St Andrew’s Community Network is purposed to resource churches and community groups to design out poverty in the areas they serve.
We intend to see people set free from the life affecting challenges that are a socio-economic consequence of their lived experience of poverty. We are committed to working alongside people in the communities we serve to enable them to live fulfilling lives – not just to be able to make ends meet and get by – but to find direction, purpose, and step into futures filled with hope and opportunity. We will help to resource people to build sustainable communities of belonging, change, connection, and purpose.
We operate at a time when our communities, city, and region are struggling financially, with high levels of poverty, a fragile jobs market, a welfare programme that can be difficult to navigate, and in a continued environment of organisational austerity.
In our journey as a charity since 2003, we have learnt how to deliver a model of care which makes the service we offer unique for the region. We ensure for every person we come into contact with, they can access for the short or the long-term opportunities to:
These three endeavours form the principle components of our change toolkit.
Through our commitment to these three overarching aims, we offer something more than being in debt; something more than the next meal; something more than the support to manage food price increase;. We are building networks and communities where the socio-economic difficulties of living in poverty and deprivation can be addressed and overcome.
Our Change Hubs are community spaces, hosted by churches and other community groups, that are resourced to enact the three key elements within our Change Toolkit: Financial Resilience Initiatives – Debt Advice and Income Maximisation Advice; Food Security Initiatives – Foodbanks and light-touch Food Security initiatives; Building Sustainable Communities – Asset Based Community Development within Community Pantries
