A new package of practical support, advice and access to finance is being offered to people currently out of work in the Liverpool city region. Jennie Lewis reports
A new fund has been set up to offer practical help to people out of work in the Liverpool city region.
The Better Off Fund will offer a fully-financed programme of support for anybody looking to enter or re-enter employment in the region. It will provide travel passes, free childcare, lunch expenses, mobile phone top ups and individual grants for training and upskilling.
This scheme will also deliver specific training in managing your personal finances, building your confidence, preparing for interviews and developing digital and social media skills. Training can be accessed both on and offline at a range of community-based locations.
And the launch comes as the UK cost of living crisis intensifies. Last week, inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.4% putting millions of people across the country under mounting financial pressure.
The Better Off Fund is a National Lottery-funded programme and The Women’s Organisation, based in Liverpool city centre, will be the primary delivery partner.
Engagement and client relationship co-ordinator at The Women’s Organisation, Germaine Fryer, said: “We are living in unprecedented times. We’re facing a poverty crisis the likes of which many have never and may never experience again in our lifetime. And it only looks set to worsen as autumn approaches.
“The media is referring to the cost-of-living squeeze as historic and is suggesting the country is on the brink of financial cataclysm.
“We have already weathered the social and economic impact of Brexit, the pandemic, cuts to universal credit, and rising fuel and food costs, and still inflation continues to surge at an alarming rate. We’re at the point where for almost all of us, every pound and every penny are accounted for in order to simply live. Put simply, these rises are unaffordable.
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“It is heart-breaking to see the impact all of this is having on our clients and service users. Which is why it means so much that we are able to offer some small lifeline to those facing the gravest financial insecurity.
“The Better Off Fund programme offers people who are out of work an opportunity to train, upskill and invest time and energy in their personal and professional development, without it being an additional and impossible financial pressure.
“We want to get the message out as far and as wide as possible so that as many people in the Liverpool city region can benefit from the opportunities the fund provides. Our team is ready and eager to help. We’re urging anybody interested to get in touch.”
The team managing the Better Off Fund is appealing to individuals or service providers in the Liverpool city region who may benefit in any way from the opportunities the fund provides.
For more information please call our team on 0151 706 8113 or email hello@thewo.org.uk