'Stevenage Helps' 

A huge thank you to everyone who has donated to our ‘Stevenage Helps’ Appeal to support those impacted by COVID-19 in and around the Stevenage area. Here are a few examples of how we’ve been able to help thanks to your generosity:

£1,000 has allowed the Food Shed to buy food and essential items to meet the significant increase in demand they are facing every day.

A supermarket gift card has helped a single mum studying under an apprenticeship scheme to buy food and essentials for her family. As a lone parent she can barely scrape enough money together to pay rent and bills

£1,500 has enabled Stevenage Football Club to increase the number of people over the age of 70, that they are able to support through their Community Kitchen Sandwich Service. Just £1 per sandwich per day means this grant will provide 1,500 sandwiches over the next 3 months for elderly people who are lonely and isolated and have no immediate family members locally.

A grant has helped this low-income family of five in their time of need. Mum is undergoing aggressive treatment for cancer and worrying about how she will feed her children.

£100 has relieved some of the stress for this family of three who were reliant on Dad’s income from self-employment. Dad is now unable to work and Mum has serious long-term mental health concerns. With no income whatsoever, they have relied on food from the local food bank but have no money for gas and electricity, leaving the family unable to cook, with no access to hot water and no lighting.

We've allocated £400 for local families living in temporary accommodation where there are no cooking facilities and therefore an increased cost to access hot food.

Being employed on a low wage, 0 hours contract meant this man had no reserves to fall back on when his employment ceased recently. With his bank statement showing only £10 in his account, we were able to help this single father and his young child to buy food and essentials.

Basic mobile phones have been provided to local homeless people so they can contact and be contacted by their support workers to ensure their wellbeing.

We were able to provide much needed food for a young homeless person with significant mental health concerns and no access to funds.

Stevenage Family Centre’s identified 24 vulnerable families, predominantly single parents suffering with poor mental health and struggling with the current isolation. A grant of just £120 has enabled them to buy activities for parents to help with their mental well-being.

After being diagnosed with a lung infection, this young mum was advised by the NHS to stop working and stay at home for 12 weeks. Being inside a small flat with a young child led to her feeling isolated and alone, and with a significant reduction in income and being so unwell this lady was finding it difficult to manage physically, emotionally and financially. A grant from the Trust has enabled this family to buy food and essentials and ease some of their worries.

A grant for £576 will allow award winning charity The Living Room to provide remote counselling therapy to adults living in the Stevenage area who suffer with the illness of addiction.

As a self-employed tradesman, this father had to stop work due to the current crisis. Mum is a full time carer to their youngest child who has complex physical needs. With no money coming in and unable to meet their utility bills, rent, council tax and food bills we were pleased to help this family with a grant.

Stevenage Citizens Advice has seen an unprecedented increase in demand from thousands of local people affected in a variety of ways from the current crisis. To help meet this demand and ensure that people are able to access the specialist advice they need, we have provided a grant for £4,980 for additional staffing and resources.

A grant for £2,000 will enable Headway Hertfordshire’s Occupational Therapists to support their clients remotely so they continue to make progress in the recovery of cognitive and executive functions following a brain injury. The funding will also be used to ensure regular contact is made to check on the physical and mental well-being of carers who may be feeling anxious and isolated during the lock-down.

Many people’s well-being is being negatively affected by the effects of the Coronavirus situation. We are therefore pleased to provide Mind In Mid Herts with a grant of £1,000 to support people across Stevenage who are struggling with their mental health.

We’re thrilled to have partnered with Stevenage Football Club and the Stevenage Community Food Bank with funding to provide fresh fruit, vegetables and a bespoke shopping service for families in severe financial hardship.