My counselling journey began 30 years ago when I received counselling as I was struggling with my mental health, around that time, I was also introduced to the Christian faith. Five years later I started my first counselling course at Nescot college. I continued studying and finally qualified at Spurgeon’s College after 8 years. It …
Author Archives: JenB
The housing we need
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a very public intervention about housing, reiterating the government’s target to build 1 million new homes over this parliament and extend home ownership to many more households. “Only Conservatives will provide the housing we need,” he claimed. What was missing from his statement was any mention of the …
A community built alongside English lessons
Last week we celebrated the end of a fantastic year of English lessons at Epsom & Ewell Refugee Network. Over the past year, EERN has provided 42 hours of English lessons each week to over 130 students. These lessons take place at the Ukrainian Hub in Epsom, which is a space that is generously shared …
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Celebrating 1-year of Epsom Pantry
Last week we marked the 1-year anniversary of Epsom Pantry opening its doors, with the aim of providing greater dignity and choice to people experiencing poverty and food insecurity in our community. Epsom Pantry Manager Bex Loomes writes: As soon as you walk through the door of Epsom Pantry you feel the buzz of a …
East Surrey Poverty Truth Commission – watch this space!
Poverty Lead Tom Sefton writes about the next phase of the East Surrey Poverty Truth Commission……Whenever I go to one of our Foodbank centres, I am struck by how resilient people are in the face of adversity. As one of our clients said to me recently, “I think I’ve been through more in the past …
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Volunteering Weaves Us Together
Foodbank Volunteer Coordinator, Jackie, writes: Each year in June there is a week dedicated to the celebration of volunteers all over the country. It is a way to publicly thank the millions of people who volunteer hours of their time to various charities and projects throughout the UK. The theme for 2023 is – Volunteering …
A longer-term solution to fuel poverty
Since November, Good Company has been trying out a different approach to helping people through the cost-of-living crisis. Instead of giving out one-off energy vouchers, we have partnered with Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell and our local MP, Chris Grayling, to offer clients a longer-term solution to fuel poverty. It all started with hearing stories …
It feels like Christmas again at the Foodbank
Christmas is always a very busy time of year for us at Epsom & Ewell Foodbank, as families struggle to manage the additional costs of the festive period, as well as higher than average energy bills. Normally, we see a significant dip in food bank use in the early part of the new year, but …
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Doing All Things Nice for the community
In March we visited café All Things Nice on their 9th Birthday to chat to owners Nicci and Sara about how they made their café dream a reality, the challenges of running a small business in a cost-of-living crisis and why supporting local charities is so important to them. “Running a café isn’t glamorous you …
Debt Awareness Week 2023
A recent survey of our clients revealed that 60% of people who came to our Foodbank had borrowed money to pay for essentials such as food, toiletries and clothing. This is a particularly worrying statistic because it means that people living on a low income are being forced into debt just to get by. As …
