Breckfield & North Everton Neighbourhood Council (BNENC) – winner of Best Small Charity at the SMF Awards 2024 – has been supporting the local community through its Anti-Poverty and Welfare Rights programme with funding support from the Steve Morgan Foundation.
How we first began supporting BNENC
The Steve Morgan Foundation first started working with BNENC in 2019. SMF funded the Programme Coordinator role for the Kickstarter Health Programme, which has helped BNENC to develop strong links with the NHS and Liverpool John Moores University.
Through this partnership they launched the Social Prescribing programme where Year 2 student nursing staff spend four weeks with the charity to gain an understanding on how they can engage with members of the community whilst they are undergoing treatment. As a result of this work, BNENC were awarded the Kitemark for Excellence in Learning and Care from the NHS & LJMU.
The Anti-Poverty and Welfare Rights programme
The Foundation also provided the funding for two qualified Welfare Rights workers to operate its Anti-Poverty and Welfare Rights programme, the area with the biggest need within the charity’s community. The programme supports those in need in a variety of ways through outreach sessions across the community and from the Breckfield Centre.
It operates a baby bank, which provides new mothers and families with advice, support and supplies such as baby formula, safety equipment and nappies, an emergency food bank that allows individuals to access three days’ worth of food up to three times a year, the ‘warm hub’ for free hot drinks and food during the cold months along with so much more.
Beneficiaries may also be eligible for Fuel Vouchers or BNENC’s School Uniform Programme.
Breckfield & North Everton Neighbourhood Council are eager to address the root causes of poverty and debt. The welfare team have helped many people by looking at benefit maximisation and has secured £1.6million of backdated and new benefits for people in the community.
The programme is available to any individuals in need and can be accessed by referral from a GP, social services, a registered social landlord, Liverpool City Council as well as self-referrals by attending one of the drop-in outreach centres.
Leveraging their award success
As winners of the Best Small Charity award, BNENC received £10,000 from the Steve Morgan Foundation and has made a conscious decision to share 50% of the prize fund between the community organisations it supports, including the Alley Angels – who clean alley gates and alleyways in the area, a local dance school to fund new equipment and costumes, the army cadets for new equipment, and Axel – an amputee support charity, to name a few.
The other 50% has gone into brightening up the Breckfield centre and the events that are held there. So far, it has funded two family fun days with food, entertainment and games.
CEO and founder of BNENC, Bob Blanchard stated:
“We wanted to use the prize money to do something that will positively impact as many people in our community as possible. Sharing the pot in this way has been a win-win for everyone.
“We are extremely grateful to the Steve Morgan Foundation for their ongoing support and recognising the work we do, particularly with the Anti-Poverty and Welfare Rights programme.”
About BNENC
The Breckfield & North Everton Neighbourhood Council became a charity in 1996 and opened the areas first community centre in January 2000. The centre has continued to grow and is now a complex that includes a sports hall, nursey, and a training annex.
The charity supports a number of groups within the community as well as delivering its own programmes and initiatives that are ‘run by local people, for local people’.
Not all their brilliant work happens at the Breckfield centre. They have five outreach surgeries, four befriending schemes to tackle loneliness and isolation within the community, a Health Awareness programme partnered with Anfield & Everton Primary Care Network and various outreach sessions to make their services accessible over the wider area.
This year BNENC has already helped 3,873 individuals across all of its programmes.
To find out more about BNENC or to access any of their services, please visit https://www.thebreckfieldcentre.com/