Tag Archives: support

Bristol is in it together

Today’s blog is by Jeff Mitchell, Founder
of Clean Slate Training and Employment

Many Bristol residents on low incomes are worrying about how they will get through the cost of living crisis. As a result, they are starting to think about finding new work, better paid work or even extra work.

The cost of living crisis, and the pandemic, brought truth to the phrase ‘in it together’. Clean Slate has been helping Bristolians on low incomes become more financially stable since 2006. We help people find ways to stretch a limited budget, find new work or better work and get online.

Quids in!, our money skills programme, includes an easy-read magazine, guides, emails and web tools. Our service users and readers are disproportionately affected by the national cost of living crisis, more so than affluent residents in the city.

In 2018, our reader survey found 48 per cent of working age people who are not in full-time employment were skipping meals on account of troubles with money. 51 per cent were turning off their heating despite being cold. 68 per cent felt frightened, anxious or depressed. This was before the pandemic, before the war in Ukraine and before the cost of living crisis. Working class people are suffering even more now than before.

In October, we launched our #ThinkBiggerThanBills campaign. We called on people struggling with bills to look at more than just cutting back. At least £15 billion of benefits are unclaimed, so we should all start by checking if there’s anything more we’re entitled to, you can do this by using our benefits calculator. People who are not online could be hundreds of pounds better off by ‘going digital’ because they’re able to shop around, find advice and access support. Finally, using our money health-check could also unlock massive savings as it uncovers the tips no-one else is telling us.

During the pandemic, Clean Slate helped over 2,000 people save roughly an average £1,000 by taking a simple money health-check. Now we’re able to offer it face-to-face from locations across the city as well as by phone. Anyone on a low income who is worried about bills can get in touch (Contact us here). Unemployed people will be put to the front of our queue.

People often just want to regain control of their finances. Throughout lockdown, people on our six-week support programme found they could start turning things around. The future seemed brighter, and they asked if we could help them find work.

There are now more available jobs than unemployed people. With the current cost of living crisis, for those who are able to work, it might now be the right time. Not everyone is ready for formal support or training, which is why Bristol’s One Front Door is so important. Every kind of jobhunting support is listed in one place. It takes a ‘horses for courses’ approach… even for horses who don’t like courses!

Clean Slate is one programme on offer and jobseekers can find out about our 7 Signs events. Here people explore their skills that could be on offer to employers, building their confidence. Attendees devise ways to present their skills in CVs that are unique and motivating. They practice personal statements, giving them a helping hand in interviews.

Our Elements scheme is for people who have experienced hardship. We are recruiting people whose life experience is more valuable to us than formal training. They are central Clean Slate’s cause.

We are recruiting people whose life experience is more valuable to us than formal training. Have you been on benefits? Are you struggling with money? Have you been unemployed for a while? We will provide training and a 12-week paid work placement as a Peer Worker. By the end, you’ll be able to be able to apply for a support worker role with us or another employer. We also have paid placements for people wanting to help older people and those who need support. Together, we can step up.

Clean Slate is at the frontline of the current cost of living crisis and Bristol needs you! We are part of a wider, joint effort across all kinds of support, advice, health, housing and financial services.

Bristol’s ‘One City’ approach to the cost of living crisis showcases that we really are all in it together.

For further cost of living support visit the Bristol City Council website or call the We Are Bristol helpline on 0800 694 0184, Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm.

A place to call home – our vision for children’s homes across Bristol

Image of a red heart, with white outlines on a yellow background.

Making Bristol the best place for children to grow up in is something we’re passionate about. This is even more important when it comes to children in care. We want the children in our care to have a place they feel they can call home.

The circumstances in which children come into our care are often varied and complex. It’s vital we ensure no child is disadvantaged no matter their background or situation. Our teams are focused on ensuring the best possible homes are identified for them – this could be with a foster carer or in a children’s home.

In Bristol, we are working hard to increase the number of children’s homes we have locally so that children do not have to move away from the city and can stay close to their families, friends and schools. 

This is why we have set out a vision for our children’s homes across Bristol which involves focussing on opening smaller homes across the city to help children feel at home.

Our vision

We want our children’s homes to be homely and nurturing. We also strive for the children and young people who live in them to be looked after by kind, knowledgeable and experienced teams. The children should have lots of opportunities growing up, making sure they have access to the best education possible and giving give them the same or better opportunities as their peers so they can enjoy new and fun childhood experiences.

We also aim for the teams caring for children to have the supervision, support, training and development so that the care they provide is of the highest quality and they feel valued.

To help support this vision, we are currently re-profiling our existing homes by closing some of our larger homes and opening smaller homes for two to three children. This allows us to provide children with an environment that feels more like a home and gives them a better quality of care with more one on one support from our dedicated team.

Children are already benefitting from this strategy – we have opened three smaller homes across Bristol which currently care for seven children in total, with a fourth smaller home opening in autumn 2022. We also plan to open at least another three smaller homes in the next three years.

A photo of two houses next to each other, with the sky in the shot behind.

Positive feedback from Ofsted during a recent visit

Recently we have had the opportunity to share our plans with Ofsted. Ofsted’s National Director for Social Care Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman, and HMI Social Care Inspector Anna Greville visited one of our newer smaller homes and met with the Service Manager Tara Parsons, three of our registered managers and the therapeutic lead for the service. They also met with Mike Jackson, Chief Executive at Bristol City Council, and Gail Rogers, Head of Children’s Commissioning at Bristol City Council. During the visit we received very good feedback. Yvette Stanley said: “It was good to spend time with the residential staff teams who proudly shared their expertise and passion for their work and their children.

“It was also really helpful to meet the Chief Executive and senior managers and to hear about their plans for more therapeutic residential provision so that they can keep more children safely within their communities. Our thanks to all for their warm welcome and best wishes for their future plans.

My recent visit

I too had the pleasure of visiting one of our new children’s homes recently. There were a few things that I took from my visit.

The first is how being a city in which children have a home is a collective responsibility. These children have already been through a lot in their short lives, and they deserve to have somewhere they call home and stay in the city they are from.

The move from large to smaller family homes is welcome. This means more dedicated care and the creation of a more homely environment for the children.

Finally, I need to mention the commitment of the staff at the home I visited. They work tirelessly to make sure the children are well cared for and have access to lots of opportunities. Their situation means they won’t have a childhood like many of their peers, but the staff work to make sure they lead full lives and feel cared for.

Why not join the team?

If you want to be a part of the journey of our children in care, why not join our team during this exciting time?

We currently have vacancies for three Senior Residential Child Care Workers and one Residential Child Care Worker. The vacancies Senior Residential Child Care Workers close on 6 October 2022 and the vacancy for Residential Child Care Worker closes on 4 October 2022.

Food insecurity and the cost of living crisis

Mali Sion Evans smiling standing in a forest with trees surrounding her.
Today’s guest blog is from Mali Sion Evans, Feeding Bristol Community Project Developer

When times are hard, having to choose between paying bills and eating is routine practice for some Bristol residents. Food should be a source of connection, celebration and comfort. But it’s becoming a cause of stress and anxiety for many people during the current cost of living crisis.

1 in 8 households in Bristol’s most deprived areas are experiencing food insecurity and by all predictions this is likely to increase substantially over the coming months.

Vulnerable groups and communities are considerably less protected when it comes to economic shocks, we are witnessing an increasing number of individuals and families being affected.

Bristol, as this map shows, has inequality of access to food. Seeing the numbers of greengrocers and cafes in some areas of the city, you would struggle to believe that food banks were commonplace in adjacent wards. The areas that are most and least effected by the cost-of-living crisis exist side by side, hiding food insecurity in plain sight.

A new and emerging crisis

Public awareness of food poverty has increased significantly in recent years, but so has the use of emergency food aid such as food banks. In the first 11 weeks of lockdown, the number of people receiving emergency food support in Bristol rose by 400%. Free school meal applications increased by 250% in the same period.

This was an unparalleled crisis which initiated an extraordinary response; we saw Bristol’s true spirit. From community centres to cafes, farms to mosques, people all over the city set out to bring food to their neighbours and provide lifelines for those who needed support.

The word ‘unprecedented’ was used repeatedly over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. But here we are again; volunteer shortages, increasing energy costs, rising inflation and supply chain disruptions are creating a perfect storm. This will intensify food insecurity to unprecedented levels across Bristol, yet again.

Feeding Bristol event, volunteers give out food to residents who need support. The table is full of canned food and fruit being handed out to those who need.
Feeding Bristol

Working together is Bristol’s greatest asset

Hundreds of people all over the city are working hard to try and ease the impact of this crisis. Food banks and community food services are already doing their best to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Dozens of organisations are working together to find ways to extend support and encourage social action. And hopefully, we’ll see this city’s caring and generous energy galvanise to support fellow Bristolians, yet again.

Having published the Food Equality Strategy this summer, Feeding Bristol is currently working with Bristol City Council to develop a Food Equality Action Plan. The aim is to co-create a document of workable actions with citizens, organisations and local authority so that food equality can become a reality in Bristol.

Share your ideas and help shape the Food Equality Action Plan by completing this short survey.

Visit Bristol City Council’s cost of living support webpage for more information about food services, plus advice on benefits and financial help, employment and skills and mental health and wellbeing.

How can I access food support?

How can I save money on food?

  • Plan ahead – buying food for the week helps to cut down on impulse buys
  • If you can, buy big bags of rice, pasta etc – they can be cheaper per 100 grams than smaller bags
  • ‘Reduced to clear’ foods can help save money – but think about when/how you’ll eat them before you buy
  • One of the best ways we can save money on food is to reduce food waste. The Love Food Hate Waste website has tips on how to store food and cook with old food
  • Buy what you need – buying loose fruit and vegetables can help you save money by purchasing only what you’re going to eat

What can I do to help in my community?