£56,000 from the Severn Trent Community Fund to re-open Engage

We are celebrating after being awarded just over £56,000 in funding from the Severn Trent Community Fund to support our work.

We will use the cash to re-open Engage, a wellbeing hub which has been closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will offer a range of events and activities to support people experiencing homelessness to improve their mental health, strengthen social networks and gain new skills.

The new funding from the Severn Trent Community Fund, which awards grant money to improve the three elements of community wellbeing – people, places and environment – means that we will be able to reopen our Engage hub, providing more opportunities for people to receive support. After some initial refurbishment the space will open to offer a community front room and food pantry, a private area for appointments and refreshed garden area.

These new and improved facilities, mean that we will be able to press on with plans to recruit a new team of volunteers and introduce a range of activities including coffee mornings, book club and cookery lessons. These will help people affected by homelessness to build relationships with others experiencing the same challenges and hopefully enable them to develop improved support networks and gain new skills.

Eilidh Stringer, Funding Manager at Action Homeless, said:

“We’re delighted that the Severn Trent Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. We’re thankful to the Severn Trent Customer Panel for selecting us for funding so that we’ll be able to press on with our plans to get Engage open and welcome people through the doors. This project is important as it means we will be able to support people in different ways and will contribute to us being able to break the cycle of homelessness.”

Sue Heyes, Community Fund Officer at Severn Trent said:

“We are really pleased to be able to support Action Homeless through our Community Fund in reopening their Engage Hub. Our ambition is to provide good causes to the tune of £10 million in the five years to 2025. We’ve already supported some truly amazing organisations that do incredible work in their communities and would love to hear from any groups that may be looking for funding support.”