Northern Rock Foundation

A pioneering new project in Durham City has received almost £100,000 from the Northern Rock Foundation which will enable it to help address many of the problems encountered by young homeless people in the City.

Youth homelessness charity Centrepoint will launch a project called ‘Lifewise’ which will help homeless young people learn the life skills they need to successfully live independently, such as how to manage a home, pay bills, tackle debt and eat healthily.

Martin Gill, regional operations manager at Centrepoint, said: “This project is really exciting and will enable young people between the ages of 16-25 who are either homeless or at risk of homelessness to learn skills which will mean that they can sustain or gain a tenancy, and avoid the vicious cycle of life on the streets.”

The project is based in the Durham Miners’ hall in Durham City.

Northern Rock Foundation has awarded almost £2 million to projects across the North East and Cumbria in the latest grants round which take place every 3 months.

Commenting on the awards, the Foundation’s Chief Executive Penny Wilkinson said “I am delighted to announce our latest round of grants. We have always supported those organisations in the North East and Cumbria who work with the most disadvantaged, whether they are young homeless people struggling to find somewhere safe to live or older people who are finding it difficult to make ends meet.”

‘In our support of organisations such as Centrepoint we recognise the huge value of the work they do in communities.”

“As an organisation we believe we are unique in the way we both understand and work with organisations in the charity and voluntary sector.”

Other grants made in the recent round include £174,000 to Hartlepool Citizens Advice to provide help and advice for homeless people to find and maintain a home and £93,000 to Hartlepool MIND to help with core costs for a project which supports people with mental health issues – a problem which can affect as many as 1 in 4 adults at any one time.

Ends

Northern Rock Foundation is a charity and company limited by guarantee with an independent Board of Trustees that makes all decisions on governance, finance and policy. The Foundation aims to tackle disadvantage and improve quality of life in North East England and Cumbria. The Foundation’s work is delivered by a professional staff team of 14 based in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Foundation was established when Northern Rock demutualised in 1997. Up to December 2007, the bank gave, by covenant, 5% of its annual pre-tax profits to the Foundation, totalling more than £190 million. The Foundation will receive £15 m in 2010 from Northern Rock, as part of the arrangement under which the bank was taken into temporary public ownership. Maintaining this arrangement is a condition of any sale of the bank in that period. The Government has asked the bank’s board to identify a viable long-term future for the Foundation.

Full list of funding approved in March 2010 (contact details for funded organisations are available from the Foundation on request).