Continuing to support vulnerable and isolated members of our community
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the needs of vulnerable and isolated members of our local community. When Government guidance led to the closure of our buildings and limits on face to face provision, the partnership adapted our services to ensure they we were able to continue supporting our constituents at a particularly scary time.
The partners in the Fitzherbert Community Hub demonstrated what can be achieved with commitment and energy albeit with limited resources. We look forward to a future that can build on this experience in a positive way to further serve our community in a purpose-built inclusive setting.
Voices in Exile
Voices in Exile are delivering food parcels to migrants on low incomes, who are self-isolating or have no recourse to public funds, with parishioners from Catholic Parish of East Brighton volunteering as distributors.
Demand for services has nearly trebled over the first National Lockdown and they are now delivering to 150 people per week including family members. They have moved their Migrant Welcome Group on-line helping those who found it hard to participate both through IT support and advice and provision of tablets and broadband contracts.
“By take part in group I feel less lonely and I feel safe. By conducting Zoom sessions I feel good during this lockdown (sic).”
Brighton Table Tennis Club
Brighton Table Tennis Club ran a food hub out of the church car park accessed by 400 people a week with food provided by FareShare. They had so many local people offering to volunteer that they had to turn many away. They also ran a Daily Show via Zoom offering club members the chance to come together to share hobbies, sing, chat. At least 40 people joined every day.
The food hub has proved to be such a vital local service that it has now moved into the parish hall until construction on the Fitzherbert Community Hub begins.
The design of the Fitzherbert Community Hub includes purpose-built space for this facility. Between April and November, 3,820 people had picked up food parcels and hot meals from the BTTC Food Hub, which went on to feed over 7,000 people.
The Real Junk Food Project provided more than 4,500 hot meals to the Food Hub, all made from surplus food.
Real Junk Food Project Brighton
Real Junk Food Project Brighton are cooking meals from surplus food in the currently unused Community Café area which are available for take-away from the Brighton Table Tennis Club Food Hub as well as being delivered into the community to those who are clinically vulnerable.
Catholic Parish of East Brighton
Catholic Parish of East Brighton’s response to food poverty resulting from COVID-19 has been coordinated through Lightbulb, a parish initiative to help socially isolated, older or disabled local people with practical tasks.
Parishioners have delivered food and essential items into the community as well as carrying out telephone-based befriending calls to those on the parish sick and housebound lists. They have leafleted the local area offering help with food collection and delivery and have been supporting our partner charities with their initiatives.
“I have had a difficult year with moving to a new city with no contacts during a pandemic and having no work. Without the food hub I honestly don’t know how I would have got through some very difficult months where I was eating so little because of budget issues that it was starting to cause some serious damage to my body. The volunteers and staff are always extremely friendly and make a point of getting to know you and treating you like a member of the community, I have huge difficulties in asking for help and am always anxious about seeking support but I am always put at ease when I arrive.”
Local filmmaker Stories of Note made a short film about our response to Covid-19 and our how the Fitzherbert Community Hub will be a long-term local solution to the systemic issues of food poverty and social isolation.
