Glow supports Staffordshire County Council’s Slow Cooker Project to support families through cost of living crisis
This month at Glow, we were proud to support Staffordshire County Council’s Slow Cooker Project!
The project saw the council give out 1,500 slow cookers – 900 for families and 600 for elderly and vulnerable individuals – across Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Our Glow teams had a strong presence at each collection point to make sure people collecting slow cookers were aware of the support we can offer.
At Glow, a lot of our work consists of directly supporting people facing domestic abuse, as well as their families.
This includes our IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisor) service, YPVA (Young Person’s Violence Advisor) support and emergency safe accommodation for those fleeing abuse.
We work hard to give people experiencing abuse a safe place to stay alongside lots of tailored support, to help them work towards their next chapter. We also work with local schools and colleges to run education and prevention sessions in educational settings, to make sure children and young people know the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships.
A lot of our work is also focused on outreach and raising awareness. We want people to know who we are and how they can get in touch if they ever need support around domestic abuse or unhealthy relationships.
That’s why we felt proud to have the opportunity to talk about our services to families and individuals collecting slow cookers earlier this month.
Staffordshire County Council’s Effective Practice Development Officer, Melissa Martin, oversaw the Slow Cooker Project across Newcastle.
Melissa said: “It was after Christmas that we first heard about the major rise in the cost of living and fuel poverty. We knew it was going to get worse. I use my slow cooker all the time. It’s a cheap option and you can make really healthy meals, including in bulk. I started thinking and wondered if we could do something to support families and individuals in Newcastle.
“We originally wanted to give out 500 slow cookers, which we thought would be absolutely amazing. However it just grew and grew, with more people getting involved and showing an interest. We ended up linking up with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They said it was a great idea and they wanted to help.
“We told them how many families we had open to services across Newcastle, so they came on board and gave us funding for 1,500 slow cookers. This meant that we had to have events all week to offer different collection points for everyone in the community.
“We wanted to get other local services, like Glow, involved in the collection points so that each one felt like a one stop shop. People walked away with not just a slow cooker, but support and advice from local organisations too.”
Glow’s Education and Prevention Team Leader Sarah said: “We were so proud to be involved in the recent Slow Cooker Project event across Newcastle.
“A huge part of our work is funded locally so it’s important that we are present at events like this. It’s all about building strong partnerships to help to inform and equip families with the tools they need to access services. This helps us deliver the best support for local families and young people.
“We headed along to all of the slow cooker collection points throughout the week. this meant that individuals and families could see our team and find out more about what we do. It was also a great opportunity for some children to point out their Glow worker to their families.
“This winter will be difficult for a lot of people, so it’s important that everyone knows what services are available to them locally. Even if someone didn’t feel ready to come and talk to us directly, they could see our contact details and know how to get in touch if they ever needed us.”
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