Making a difference in the North East

The increasing pressures, changes in the economy and rising cost of living means more people are facing challenging times. So, how can you help those in need in the North East?

There are various charities and services supporting those in need. I spoke with two local charities to find out more.

Tin On a Wall is a North Tyneside based charity, who do a doorstop collect of non- perishable food and household essentials once a month to collect and redistribute. Streetworx is a charity providing essential items to those in need in Newcastle City Centre on a weekly basis.

Tin On A Wall began in June 2020 and supports local food banks, charities and community groups in North Tyneside and Newcastle.

I spoke with Joanne Scorer who now coordinates the charity, who said: “Originally the charity was set up only to assist during COVID, but the cost of living crisis that followed meant demand soared.”

When asked what challenges the charity faces in raising support Joanne stated: “The main challenge is in volunteer capacity and consistency. Volunteer numbers fluctuate, which directly affects how many streets can register and therefore volume of donations.

“Visibility and donor fatigue are also a challenge, because collections are monthly and local, sustaining public awareness and avoiding donor fatigue are ongoing challenges.”

There are many different ways you can get involved with this charity, volunteer as a Street Champion to coordinate collection in your area, spread the message of the charity to promote involvement in your local area, donate items or assist with any fundraising. To find out more you can contact the charity directly via the Facebook page. 

Streetworx is a charity that started 16 years ago as part of Gospel community church and helps the homeless and those in need in Newcastle City Centre. A team of volunteers give out essential items such as drinks, food, clothes and toiletries to those in need in the city centre each week on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings.

Joanne Foden, the coordinator for Streetworx confirmed the various fundraising activities the charity organise. Over the year, they host fayres, bag packs and a donation of gifts at Christmas. They also host an annual sleep out, which is the biggest fundraiser for the charity.

I spoke to volunteer Chris Ridley about how the charity runs at Christmas and whether it differs to any other time of the year. He said: “At Christmas time we get more volunteers wanting to go out and see at first-hand how the homeless manage at Christmas, also lots of schools and organisations want to give something back.”

He spoke about the level of homelessness at Christmas, and said that while “the number of genuine homelessness at Christmas time is pretty much the same unfortunately at Christmas time due to lots of pressure associated with Christmas more people are in need of our help.”

People can get involved by either volunteering with the team at the weekend giving out essentials, assisting at the storage unit coordinating the donations, assisting with fundraising events or donating essential items. To find out more you can contact the charity directly via the Facebook page. 

Both charities expressed there is a growing need and demand for support due to economic pressures brought on by crises such as the cost of living and the effect of the pandemic. This reflects in the growing level of support needed from Charities such as these, if you are in a position to be able to support their work in any way you can contact the charities direct via their Facebook pages.