M&S Bedford

We started in October 2015 feeding the homeless, rootless and in need on a Saturday. We now run a Social Supermarket on Tuesdays 12 - 2, a fresh fruit and vegetable food bank on Thursdays 12 - 2 all from surplus food from Supermarkets and Saturdays we serve hot food 5 - 6pm. We currently run 5 projects. Our first project is Dine With Us on The Streets - Cherries Legacy where we support between 80 to 100 people with hot hearty food, take away food such as tins, sandwiches, crisps, fruit, hot drinks, toiletries and clothes, every Saturday These are people who are either street homeless, in hostels, on means tested benefits or in other financial crisis. We have been running this project since October 2015 and we believe in treating people with respect and with dignity. Our second project is Dine With Us Community Larder, our Food Bank project ,launched in February 2019, giving access to vital nourishment for those suffering food poverty. The need for this is much greater than we anticipated and we now need more partners so we can ensure that we have enough food to meet the demand. We are also incurring significant costs operating the programme, with the yearly rent on the unit, running costs and other sundries. We have seen as many as 75 (seventy five) families come to collect food in a single day. Our third project sees us support 11 schools with more looking to come on board (which we cannot commit to yet as we do not have enough food). Fresh fruit and vegetables and protein play a pivotal part in our organisation, as is encouraging people to eat more healthily, regardless of their circumstances. Our fourth project is sending out care packages to the community, quite often through the schools as well and our fifth project is opening and running Bedfords first Social Supermarket which has been in operation since April 2020. This gives people access to affordable food and provides a fundraising vehicle for us, to help towards the other projects we run on a goodwill basis.

The services we provide have the main aim of reducing the rate of offending. The service users at Langley are all people who desperately want to change their lives. Many have spent time in prison and come to a stage in their lives where they want to make amends, change and go forward to lead a fulfilling crime free life. We aim to assist each person to live a fulfilling life, drug and crime free, and to offer new opportunities to meet each individual’s needs. Service Users are encouraged to take advantage of the many opportunities available while they are with us; we encourage Service Users to seek employment, training or education as they prepare for independent living

FACES has a menu of 'pick and mix services' designed in direct response to our service user 'families' emerging needs - to our knowledge we are one of a kind. The majority of our services are delivered by fully trained volunteers, who visit a family in their own home on a weekly basis. Other support includes weekly family groups, and work wtih children and young people at our youth club sessions. FACES operate within a range of preventative services available to children in need or families under stress. Families are generally referred to FACES by professionals, however every year around a quarter of families refer themselves. Many of the families who are referred to us find access to mainstream services difficult. These are some of our services below: Together@FACES Home Visiting – volunteers are trained to provide families with tailored support in their home to help address the difficulties a family are facing. Visits usually take place weekly for approximately three hours. Bedford Domestic Abuse Support Service (BDASS) – FACES provide tailored support weekly support via our volunteers or our specialist practitioner. We also have a monthly group. CYP at FACES - this is our youth provision. We have a weekly youth club for 8-15 year olds and a variety of youth activities throughout the year. Family Groups – We have three family groups which meet weekly supported by a dedicated team of volunteers. These groups are for parents who for one reason or another feel unable access universal services. Parents and children love coming to these groups which are by referral only. Parents can refer themselves. Multi Tots - weekly group for parents and children of those with twins, triplets or beyond! Dad & Me - monthly group for dads to have fun doing activities with their children Changing FACES - support to parents of children and young people who are at risk of experiencing child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation and sexual violence. We also run an 8 week programme called Escape the Trap to help young people break free from exploitative/abusive relationships. Spectrum Support - This group meets twice a month and provides support to parents with children on with ADHD and who are on the Autism Spectrum. As well as sharing experiences parents are supported to access additional support. Crisis Aid for Families – FACES are one of the agents who administer the House of Industry Grant Scheme to residents of Bedford Borough for those people experiencing hardship who meet the relevant criteria. LunchBox@FACES - We usually provide this service during the summer holidays to provide free meals to those families experiencing holiday hunger. Tach4Kids - we are accepting donations of laptops to be refurbished and distributed to children who have no access to technology to help with homework.