repairs where necessary. They purchased a soup kettle to provide a warm meal with bread and a drink for those attending the foodbank, as many arrive hungry. |
| Ridge Hill Big Social Enterprise | The main aim of the project was to support the people in the area with basic items that they needed for daily life, and in doing this gave them a little extra money for their energy bills. An average of 75 people accessed the Bread-and-Butter Van every week. They distributed to the people collecting food from the Bread-and-Butter van who wanted/needed some of the items on offer. They also supported others who self-represent to the Hub or were referred from outside agencies. |
| Rough Diamonds | The aim was to support local people in the winter months by providing Emergency Food Packs and Keep Warm Packs. The packs were made up and were available to anyone that needed them. Volunteers were available to help, with a room to store the packs. They also had jigsaws, puzzles books, arts, and crafts packs stored cupboard for anyone needing a wellbeing boost. The volunteers were happy to make wellbeing phone calls and check in with people if they were unable to get out or were in ill health. |
| Silver Cord | The organisation receive regular referrals for their services from social prescribers, adult services, GMP and other local agencies. Through the funds they informed their coordinators and befrienders to look out for genuine needs across their client base which fall within the following priority areas (food, bills, essentials, wider essentials, genuine emergency housing costs) so they could respond accordingly. |
| STAR | The organisation provided a winter funding payment to families to reduce the pressure, difficulties, and poverty they faced. |
| STAR Group | Through the fund the organisation were able to make a one of energy payment. When residents move on they are usually able to apply for a furniture package which includes basic items depending on their circumstances. They helped with white goods costs to again avoid them becoming in debt. They encouraged the residents to attend training, well being, family groups etc. but as they are often unable to pay transport costs, they used the fund for public transport that they could access. |
| Syria Relief | Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the organisation have provided well over 50,000 hot meals and continued this service with the Household Support Grant. The organisation provided emergency essentials and services such as insulation and blankets for refugees or domestic violence victims that have no recourse to public funds or those in the interim phase before their benefits are organised. |
| Tameside Citizens Advice Bureau | The project distributed fuel vouchers to local residents in need of assistance. They supported residents with energy bills for gas and electricity. |
| Tameside South Foodbank | The group provided £7,350 of supermarket vouchers to non free school meals families in Tameside over Christmas, Spring Half Term and Easter school holidays. The project was a joint initiative between Tameside South and Longdendale foodbank and local primary schools. |
| The Bread and Butter Thing (Denton) | With the HSF the organisation built on their model and supported families by providing access to household essentials and toiletry items and additional food items over and above the usual TBBT offer. They offered fully funded HSF bags at theur hubs to the people that shop with them. This involved taking an extra van and staff member to distribute the household essentials and toiletry items. |
| The Leap Children and Family Centre | The organisation utilised the Tameside Household Support Grant to support local children and families who were struggling to make ends meet during the winter, due to rising levels of poverty within local communities. They worked with local schools and partners to ensure this support reached the most vulnerable through the provision of vouchers for food, clothing, bedding and warmth. They provided food boxes and recipes to encourage families to cook low cost nutritious meals and promoted local initiatives such as the Bread & Butter Project to help families manage household costs. |
| The Together Centre | The Together provides a FREE hot meal delivery service to local Dukinfield residents weekly however the demand for participants wishing to receive this increased dramatically during January and they had to operate a waiting list. Through the fund they were able to extend the service to meet the increased demand. |
| The Veterans Food Co CIC | Through the grant they cooked fresh seasonal nutritious food in a professional kitchen in Tameside. The food was trayed, labelled, and chilled. Working with partner organisations in Tameside these meals were distributed to families and individuals within the borough who would benefit from the service. |
| West African Development | This project supported the most vulnerable in the community. As the frontline African charity in Tameside, the organisation ensured that families basic needs were catered for, to support themselves and their families to the basic amenities we all take for granted. |
| Women and their Families Centre | The funding enabled the organisation to provide Women & Their Families with a one off payment of £150.00 towards their utility bills where needed. The additional monies also helped support the Domestic Abuse Victims at the centre who have never had to manage any finances before because they have been financially controlled and a lot of the time placed in to debt by no fault of their own. They are left to pay debts accrued with no budgeting experience whilst the cost of living prices rocket. |