Thursday, February 24, 2011
Stats and that...
It’s that time of year again at the St Rollox Community Outreach... when we help out with reports that help to secure funding for the next financial year. As we start to feel the bite of cutbacks, it’s a more anxious time than usual.
There was a stark reminder of that earlier today. We just said goodbye to a wonderful group of ladies who run a crèche, the funding for which has been completely pulled. It was a tearful goodbye. The ladies have been involved with the project for years and have the trust of parents and the children. Niamh would get excited going into the crèche and Emma had built strong relationships with the workers. Relational attachments aside, the crèche has allowed crucial programmes to run for young mothers, who normally don’t have access to English and computer classes because of the expense (or unavailability) of childcare. It’s difficult to know what we will do from here... currently praying that God would show us a way forward so we can continue supporting young refugee mothers who are some of the most prone to isolation.
On a more positive note, going through the paperwork and logbook from the previous year is a useful reminder of all the things that St Rollox is doing in the community. Below I’ve copied some of the information that I collated for the year-end report. The data helps us to keep our pulse on what support the community is seeking, how the demographic is changing, and how we should seek to respond strategically.
There was a stark reminder of that earlier today. We just said goodbye to a wonderful group of ladies who run a crèche, the funding for which has been completely pulled. It was a tearful goodbye. The ladies have been involved with the project for years and have the trust of parents and the children. Niamh would get excited going into the crèche and Emma had built strong relationships with the workers. Relational attachments aside, the crèche has allowed crucial programmes to run for young mothers, who normally don’t have access to English and computer classes because of the expense (or unavailability) of childcare. It’s difficult to know what we will do from here... currently praying that God would show us a way forward so we can continue supporting young refugee mothers who are some of the most prone to isolation.
On a more positive note, going through the paperwork and logbook from the previous year is a useful reminder of all the things that St Rollox is doing in the community. Below I’ve copied some of the information that I collated for the year-end report. The data helps us to keep our pulse on what support the community is seeking, how the demographic is changing, and how we should seek to respond strategically.
*****
St Rollox Queries, approx. percentages:
17.8% - Benefits
14.4% - Employment
10.4% - Asylum Status & Residency
08.9% - Citizenship & British Passports
06.4% - Signposting
05.9% - Emergency Support
05.9% - Housing
04.0% - Computer & IT Support
04.0% - Personal Finance
04.0% - Support Letters
04.0% - Travel
02.0% - Drivers Licence & Insurance
02.0% - Health
02.0% - Utilites
01.5% - Education
01.5% - Voucher Exchange
01.0% - Volunteering
04.5% - Other
Observations:
Compared to queries logged last year, the number of people asking for help with benefits and employment has nearly tripled. This could be down to a couple of reasons:
1) Asylum seekers who now have residency are seeking more support with coming into the mainstream system and looking for work
2) As the project has changed its title to ‘Community Outreach’ and is being more intentional about reaching out to the white Scottish community in Sighthill, the rise in queries about seeking work and benefits suggests that the project is being successful in reaching out to this section of the community where these are major issues.
Related to first point above, there has been an expected increase in people looking for support with applying for British citizenship. Interestingly, there has also been an increase in people looking for support with the earlier stages of seeking asylum (actually closer to the levels from two years ago). Though some of the Sighthill buildings have been demolished, it is clear that newly dispersed asylum seekers continue to be housed in North Glasgow and are seeking support from the project.
The “Voucher Exchange” programme, such a major feature of the total queries from last year, has nearly disappeared. While we still encounter people on the Azure card who would like access to cash (to purchase necessities like bus fares), many of our long-term contacts previously on Azure are either without any financial support (vouchers or otherwise) or have received residency under the legacy review. ‘Emergency Support’ (in the form of non-perishable foodstuffs and supermarket vouchers) still ranks as the 6th most common query, which can be interpreted as the project's continuing support for people who are left destitute.
A new category “Signposting” was introduced where we refer people onto other organisations. The most common were: Citizens Advice Bureau, Scottish Refugee Council, Victim Support, OISC, Asylum Support Appeals Project, Lifelink, the Ruchill Furniture project, and the North Glasgow Community Food Initiative.
The ‘Other’ category remains as interesting as ever. People came to use to organise a team to help paint and carpet a new flat, piano lessons, finding a plumber, chasing up lost post, and trying to get a place on a football team.
17.8% - Benefits
14.4% - Employment
10.4% - Asylum Status & Residency
08.9% - Citizenship & British Passports
06.4% - Signposting
05.9% - Emergency Support
05.9% - Housing
04.0% - Computer & IT Support
04.0% - Personal Finance
04.0% - Support Letters
04.0% - Travel
02.0% - Drivers Licence & Insurance
02.0% - Health
02.0% - Utilites
01.5% - Education
01.5% - Voucher Exchange
01.0% - Volunteering
04.5% - Other
Observations:
Compared to queries logged last year, the number of people asking for help with benefits and employment has nearly tripled. This could be down to a couple of reasons:
1) Asylum seekers who now have residency are seeking more support with coming into the mainstream system and looking for work
2) As the project has changed its title to ‘Community Outreach’ and is being more intentional about reaching out to the white Scottish community in Sighthill, the rise in queries about seeking work and benefits suggests that the project is being successful in reaching out to this section of the community where these are major issues.
Related to first point above, there has been an expected increase in people looking for support with applying for British citizenship. Interestingly, there has also been an increase in people looking for support with the earlier stages of seeking asylum (actually closer to the levels from two years ago). Though some of the Sighthill buildings have been demolished, it is clear that newly dispersed asylum seekers continue to be housed in North Glasgow and are seeking support from the project.
The “Voucher Exchange” programme, such a major feature of the total queries from last year, has nearly disappeared. While we still encounter people on the Azure card who would like access to cash (to purchase necessities like bus fares), many of our long-term contacts previously on Azure are either without any financial support (vouchers or otherwise) or have received residency under the legacy review. ‘Emergency Support’ (in the form of non-perishable foodstuffs and supermarket vouchers) still ranks as the 6th most common query, which can be interpreted as the project's continuing support for people who are left destitute.
A new category “Signposting” was introduced where we refer people onto other organisations. The most common were: Citizens Advice Bureau, Scottish Refugee Council, Victim Support, OISC, Asylum Support Appeals Project, Lifelink, the Ruchill Furniture project, and the North Glasgow Community Food Initiative.
The ‘Other’ category remains as interesting as ever. People came to use to organise a team to help paint and carpet a new flat, piano lessons, finding a plumber, chasing up lost post, and trying to get a place on a football team.
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