ALDI CROYDON - PURLEY WAY

Community Care Collective C.I.C. is a volunteer-led organisation with a simple mission: Zero Waste, Zero Hunger. We rescue good surplus food and share it with people in our community who need it. Our volunteers collect food from local supermarkets, cafés and other providers through Neighbourly, FareShare and Caboodle. We provide free food parcels to families and individuals, and share food with local schools, community groups and partner organisations. People reach us through word of mouth and referrals from schools and community organisations. We stock a community cupboard where people can access food anonymously and with dignity. Our fortnithgly "Share-Wood Saturdays" bring neighbours together to share food, and "Longthornton Larder" will open on 3 October 2026 as another fortnightly community food share. Each week, the food we redistribute is equivalent to approximately 2,250 meals. By connecting surplus food with local need, we help reduce waste, ease pressure on households and make sure good food is shared.

Our team of Housing Support Officers (HSO) provide each service user with 2 – 5 hours of support per week. At the initial meeting, the service user and HSO work together to complete a support plan, setting out objectives that the service user works towards. Goals are monitored using the Homelessness Outcome Star which measures progress in 10 key areas, such as the ability to manage money, physical and mental health and coping with difficult social situations. The Foundation provides in-house support services such as specialist counselling and welfare benefits advice. The team also refer service users to other specialist external organisations for complex health care, debt advice, legal advice, voluntary and employment opportunities. As well as providing tenancy support to vulnerable Caridon tenants, the Caridon Foundation accepts referrals from the Council’s Single Homelessness Service. More than 80% of our referrals have complex mental health needs and a further 40% have difficulties with drugs and alcohol. We also house ex-offenders, women fleeing domestic violence and victims of Modern-Day Slavery. As a result, there is a need for us to provide individuals with a truly holistic and tailor-made support service. The cycle of CF Service users stay with our organisation for between 6 months and 2 years, until they are ready for fully independent living. At this point our in-house resettlement officer will make referrals back to the local authority (Fast Track) for permanent affordable social housing. We also have the option of placing our clients into private rented accommodation through Caridon Property. Tenants with high support needs or chronic health conditions will be supported into 24 hour staffed accommodation or sheltered housing.

We are a group of local professionals from across the Sutton community who actively work together to plan, deliver and implement projects aimed at achieving positive outcomes for those who live, work and travel to the London Borough of Sutton. Our network draws on the experience, observations and combined expertise of its 30+ members including: Accountants, Analysts, Marketing Directors, Project Managers, Nurses, Social Workers, Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Transport Operatives and Ward Coordinators. We believe that the most effective way to deliver our projects is through partnership working, utilising existing resources to promote a strong and sustainable community culture. By combining our overall skill set with the resources of our partners we are able to deliver and implement new and inventive solutions to the evolving needs of our community. Our sole objective of the network is to support anyone in need, creating a truly inclusive environment.