News Articles Archive - Page 23 of 140 - Cross River Partnership

Last week, Forbes reported that a survey of 5,000 UK households showed 91% of adults had reported an increase in their living costs compared with a year ago, while almost three-quarters say that costs have become more expensive in the last month alone. Local governments are providing as much support as they can to their residents.

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War has exacerbated the crisis, but the pandemic, climate change/environmental concerns and supply chain problems have also contributed to it.

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham is offering services from free school meals to free adult social care and working with partners to help locals. The council has given £240,000 in grants to 36 local organisations helping residents with the cost-of-living crisis. A third of the funding is for pensioners, while another third is for households with children under 19.

Click here for more information, or subscribe  to the Climate Emergency newsletter, Climate Connects, for useful articles on initiatives.

London Borough of Lambeth’s Household Support Scheme can help if you’re a resident facing hardship, a crisis, emergency or disaster, including struggling to pay bills or afford food. The scheme provides in-kind support such as vouchers.

London Borough of Lambeth can help households meet living costs through high street vouchers, food vouchers, fuel payments, second-hand furniture, refurbished white goods, a handy-man service and removals/storage service.

On 1st October 2022, energy prices for most households increased by 27% and the weather is getting colder. The Mayor of London’s Warmer Homes Programme offers grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 for heating, insulation and ventilation improvements for low-income Londoners who own their homes or rent privately and live in an EPC D-G rated property.

The Mayor is actively working with local authorities and voluntary sector organisations to promote the programme and welcomes support to ensure that eligible households in all London communities are able to access funding. The programme has received over 1,000 eligible applications to date.

Warmer Homes will run until 31st March 2023 and early application is recommended to benefit from the scheme before colder weather hits.

The Bank of Things is a new Young Mayors Project, working in partnership with Lewisham Local, aimed at Young People aged 11 to 25 living in Lewisham. The issue aims to address poverty in the borough of Lewisham and provides vital support for everyday necessities for young people in Lewisham facing hardship.

The Bank of Things is a place where young people will be able to drop in and pick up some of the everyday items they need to participate fully in their lives. The Bank of Things relies on donations, so please donate what you can to support young people in the borough!

There is particular interest in donations for toiletries (e.g. deodorant, tampons and toothpaste) and stationery (e.g. A4 lined refill pads, folders, post it notes). There is also a desire to support over Christmas, so please donate any neutral-coloured gloves and socks, book tokens, pre-paid gift cards and sweets.

This initiative will have greater significance this coming winter with a cost-of-living crisis, rising energy bills and rising food poverty. Latest figures have revealed that 41% of children across London are living in poverty, and many do not have access to vital resources or free school meals. This is the highest rate of poverty in any English region.

This winter, more than ever due to the cost-of-living crisis, WrapUp London need your help. They are looking for warm jackets to help those in need, as well as volunteers to collect them and get them to where they need to go.

This November, they will be bringing together hundreds of volunteers to collect, sort and distribute up to 25,000 coats. A coat doesn’t only provide warmth, it is often a gateway for someone to access services to help them get back on their feet.

Now in its 12th year, WrapUp have so far distributed 197,245 coats! If you’ve got a warm jacket to donate in your wardrobe, take a look at their website to see how you can help this winter.

If you would like to volunteer for collections, either from tube stations, at home or distribution centres, please email wulvolunteers@handsonlondon.org.uk.

As part of the Cost of Living Strategy 2022 and to further support residents during this crucial time, Westminster City Council have provided information on food support services on the cost of living support hub.

The information provided includes details on food banks and places where a hot meal or beverage can be obtained.

For more information on Westminster City Council’s services for cost of living, please see the recently launched Fairer Westminster Strategy.

Westminster City Council invites SMEs based in the borough to apply to its ambitious Business Energy Audit scheme.

The council hopes that by signing up 1000 businesses over two years, the business community will be able to contribute to the borough’s net zero targets.

Help your business become greener and more energy efficient though taking part in a free energy audit which will identify ways in which your business can help cut its emissions.

Through taking part in the audit you will get a baseline audit which identified your current carbon emissions as well as an action plan on how to lower those emissions. You will also be able to identify savings that can be made through increased energy efficiency.

This scheme is in partnership with GEP Environmental Ltd and is open to SMEs in any sector as long as they have less than 250 employees, make less than £18m, have a physical address in Westminster and are not in difficulty.

The scheme is quick and easy to apply to and can be done through the website: Business Energy Audits Application Form (office.com)

As the cost of living crisis escalates, CRP and partners are doing our bit to consider every possible avenue of support that we can make available.

Although CRP’s projects are geared towards improving the environment that we all live in, we are always trying to deliver as many financial benefits as we can too.

To this end, we are continually reviewing all of our projects to see how we can contribute to tackling the hardship that we know London’s communities and businesses are facing.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle makes good financial sense as well as good environmental sense. Circular Economy approaches are becoming more important than ever. Solutions like Junee’s reusable lunchbox containers are out there, we just need to make more effort to change our behaviours.

As part of setting up new sustainable freight trials, CRP is giving full consideration to incorporating food surplus distribution elements into the model. This will help local communities, including hostel communities, businesses and their ESG credentials, and the planet at large. Watch this space!

Our track record will stand us in good stead. The ‘photo is a reminder of how we worked with partners to deliver food bank parcels to people’s homes during the Pandemic Lockdown.

If you have any ideas about how you’d like us to adjust any of our project delivery to be even more helpful, please get in touch!

Susannah Wilks, CRP Director. susannahwilks@crossriverpartnership.org

October is International Walk to School month when children, parents, teachers, and community leaders around the world celebrate the benefits of walking. Benefits range from simply spending time outdoors, to discovering local neighbourhoods, to creating communities that are safer spaces to walk.

Key dates during the month are:

3th – 7th October 2022 (International Walk to School Week)
5th October 2022 (International Walk to School Day)

but you can celebrate any day of the month.

Here in UK, Living Streets, has many resources to encourage children to walk to school, including the WOW interactive travel tracker which allows children to report daily how they get to school. Check out their IWALK campaign to get involved.

CRP also has also produced resources to encourage walking including our Clean Air Route Finder, and reports such as The Walking Tube in Central London and Making School Street Healthier. Explore other resources from our project, Healthy Streets Everyday.

For more information, please contact CRP Project Manager Sefinat Otaru – sefinatotaru@crossriverpartnership.org.

CRP recently submitted the final report to funder Defra, following completion of the award-winning Clean Air Villages 4 project. The project, working with 26 public and private sector project partners, successfully delivered a range of ambitious freight solutions through Consolidation, Distribution, Mode, Policy and Technology.

Outcomes included implementation of cargo bike schemes, a river freight pilot, a consolidation hub using e-cargo bikes for last mile deliveries, feasibility studies, use of EV dongles to help businesses make the switch from diesel fuelled to electric vehicles, case studies, guidance documents and toolkits, plus over 200 plus in-depth one-to-one meetings.

Read the full report here.

For more information, please contact CRP Project Manager Kate Fenton – katefenton@crossriverpartnership.org.

Archives: News Articles

Support from London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

Lambeth’s Household Support Scheme

Greater London Authority: Warmer Homes

Lewisham Bank of Things

WrapUp London

Westminster Food Support Services and Cost of Living Strategy

Westminster City Council Energy Audit Scheme

Doing Our Bit

Walk to School Month

Clean Air Villages 4 Final Report