Church support agency receives £100,000 crisis funding
A Catholic social action agency has received grants worth more than £100,000 to offer crucial lifelines to people plunged into poverty by the coronavirus crisis.
Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury has been awarded £62,000 by the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation and £47,000 from the National Lottery.
The money will be used to support people in states of personal crisis by the pandemic.
The grant from the Gubay foundation means that the social care agency of the Diocese of Shrewsbury can launch the Caritas Crisis Fund to provide one-off grants to support families.
Applicants must be in exceptional circumstances and live within the Diocese – which covers the Wirral, nearly all of Cheshire, Shropshire and Greater Manchester south of the River Mersey.
The fund can be accessed by head teachers, representatives of a parish, support agencies or by Caritas employees on behalf of a family or individual after completion of an application form.
The agency will also be linking with diocesan food banks to ensure that families have enough food and hygiene products. It will also work with families over a period of months to support the mental health of their members and to help them to address any long term issues they face.
Trish Spencer of Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury said: “This fund will ensure the most vulnerable don't sink into poverty and desperation during this pandemic but maintain a foundation from which lives can be rebuilt.”
The money from the Lottery will be used to support clients with mental health problems, as well as to provide practical assistance with vouchers for basic hygiene and household needs for those who have had to move out or have no benefits in place.
The funds will also be used to purchase vouchers for food help with internet subscriptions so children may continue to be home-schooled and adults can access online support, and pay for transport for families with hospital appointments.
It will also fund bereavement programmes and resources, parenting programmes, domestic violence programmes and behaviour strategies and resources.
The Rt Rev. Mark Davies, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, said: “As we emerge from the long months of lockdown with many anxieties about the future, let us not forget the poorest. Many of the neediest and most vulnerable are facing severe challenges in a post-lockdown world. I am delighted that thanks to your support and generosity we have in Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury our own social action agency already working in the field."
