Newcastle Building Society Supports Life-Changing Homelessness Project with Grant Funding

Funding will help Changing Lives' frontline outreach team provide vital support to people experiencing rough sleeping in Newcastle.

Newcastle Building Society has awarded a community grant to local charity Changing Lives to help fund essential frontline services for people experiencing rough sleeping across Newcastle. Over the past year the Society’s Northumberland Street branch has nurtured a relationship with the charity – working together to identify supportive volunteering opportunities for colleagues.

As the Society’s Northumberland Street branch prepares to move to its new home at Monument later this summer, the £3,000 donation will help deepen its commitment to those most in need in the City Centre. The grant, made from the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation North East, will support Changing Lives’ Multiple Exclusion Team (MET). The MET work seven days a week, 365 days a year, to provide welfare checks, vital supplies and support to some of the most vulnerable people in the city.

Established over 50 years ago, Changing Lives is a national charity headquartered in the North East. It supports around 14,500 people each year across more than 100 projects, helping individuals facing homelessness, unemployment, addiction, and domestic abuse.

The Society’s support will help the MET team provide essential resources such as food, sun cream, liquids, and clean clothing to people experiencing rough sleeping. It will also contribute towards providing the MET with tablet computers to provide mobile support to its service users.

Kirstie Wilkinson, Practise Development Manager at Changing Lives said: “This funding will make a real difference to the way we support people experiencing homelessness in Newcastle. Having tablets means our advisers can meet people where they are – on the streets or in temporary accommodation – and provide internet-enabled support immediately, rather than relying on them coming into the office. This flexibility is vital in helping people access the services they need and move into secure housing.

“The hygiene and care packages will offer practical and thoughtful support. With summer approaching, we’ll use some of the funds to provide sunscreen and caps – simple items that protect people from the heat but are often overlooked. We’ll also make sure anyone moving into accommodation has basic toiletries and food to help them settle in and start their new chapter with dignity.”

Earlier this year, the Society announced an additional £1m donation to the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund to supercharge the impact of its work in tackling some of the biggest challenges facing communities in the North East, Cumbria, and North Yorkshire. The donation boosted the total value of the fund to more than £3.5m, making it one of the largest of its type in the country, enabling an anticipated payout of approximately £150,000 in community grants each and every year.

Rob Boak, manager at Newcastle Building Society’s Northumberland Street branch, which will move to Monument this summer, said: "When Monument opens this summer, it’ll transform the heart of the city centre and create the space and facilities to help our partners, civic leaders, charities, and community groups deliver lasting, positive change for Newcastle. This will include Changing Lives, whose work has a profound impact on some of the most vulnerable individuals in our community, with a focus on the city centre. Helping to tackle homelessness is one of our community priorities, so we’re pleased to be able to help fund their outreach work and help support those experiencing homelessness.”

The Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation North East offers grants to charities and community groups located in or around the communities served by the Society's branch network.

Since 2016, Newcastle Building Society’s Community Fund at the Community Foundation North East has contributed over £1.8m in grants and partnerships to a wide variety of charities and projects across the region, including Children North East and The Albert Kennedy Trust.

To find out more about the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation North East and for more details on member nominations, visit: https://www.newcastle.co.uk/powering-communities/community-grants/apply-for-a-grant