The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, will join Kendal Parish Church at the end of this month for the local launch of Challenging Poverty, the Church Urban Fund’s national campaign to raise awareness of poverty in England.
The special service, themed “And who is my neighbour?” makes up part of the Archbishop’s packed schedule during a two-day visit to Carlisle Dioceseand is the officiallaunch of the campaign in the Diocese of Carlisle.
The Church Urban Fund supports projects in the poorest communities in the country and has given more than £529,000 to projects in the Carlisle Diocese over the years.
One such project is The Key Project, run by Community Projects Carlisle, which works with young people vulnerable to homelessness, a problem that is not always evident in Carlisle. By offering financial and housing advice and employment opportunities, the project aims to prevent homelessness wherever it can. A recent client, who has benefited greatly from the support of the project, explains, “I was insecure when I arrived – a wreck both emotionally and mentally, but my project worker was a friend to me. Within 2-3 weeks, I was housed. I’m no longer taking drugs and am in full-time work. The difference between then and now is huge.” The project also runs workshops in schools, teaching pupils how to progress to independent living successfully. A Church Urban Fund grant currently helps to cover the cost of renting rooms for the service.
The Eureka café in Barrow-in-Furness is part of an employment and training scheme at Community Action Furness (CAF), which works with those who would normally be excluded from mainstream employment opportunities and is based in an area with up to 20% unemployment. A Church Urban Fund grant helped CAF get started 13 years ago and new funding is helping them to run programmes for young people who have been excluded from school as well as those with mental health problems and learning disabilities. Alan Russell, a worker at CAF, said of one young client who has autism and slight tourette’s sydrome, “If someone had said to me when he arrived that now he would be serving people in the café, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet he is serving and waiting on people, communicating and engaging with customers.”
Another example of Church Urban Fund funding in action is the CA15 project in Maryport, which works to enhance community cohesion and build self-confidence in local residents, as well as running a programme of creative workshops in the community. The project helps people to connect with each other and to learn new skills in an area where many people are on low incomes, face unemployment and have limited opportunities for skills training.
CA15 focuses on photography and the arts as a way of encouraging learning and development. David Titley, course leader, whose post is part-funded by the Church Urban Fund says, “We want to make learning accessible to all and this project is open to anyone in the local community. For people with learning difficulties or those struggling with low self-esteem, the opportunity to learn something new helps to build their self confidence. It shows them what is possible. The support of the Church Urban Fund over the years has been invaluable in this community.”
In the Kells area of Whitehaven, the Church Urban Fund is contributing towards the refurbishment of St Peter’s Parish Hall. Anne Curwen, a member of St Peter’s church says, “It will be the only place of this size and facility in the whole of the West Cumbria area. The old parish hall was unattractive, badly heated and uninviting.” The new building will include a large hall, new reception area, a fully equipped kitchen and central heating, and will meet a range of needs in the community. Anne continues, “As groups meet here, their needs and the needs of the community become more apparent and are brought to the fore, then they can be dealt with.”
“We are very excited that the Carlisle Diocese is getting behind the Challenging Poverty campaign,” says Fran Beckett, Chief Executive of the Church Urban Fund. “The projects based in the area are just a few examples of how people in communities across the country are directly tackling poverty in their neighbourhoods.”
Projects like these are changing the lives of people across the country. To find out how you can support the Challenging Poverty campaign, call 020 7898 1667 or go to
http://www.challengingpoverty.org.uk/.
ENDS
EDITOR’S NOTES
The service
The “And who is my neighbour?” celebration will take place at Kendal Parish Church, Friday 29 September, 5.00pm.
Interviews
If you would like to interview the Archbishop of York, Bishop Graham or Colin Laxon, the Church Urban Fund Link Officer for Carlisle Diocese, please contact the Revd Richard Pratt, on 01228 521 982 or email communications@carlislediocese.org.uk
If you are interested in interviewing Fran Beckett, Chief Executive of the Church Urban Fund or representatives of local projects funded by the Church Urban Fund, please contact: Sara Stafford-Williams, Church Urban Fund Communications Manager, on 020 7898 1668 or 07968 151609 or email sara.stafford-williams@cuf.org.uk
More about the Church Urban Fund
The Church Urban Fund is a charity supporting churches and projects tackling poverty and injustice in England’s poorest communities. Through funding local initiatives, sharing knowledge and raising awareness of social injustice, we work to bring about significant and lasting change.
Other key areas of work include partnering with other organisations to tackle the causes of poverty, advocating on behalf of faith communities at national level and the development of research and resources to support the work of local initiatives.
Over the nearly twenty years in which the Church Urban Fund has been working, it has been involved in giving grants to projects, which has often resulted in other funders also investing in the project.
The Church Urban Fund has awarded over 4,500 grant totalling £55 million to projects working in England's poorest communities.
Church Urban Fund is a Registered Charity, No: 297483