A joint training project to help identify and signpost families living in poverty to immediate support, is running from 16th January – 30th January.
The six training sessions will be held in venues across Monmouthshire including Abergavenny, Caldicot, Chepstow, Monmouth.
Monmouthshire County Council and Monmouthshire Housing Association have joined forces with Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations and Citizen’s Advice to deliver the pioneering collaborative training known as ‘The Child Poverty and Cost of Living Confidence Project’. Its aim is to equip businesses with the skills to identify subtle indicators of financial hardship and guide individuals to immediate support.
With one in seven children in Monmouthshire living in poverty, the initiative seeks to ease the growing concern for families unable to afford basic needs like heating and food, particularly relevant in the current cold snap.
Representatives from local shops, nurseries and health centres have already signed up for the FREE training, with only a small handful of training places remaining available for the first session. The short sessions promise to be informal and engaging and anybody interested is urged to contact MHA.
We understand releasing staff for training can be challenging, so are offering financial compensation to help cover costs. Businesses will be reimbursed £28.00 (14ph) per member of staff that undertakes the two-hour training session.
Rachel Knight, MHA’s Engagement & Partnership Manager and one of the workshop facilitators, explained:
We are calling out to local businesses that interact with families every day who might recognise when someone may need help and are unsure what to do.
We are passionate about creating a community-wide approach to tackling poverty, that is non stigmatising and ensures families have access to services before their situations become critical.
It’s a simple approach. We are encouraging people to trust their instincts and capitalise on the relationships they build with their clients and customers.
January tends to be a quiet month for lots of businesses post-Christmas, so what better way to utilise two hours of your spare or quiet time to undergo training with like-minded businesses that could ultimately benefit our wonderful community.
The quartet of community businesses successfully secured £25,000 in Welsh Government funding to deliver the workshops specifically targeting public-facing workers such as hairdressers, shopkeepers, and nurseries.
The venues and dates for the sessions are:
- 10am-12pm Thursday 16th January – Caldicot Town Council Hall
- 10am-12pm Thursday 16th January – Bridges Centre, Monmouth
- 10am-12pm Friday 17th January – Melville Centre, Abergavenny
- 12pm-2pm Tuesday 21st January – Bridges Centre, Monmouth
- 10am-12pm Friday 24th January – Caldicot Town Council Hall
- 10am-12pm Thursday 30th January – Palmer Centre, Chepstow
