Salford Loaves and Fishes receives visit from Government Minister

A government Minister has visited Salford charity Loaves and Fishes to see its community support work in action.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall was joined by Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Throughout the visit they were shown the benefits of community-based support from the CVS sector in Salford.

Salford Loaves and Fishes demonstrated the wide variety of services that they offer including career, housing, education, employability and technology support.

CEO of Salford Loaves and Fishes, Jennifer-Anne Smith said: “Paul Dennett and Andy Burnham both respect what we do and how we do it makes a difference as they are vocal about this in many ways and we are proud of this.

“For them to bring the Secretary of State to show what a difference it would make if it was agreed that the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) budget be devolved for Greater Manchester and more centres like ours would be created was a huge accolade for us.

“To hear Liz Kendall then refer to us in her keynote speech, agreeing there needed to be change was a testament to what we do, who we work with, and the difference it has made to our communities,” she continued.

The centre provides a huge amount of support for the local community, offering a range of classes, courses, a flexible learning hub and a job club in there Skills for Life Centre to help people move into employment.

It has become a lifeline in the community, as Jennifer continued: “We holistically support a person and instead of sending them to different venues for different things, partner organisations are based from our centre each week.”

Jennifer added: “In the last month, 550 people have made over 2,000 visits to us, an average of 98 people a day.

“On average we record 200 new people every month, these figures show how much our service is needed and what a difference it would make if centres like ours were put throughout Greater Manchester.”

The support can not be overlooked, and with times becoming more difficult for people in the region the Monday to Friday Drop-in sessions are vital for some people.

With a team of 16 staff there is a growing demand for support as staff member Hassan Ortega said: “The demand for the community has grown over time, but luckily the organisation has grown to meet those needs.”

The drawbacks to Job Centre’s and other services, he continued to add that the recognition from Andy Burnham adds “value to the services that we provide and in some ways replaces the statutory places that have been cut.”

The amazing work from the centre is one that should be celebrate, however, support is still need with the service needing half million pounds to remain open each year to fund costs and staff .

This year they were fortunate to receive £100,000 from Salford Council up from the statutory amount of £25,000. 

However, more is needed with Jennifer adding: “We struggle each day to deal with our demand as it continues to rise.”

To support this amazing charity either by donating or volunteering you can find more information here.