A new listening service has been launched by Compassion Acts, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Compassion Acts is a charity supporting people in need through Southport Foodbank, debt & welfare advice, Food Pantry and other wrap-around services. The Coronavirus crisis has put many more people at risk - those who were making do in employment are now devastated with loss of jobs or reduced pay.
 
Chief Executive Richard Owens explained, “When we help people through Southport Foodbank and our debt team, we’re not just providing food and advice, we’re offering a listening ear. Obviously with social distancing and lockdown that has been really impacted and we know that people are missing the personal touch. We certainly are. That’s why we’re launching this service. We’ll be at the end of a phone (or computer) to listen to people’s financial worries, provide a shoulder to cry on, and then direct them to the right people who can help them further.”
 
The confidential service is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday by texting your name to 07526 897384 or online via www.compassionacts.uk/advice Advisors will be in contact within 24 hours.
edit.

Can you help us to meet excess demand from families?

The Coronavirus crisis has impacted almost everyone across the world. And here in Southport & Formby people are also being hit hard. In March alone local charity Compassion Acts helped over 700 people^ access food - and that figure is rising by the day. Operating Southport Foodbank, a debt & welfare team and the Food Pantry, Compassion Acts is on the frontline every day and, as the economic situation is expected to crash in months to come, with realities of widespread unemployment, Chief Executive Richard Owens fears, “Without the certainty of regular givers we may be overwhelmed by the autumn.” Could you give the equivalent of two lattes a month and become a regular giver to Compassion Acts? Small donations of £5 or £10 a month will make a difference to someone who is desperate for food or debt advice.
In the last few weeks, during lockdown, we have helped people like James* who came to Foodbank desperate for help. He was self employed and now has nothing to live on and is unable to provide food for his 4 children. He is one of the many casual, seasonal and self employed workers we are starting to see affected by this crisis. We gave him food to feed his family, but there will be many more people like James in the months to come.
Richard added, “We are planning for the future as we come out of this crisis. We are expecting challenging times in the months ahead with many families needing advice, guidance and access to food. We’ve seen so much generosity during this crisis, not just to us but to other groups working to help the vulnerable at this time, and we’re so grateful. We’re hoping the continuing generosity of local givers will help us help others in the months ahead.”
To set up a standing order, authorise your bank to make regular monthly payments to: Compassion Acts (registered charity 1172948) at HSBC Bank, Lord Street, Southport. Sort Code 40-42-30. Account number: 52071665. If you’re able to Gift Aid (or would like an acknowledgement) please email the information of what you have set up, and we can send you a 'Gift Aid' form, email:    community@compassionacts.uk
Notes: * not real name for confidentiality reasons ^over 80% increase on figures from March 2019
With the public’s regular donations, in the second half of 2020 we hope to:
1: Have enough capacity to meet all the needs that come in for welfare and debt advice
2: Continue to run a 5 day a week Foodbank service
3: Launch a new telephone listening service
4: Launch an additional Food Pantry in Birkdale
5: Develop the school Food Pantry in High Park
6: Run ‘next steps café’ budgeting and life skills courses
7: Re-open Foodbank Distribution Centres, which temporarily closed for COVID-19
8: Invest in more suitable storage warehouse and volunteer training facilities/premises

 MEDIA RELEASE.  For immediate publication.
 
The charity which manages Southport Foodbank has announced plans for how it will operate from Monday 23rd March.
 
From that date until further notice our Foodbank distribution service will operate as follows:
 
Mondays  1pm to 3pm   Lakeside Church (side door on car park, follow the signage)
Tuesdays  1pm to 3pm  Ainsdale Methodist Church, via the right hand entrance
Wednesdays 1pm to 3pm  Lakeside Church (side door on car park, follow the signage)
Thursdays  1pm to 3pm  Ainsdale Methodist Church, via the right hand entrance
Fridays 1pm to 3pm Lakeside Church (side door on car park, follow the signage)
 
Our Food Pantry at Grace Baptist Church on Princess Street will continue to open for its members (referral only) but with a set of hygiene guidelines and a more limited service.
Although we have no plans to include home delivery options on our food parcels,  we will support and facilitate some of the community grass-roots networks of volunteers delivery drivers that are emerging.
We can’t all afford to be stockpiling foods and we must look out for each other. That is why we as a charity are calling for donations of both food and finance to help us through this crisis.
Food collection points for Foodbank at Tesco, Asda and at churches throughout the area.  There are collection points for the Food Pantry at Morrisons and also at Coop, Churchtown.
We are limiting our busy welfare benefits and debt advice services to phone and skype contact as a precaution – but we anticipate them becoming busier than ever as the crisis deepens.   This is why we are seeking additional financial support to ensure we are well placed to deal with demand.
Donations can be made at www.compassionacts.uk  

See our jobs page......
www.compassionacts.uk

Our Foodbank here in Southport & Formby is part of the national network seeded by the Trussell Trust.
They have published a key piece of work called "The State of Hunger" 
Read all about it here,  its quite sobering to see the statistics - but these are our neighbours, the people we see every day in our services.
https://www.trusselltrust.org/state-of-hunger/

We had our official launch in September 2019 at Christ Church, Southport
A great celebration evening …... with a talk by Rev Ellen Louden of Liverpool Cathedral and a chance to commit ourselves to this new initiative.
Some of the supportive comments for our launch are listed below, why not add yours?: