A new ‘Stay Warm in Newham’ project has been launched by the Renewal Programme and Groundwork UK, to address the rising levels of fuel poverty amongst Newham residents after securing a £237,811 grant from the Cadent Foundation.
By taking a multiagency approach to tackling fuel poverty, this service will operate as a ‘one stop shop’, providing energy advice and support, energy related hardship grants and access to warm bank sessions. In addition, three community partners will be involved in the project with multilingual communications in key locations such as medical facilities, community centres and public libraries through a number of outreach events, ensuring the most vulnerable, hard to reach communities are aware of the support available to them through the ‘Stay Warm in Newham’ project.
With an estimated 8.6 million people expected to be living in fuel poverty by April 23 (End Fuel Poverty Coalition) this two-year project will see the Renewal Programme work with the energy efficiency experts at Groundwork Green Doctors to combine energy advice and support through a ‘link worker’ service to help residents maximise opportunities. They will provide residents with tailored advice, learning about energy debt management, understanding how to save energy in their homes and take control of the bills, to help them cope with the rising cost of living crisis. In addition, the Green Doctors will work with Newham Local Authority to help residents access council funded grant and support schemes, by guiding them through the processes to access this existing support from the Local Authority which currently has a low take up.
The project which launched on Friday 20 January at the Renewal Programme, was attended by the Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz who spoke about the challenges faced by residents and how bringing together different partners and expertise will help to target vulnerable individuals and their families. Peter Laing from the Renewal Programme and Julia Dwyer, Director of the Cadent Foundation also talked about the difference this project will make to local residents and removing barriers to services for those who would otherwise go unnoticed.
Peter Laing, Chief Executive Officer, The Renewal Programme said:
The Renewal Programme has been working in Newham for over 50 years, and our mission is to stand alongside those who are struggling, inspiring hope, and offering opportunities for connection, growth and progress. The current cost of living crisis is having a deep impact on Newham’s residents and it is likely to have implications for years to come. The funding of this project by the Cadent Foundation will enable us to provide vital support to the community.
In October 2022 we conducted our Cost-of-Living Crisis survey, which revealed that 77% of those surveyed are worse off compared to the previous year, and 27% will not use heating to cope with the cost-of-living crisis. Staying warm in the winter months is not a luxury, and our community should not have to choose between using their heating or basic necessities such as food.
The Renewal Programme and our partners plan to support 3,000 Newham residents a year to access warm bank sessions, support, and activities. We will provide energy related hardship grants to some of its most vulnerable residents. We will also provide hot meals once a week and host volunteer led cooking classes to encourage residents to try different energy saving methods. We are excited to expand the reach of this project with the help of our community partners Kensington Primary School, Newham Community Project, and ClimateYouChange too.
We are determined to stand with Newham residents during these trying times and provide the support needed to tackle the rising levels of fuel poverty, and we are proud to be working with Cadent Foundation and Groundwork to do this.
Julia Dwyer, Director of the Cadent Foundation said:
Our core purpose is to help households find sustainable solutions to fuel poverty by awarding grants to charities and organisations working to support those impacted by this growing issue. With high levels of fuel poverty in Newham we wanted to bring together key stakeholders to work towards alleviating fuel poverty in the borough and so we got in touch with the Renewal Programme to see how we could identify the gaps in support and working together on a project to tackle fuel this problem.
We are delighted to be able to offer this grant to Renewal Programme to enable them to support the local residents of Newham through the ‘Stay Warm in Newham’ project. With rising energy costs and vulnerable households being forced to make difficult decisions every day, we hope the practical help and advice this project will offer through a dedicated link worker service, will benefit local residents and help to make a real difference, at such a difficult time. We believe that by using a holistic ‘one stop shop’ approach, this project will provide Newham residents with in-depth personalised support to improve their circumstances.
For more information on Renewal Programme please contact [email protected] and visit: www.renewalprogramme.org.uk
For more information on Groundwork’s Green Doctor programme, together with tips and advice on keeping your home warm this winter, please contact [email protected] and visit www.groundwork.org.uk/greendoctor
