M&S Walsall

Bilston People's Centre (BPC) is an exciting new community centre sparked by Excel Church. We facilitate and promote inclusive activities that meet the needs of local residents and empower them to achieve their social and economic goals. The purpose of Bilston People's Centre is to be a RESOURCE for the local community and to RESPOND to the needs of people within our local community. A number of activities run from BPC and all are open to everyone living in the local area and further afield. The aim of BPC is to become and safe space and focal point for the whole community of Bilston. In fulfilling this endeavour, BPC runs a number of projects and activities that respond holistically to the needs of our community. These include: • A weekly community kitchen to provide friendship, advice and support as well as a free hot nutritious meal to those experiencing situations of hardship. • A community advice project that supports individuals with good quality advice, information and support on a range of social welfare issues. • NHS health checks and healthy lifestyles support running weekly. Local residents are given support to quit smoking, maintain a healthy weight, overcome addictions and access referrals to more specialist services when required. • Excel Companions Luncheon for the over 60s.. A weekly get together for people in the area to share a meal together and take part in social activities to encourage friendship and overall well-being. The project particularly welcomes those who may not often get the opportunity to go out due to ill health, caring responsibilities and/or disability. • Noah's Ark Stay and Play. A twice weekly stay and play session for carers and their preschool aged children (newborn to 4 years old). An afternoon session runs on Wednesdays (1.30 - 3.00) and a morning session runs on Fridays (10.00 - 11.30). Children have the opportunity to sing, listen to a story, do art and craft and most importantly, PLAY! Refreshments and a light snack are provided to both carers and their children. • Well-being activities run by the charity Kaleidoscope Plus. An art and craft session runs every Tuesday 10 - 11 and a chair exercise class runs on Thursdays 11-12. All are welcome to attend and classes are free! We hope you'll come and explore our centre soon, and meet our friendly and welcoming group.

We are an initiative of Central Hall Methodist Church in Walsall. We provide specialist advice on debt and welfare benefits issues, as well as general advice on other matters. We run a job club for Walsall residents seeking work, training or volunteering opportunities. We are a distribution centre for the Black Country Food Bank network, for which we rely on donated non-perishable food items and toiletries. We supply food to clients who hold a voucher issued by one of our partner agencies. We also offer budgeting skills training.

THE SWING project is our bereavement support service for children, young people, and their families who live in the Walsall Borough. The service is free of charge and offers specialist support tailored to the needs of each person who seeks our help. THE SWING is very much about prevention and improving the futures of bereaved children and young people in Walsall. The negative consequences of grief for some children are well documented. Without early intervention and the continued provision of support, bereaved children are at a greater risk of having behavioural or mental health issues, or becoming involved in substance misuse or criminal activity than children who are not bereaved. Of the 240 referrals received by THE SWING last year, 83% of the children/young people were bereaved of either a parent, grandparent or a sibling. 43% of these children had emotional issues – feeling sad, anxiety or low mood, depression, worrying, experiencing low self-esteem. 32% of the children had behavioural issues – underachieving at school, truanting, self-harming, bullying or being bullied, substance or alcohol misuse. 25% of the children had physical issues – mental/physical health issues, nightmares, eating problems, low concentration. After they had received support the children and young people reported an increased confidence in being able to manage their thoughts and feelings, and also felt able to manage their behaviour more constructively. There was less disruption to their school attendance and engagement in class and they were experiencing more positive social experiences and so felt more able to fulfill their potential. THE SWING project provides therapeutic one-to-one support, specialist group work, family counselling plus an ‘Out of Hours’ service for children/young people and families who are only able to attend counselling outside of school/working hours. We also provide a ‘Special Support Programme’ for children with more complicated needs. This includes children/young people with disabilities, mental health issues, and those who are excluded from school, or in care. Every year we have to raise approximately £80,000 to fund this project of which we have already secured over £50,000 for 2017/18. These funds come from a variety of supporters including companies, individual donations, and grants from Trusts and Foundations. We value every donation and manage our funds wisely. This approach has enabled us to continue to deliver this valued project for the past 14 years. We estimate that for every £500 raised we can offer a bereaved child 10 counselling sessions.