M&S Colchester

We have been allowed to use a small building in the centre of the town by a local businessman to house the fridge. The local East of England co-op has funded half the cost of our fridge. A local sign company has made us a banner free of charge. We have all the local supermarkets and cafes on board and we launched on 13 August 2018 Any uneaten or inedible food that we have is taken to a pig farmer who is grateful for the extra food for his pigs.. We are inspected for Hygiene by Braintree District council, and recently satisfactorily completed their Hygiene questionnaire. In January we welcomed a group of year 6 pupils from the local Holy Trinity school to the fridge, in order for them to learn about the fridge and its aim of preventing food waste. This was reported in the local paper. Last spring I gave a talk on the fridge and its work to the local Rotary club and this was much appreciated and resulted in a donation. We are now part of a body of local charities and voluntary organisations in the town who are working more closely together. These include the Rotary, the Mensshed, choirs, dementia friendly organisations, and many others. There is a get together for all these groups on 7/4/25 at the Annual Town meeting, where local residents can discuss what the town needs.

It is the aim of of Colchester Foodbank to help people, who for various reasons are in crisis and may not have enough money to buy food - we make it possible for them to receive a food parcel. Over 200 agencies in Colchester, including health and care professionals, social agencies, job centre, schools and churches, identify people in crisis and issue a client with a Foodbank voucher, which can be exchanged for a 3 day nutritionally balanced emergency food parcel approximately - 10 meals. We also listen to our clients needs which are often many and varied - we can then try and signpost them to other organisations that can hopefully give additional support in their time of crisis. We are a registered charity.

Beacon House provides primary healthcare and holistic support for those who are homeless, in temporary or insecure accommodation, or who are at risk of homelessness. We aim to break the cycle of homelessness by meeting basic needs, and then equipping our clients to manage employment and tenancies and make a positive contribution to the community. Beacon House reception is somewhere welcoming, warm and dry for people who are so often rejected from other areas of the town. We offer nurse-led clinics; smoking cessation support; showers; provision of clothing, toiletries and food parcels; a laundry service; daybeds; cooked meals; a computer suite; and a range of activities to build skills and confidence. We also provide full health and wellbeing assessments using the nationally-recognised Outcomes Star Programme. This works to move clients forward into healthier and more stable lives by identifying individual needs and directing people to relevant support services within the building, or referring them on to partner agencies. 2014 saw growth in use of our services of 14%. The introduction of the Welfare Reform Act 2013 resulted in the biggest changes to the benefits system since the 1940's. A consequence of this is that more people are accessing our services, and more frequently - a total of 474 people (including 94 rough sleepers) made 7274 visits last year. Beacon House is unique in being the only primary health care centre for homeless people in the area. Clients can access our nurse-led clinics (985 visits last year) on a drop-in basis. The need for a home address to register with a GP in Colchester makes this just one of the many essential services we offer to homeless people. Our clients are amongst the most marginalised and isolated people in Essex. Most feel failed by the education system and are unable to secure housing or to register for benefits. 30%of our clients have no other access to washing facilities. 80% suffer from mental health issues and/or serious addiction to alcohol or drugs. This is on top of other problems with money, relationship / family breakdowns, loss of jobs, offending behaviour and all the other complex reasons for homelessness. Homeless people live to an average of 47, 30 years below the national average. While clients have varying backgrounds, many would identify with Paul’s story. “I have been street homeless on and off for the past six years since being kicked out from my parents. When I first became homeless I wanted to be a car mechanic. Six years on I am constantly depressed, hungry and feel my life is at its end. I feel as though I am slowly dying, both physically and mentally.“ Paul, who has spent two of the last six years in prison, showers at Beacon House each day as well as engaging with some of our other services.