Community Lead the Way With Cost of Living Support
As people struggle with rising heating bills, food prices and housing costs, the ambition collectively of the local community groups is to ensure a venue in Cam & Dursley is open every day of the week where people can go, that is warm and welcoming, with free or very low-cost food and drink, and access to help and advice.
Today (Wed 31st Sept), civic groups and community centres from across the south of Stroud came together at GL11 Community Hub in Cam & Dursley to coordinate a community response to the cost of living crisis this winter (see picture attached).
As people struggle with rising heating bills, food prices and housing costs, the ambition collectively of the local community groups is to ensure a venue in Cam & Dursley is open every day of the week where people can go, that is warm and welcoming, with free or very low-cost food and drink, and access to help and advice.
An estimated 40% of households will be in poverty this winter, and the community groups, including representatives from GL11, the NHS, local churches, Chantry Centre and Stroud District Council, came together to discuss how best to provide a warm environment if people can’t afford to heat their homes. Another aim of the group is to reduce the stigma about asking for help with food.
Indigo Redfern, CEO of GL11 Community Hub, said “For example, GL11's own Cost of Living Support Day in Cam & Dursley will be every Wednesday, 10am to 7pm, starting on 21st Sept. Our Café will be serving £1 breakfasts, potluck lunches and suppers, with free hot drinks, cakes and internet access, alongside help and advice with debt, benefits, housing, employment and wellbeing. Our new Community Pantry will be open too, a £4 membership giving at least £15 of food, to help ensure no-one goes hungry.”
“There is a great collective will amongst us all to work together to provide spaces in Cam & Dursley every day of the week where people can be sure of a warm welcome and good company this winter. We are meeting again next week, bringing in even more local community groups to help plan and staff with volunteers, a 7-day Cost of Living Café across local community spaces, that will see Cam & Dursley leading the way for cost of living support. Anyone wanting to be involved in this great community effort can phone us at GL11 for more details.”
GL11 Wins Award
GL11 Community Hub awarded for showing their intent to embrace inclusivity and diversity as an employer.
The GL11 Community Hub are proud to have won an award for being one of Gloucestershire’s most inclusive employers. The award which is part of the Inclusivity Works campaign, was launched by the Gloucestershire based, Going the Extra Mile (GEM) Project and presented to the GL11 Community Hub, honouring them as one of the first organisations, to receive the award which commends their commitment to building an inclusive culture in the workplace.
All of the winners, have been recognised for embracing and creating a culture where diverse groups of people feel valued, confident and able to be themselves, and have seen incredible benefits as individuals contribute their very best to the organisation.
Awards were presented to 13 employers that have welcomed inclusivity and diversity as part of their working and employment practices, supporting candidates that, for a variety of reasons, have struggled to get into the workplace. By doing so, they are helping to create a sustainable future for inclusivity in the workplace as well as reaping tangible benefits.
The Great Jubilee Flag Project
Local school children from the Cam and Dursley community took part in a joint project by Dursley Creative’s and the GL11 Community Hub during May and June.
More than 900 school children from the Cam and Dursley community took part in a joint project by Dursley Creative’s and the GL11 Community Hub during May and June.
The project, which aimed to bring some creativity into the community and teach local children and community groups, how to silkscreen flag designs onto fabric to make flags for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations at the beginning of June, was a huge success, linking up schools, teaching staff and different community groups with local artists.
As well as schools delivering the sessions as part of their creative programme, pop-up sessions were held here at the GL11 Community Hub in the evenings and over weekends and everyone in the community were invited to come along.
The Flag project ran for 6 weeks and more flags than we could count were created as a lasting and memorable way to remember the celebrations held for our Queen’s 75th year in reign.