Photo: RDNE Stock project / PexelsIf you need help, start here
What we do, who it is for and how to reach us. If you would like to help instead, there is a way to do that further down.
- 01 / 04NeedWhere help is missing.
- 02 / 04PlanWhat we can do about it.
- 03 / 04ActVolunteers and donors together.
- 04 / 04ChangeShared openly with you.
What we are
- 01Open to anyoneIf you are not sure whether we are the right people, ask. We will point you somewhere if we are not.
- 02Run by people hereLocal, with a committee that meets and members who can vote it out.
- 03Where money goesAccounts and a yearly report, published rather than summarised, and a plain answer about what a donation pays for.
- 04ConfidentialWhat you tell us stays with us, and we will say clearly if that ever cannot hold.
What we do
Help and support
Somebody to talk to, and practical help where we can give it.
Information and advice
Straight answers, and help understanding letters, forms and decisions.
Groups and meetings
Regular times to come along, with no need to book or explain yourself.
Activities
Things to do, for people who want company as much as anything else.
Helping you get elsewhere
Referrals and introductions to people who do what we do not.
Volunteering
Real jobs for people with time, with training, an agreement setting out what each side expects, and hours that suit you.
Donations
Money, and the things we can use directly — the list of what is needed this month is on our page.
Membership
For people who want to belong to it rather than only give to it, with a say in how it is run.
Projects
Funded pieces of work with a start, an end and a report at the end of them.
Speaking up
Raising the things that keep coming up with the people who can change them.
Working with others
With local services and groups, so nobody falls between them.
What we do
Our work and the people doing it, shown with everybody's permission.
Photo: Chuot Anhls / Pexels
Photo: RDNE Stock project / Pexels
Photo: cottonbro studio / Pexels
Photo: Berna / Pexels
Photo: Chuot Anhls / Pexels
Photo: RDNE Stock project / Pexels
Photo: cottonbro studio / Pexels
Photo: Berna / Pexels
Getting help
What happens when you contact us.
- Step 1
Get in touch
Call, write or come in. You do not need a referral and you do not have to explain everything first.
- Step 2
We listen
In private, at your pace, and without a form to fill in before anybody talks to you.
- Step 3
We work out what helps
Our own support, or somebody better placed — and we will make the introduction rather than hand you a number.
- Step 4
We stay in touch
Until things are settled, or for as long as you want us to.
About usStarted because somebody needed it
Groups like this usually begin the same way: a problem nobody was dealing with, and a few people who decided to deal with it. Everything since has been built on what people actually asked for rather than what looked good in a plan.
We are small enough that you will speak to a person who knows your situation, and we would rather tell you honestly what we cannot do than take on more than we can hold.
Photo: Khaya Motsa / Pexels
Photo: Julia M Cameron / Pexels
Photo: Pavel Danilyuk / PexelsQuestions people ask
Does it cost anything?
Our help is given freely. If anything ever has a cost, it is said clearly before you commit.
Do I have to be referred?
No. Get in touch yourself, or ask somebody to do it for you.
Will what I say be private?
Yes. If there is ever a situation where we must pass something on, we will tell you what and why.
Where does the money actually go?
The accounts and the yearly report are published, and we will tell you plainly what a given amount pays for.
Can I volunteer?
Yes, and we need people. Tell us what time you have and what you are good at.
Can I give something other than money?
Often, yes. There is a list of what is actually needed, which is more useful than a cupboard of things nobody asked for.
Could you help?
Time, skills or money — all three keep this going, and the first two are needed most.