Local charity, Happy to Help Gateshead, is celebrating after being awarded £8,127 in National Lottery funding to support its work with older people and people with disabilities in Gateshead.
The charity, based in Teams, Gateshead, will use the money to provide short term support to people in their own homes affected by financial hardship and any challenges they face in maintaining safety and comfort at home.
Happy to Help Gateshead has been running since 2000 and is staffed by over 20 home help assistants. It was founded by members of the community after identifying a need for community based support for people aged 65+ and those experiencing disability and health conditions who struggled with domestic tasks at home.
The charity now supports hundreds of people across Gateshead every week with weekly support with cleaning, shopping, prescription collection and errands, and they also take people out and about through their flexible one-to-one assisted outings service.
People who use the charity are able to live independently and eases anxiety, isolation and loneliness by having a regular visitor. It supports loved ones and carers too, by freeing up quality time while we take care of the tasks around the home.
The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will see this support extended to people who need short-term support while struggling financially. This might be due to an injury or illness, or bereavement for example. Happy to Help Gateshead can now ease the burden of household tasks to allow vulnerable people to recover with support.
Liz Close, project coordinator of Happy to Help Gateshead, says:
“We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to support people at home during their most vulnerable times until they get back on their feet. This is important because it helps people to stay in their own homes where they feel most comfortable while they are recovering from any challenges they are facing, often on their own without social or support networks around them. We are really grateful to have the opportunity to be there for people in our community when they need us most."
The National Lottery Community Fund recently launched its new strategy, ‘It starts with community’, which will underpin its efforts to distribute at least £4 billion of National Lottery funding by 2030.
As part of this, the funder has four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year The National Lottery Community Fund was able to distribute over half a billion pounds (£615.4 million) of life-changing funding to communities. To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk.
Everyone is different, that’s why Happy to Help Gateshead create home help plans that suit the needs of each client. Whatever you need, we’ll create a visit that keeps on doing what you need to live in safety and comfort in your own home.
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