17th October 2024
Bram Longstaffe Community Hub has been operating in Barrow since March 2020 when it was set up in response to the Covid 19 pandemic to give support to the most vulnerable and isolated families in the area. The Hub has since expanded its services and activities and is now very much a focal point for the local community.
A grant of £15,000 from two of the Foundation’s funds, the Brian and Ann Clark Fund and the Cumbria Fund, has helped pay for a part-time centre manager for the Hub. The role is essential to coordinate services, liaise with residents and other service providers – both statutory and third sector – to deliver focused projects that meet the needs of the community.
Centre Manager Dave Morrison said: “Through receiving this grant we have been able to provide lots of services and have developed an excellent and trusting relationship with both the individuals we support and the local community. The hub is a safe place that individuals and families can access to receive direct support, signposting and a listening ear.”
The Hub provides both one-to-one and group activities and aims to support the most isolated families and children living within the local footprint.
For the youngest children there is a thriving nursery (which has a waiting
list) and a Brilliant Babies programme that helps local parents gain a greater understanding of their child’s needs and development in a relaxed environment. A Health Visiting Team provides a monthly weigh-in baby clinic.
A holiday programme is run for the most vulnerable 5- to11-year-olds and the Hub has also developed a youth programme. One volunteer and a member of staff are completing level 2 and 3 youth work qualifications, supported by the Foundation’s Better Tomorrow’s Fund, while also gaining experience by delivering a youth group that is attended by 15 young people each week.
There’s an affordable food programme called Well Fed that takes donations from local supermarkets, and cooking classes that focus on reducing food and fuel costs and making nutritious and affordable family meals. English classes are available for speakers of other languages to help them gain employment and independence, and future projects include the development of a Men in Sheds programme.
Outdoors, there are plans for eight raised beds for the local community and local groups to grow their own vegetables, and an outdoor classroom for the Hub to use itself and to rent out to other organisations which will help with income generation.
Many people have already benefited from the Hub including the volunteer who is helping run the youth programme. He initially approached the manager to ask if he could do some voluntary work as he was on benefits due to a previous workplace injury. He was given work in the nursery’s kitchen which he enjoyed as he said he felt he “was actually achieving something”.
With his regained confidence, he now helps run the youth programme and has gained youth work qualifications. He no longer claims benefits, his mental health has massively improved, and he now feels he is giving something back to the young people he supports. In turn, they value and respect him.
The Hub is now well established and doing great work in the community. As Dave said: “We have been able to support children, their siblings and parents to address their individual needs, build confidence and raise their individual aspirations for the future.”
It is hoped that the Hub can continue its vital and popular work in the Barrow community for many years to come.