A new partnership offering advice on debt, benefits, money, housing and other matters will be available from October 27th, thanks to support from Bromyard Town Council, Citizens Advice and the Coronavirus Community Support fund administered by The National Lottery Community Fund on behalf of the Government.

This new services complements other support available in the community and will be managed by The Hope Centre and Citizens Advice Bureau.  Both organisations have responded quickly to an enquiry from Bromyard Town Council who were seeking support for the local community.  The service will be available either via socially distanced, face to face appointments at The Hope Centre or as virtual meetings. Support is available for both.

Sonya Gregory, Advice Services Manager for Citizens Advice Herefordshire, said   “Advice services are particularly important at the moment, as many people have found themselves facing difficult problems due to the financial and social consequences of the current Covid 19 crisis and are not sure where to turn to”.  Heidi Mulholland, Services Manager at HOPE, who helped to set up the service recognises that this will be a huge help to the rural community in Bromyard, “We hope that people who already know about us and are familiar with our team will find it easy to contact us and ask us for support if they need it”.

To arrange an appointment or get advice, please call 07395 959240 or email info@hopefamilycentre.org

 

 

Since the launch of our Community Hub we have had lots of people call and text us for support. We’ve received referrals for help from the community, including schools, the police, neighbours and friends and directly from people themselves who have been brave enough to reach out and ask for help.  You can text or call us on 07395 959240 to get help and here’s an idea of some of the help we’ve given: helping people with their finances (bank accounts, budget and accessing support); delivering food and meals; listening and supporting the bereaved; giving advice and guidance about housing; helping education and parenting. These are some examples of what we can do.

Below you will see that we have delivered over 1000 meals since we started and have received 63 referrals for support.  We will keep helping, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch and find out if we can help.

The forms to make a referral can be found here;

For a professional Hope Community Hub Professional Referral Form SFR160

and for a self referral Hope Community Hub Self Referral Form SFR161

 

*Sally has been supported by Hope Community Hub since the project first began running in June. Sally has two children aged under 10 and is a single parent. Sally had a job offer prior to lockdown, however, this was withdrawn when the pandemic hit and she struggled to find work. This had a negative impact on her mental health and wellbeing. Sally had to manage a household on a limited income and home school her three children. Our hub has supported Sally with emotional support online/over the telephone and via doorstep visits to her home. Sally and her children have accessed our Hub hot meals once per week and holiday hub packed lunches during the school holidays. Part of our role was also to put her in touch with agencies that could support her with her finances, mental health and to seek employment. Sally tells us ‘I am so grateful for the help and kindness that I have received from the community hub, I have to take things day by day, but I don’t like to think where we’d be if we hadn’t accepted the support. Having someone to share things with and to support me has made things so much easier. I have never thought that I would be in this situation but now I know it’s okay- there are people who can help us’.

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We know asking for help isn’t easy and taking that first step can be difficult. Now more than ever people are finding things tough.  If you don’t know where to turn or how to access help, you could try calling or texting us on 07395 959240 and we will offer you some friendly advice or support.