Health and Wellbeing

Great Places Housing Group is committed to supporting their customers and communities and have established a new fund to help rebuild neighbourhoods and create more resilience in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Purpose of fund and key Great Places principles
The fund is intended to provide financial support for community groups, charities and social enterprises to implement their Covid-19 recovery strategies and to become more resilient to future economic set-backs.

Grants of £1,000 - £5,000 to fund small BAME led VCSE organisations to respond to the needs of their communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Activities must be expected to end by 30 September 2021.

These grants can fund a number of different things:

Manchester City Council is launching a Covid-19 Impact Fund on 6 January 2021. £300,000 will be available for voluntary sector activity to support mental health and wellbeing and reduce social isolation in Manchester.

Help to supply lifesaving blood to the hospitals during the pandemic by giving blood:

Manchester Norfolk House Donor Centre
Brown Street, Manchester, M2 1DW

Manchester Plymouth Grove Donor Centre
Plymouth Grove, Manchester, M13 9LL

Book an appointment or register to give blood at www.blood.co.uk or contact 0300 123 2323.

This Christmas, Cracking Good Food are teaming up with Lifeshare, Niamos Centre and Brunswick Church to cook and distribute 250 festive meals to Manchester residents experiencing homelessness, poverty and social isolation. In addition, they will be providing a range of wellbeing services including a winter clothes bank.

They are running an appeal to help fund this work; there are plenty of ways to help:

Church Action on Poverty is launching a brand new Speaking Truth to Power programme kicks off in January and are looking to recruit 24 individuals with lived experience of poverty (or a close ally working with people who have lived experience) to speak truth to power locally and nationally.

The final preparations are being made in anticipation of Manchester’s first cohort of patients being given the Covid-19 vaccine.

From Wednesday 16 December, Manchester residents aged 80 and above who are able to travel will be invited to receive the vaccine at the Active Lifestyle Centre in Wythenshawe.

This site was identified as the best initial location to roll out community-based vaccination in Manchester, with additional Primary Care Network sites to be announced in the coming weeks.

One Manchester want to hear from organisations in their area helping to meet community needs affected by Covid-19, particularly those most vulnerable, and to help organisations adapt and survive.

The current investment priorities are:

The causes of homelessness are complex and often are the result of structural factors. Without public understanding of the extent of homelessness in the UK and the myriad of causes, the sensationalised approach often seen in the media has a damaging impact and slows down the institutional reform that is needed for change.

Directions for Men, in partnership with Southway Housing Trust and Manchester City Council have created a new online social group for men aged over 50 and living in South Manchester. Sessions take place on Tuesdays on the following dates at 11am: