North East Law Centre and our Advocacy Service secure £285,208 National Lottery funding to continue Help Through Crisis project

We are delighted to announce that our Advocacy service, along with the North East Law Centre, has been awarded £285,208 from The National Lottery Community Fund to continue delivering the Help Through Crisis (HTC) project in Newcastle over the next three years. 

The funding will enable the project partners to build on their established work, continuing to provide a holistic service for people and families experiencing crisis or at risk of crisis. Through the HTC project, partners will deliver: 

• Specialist welfare rights advice delivered by an adviser at North East Law Centre. 
• Independent advocacy from Connected Voice Advocacy, supporting people to have their voices heard and to access statutory services and other support. 
• Specialist education law advice delivered by an adviser at North East Law Centre. 
• A volunteer link work service offering practical assistance to service users. 

The project will continue to bring together advocacy, welfare benefits advice, education law advice and link work support to provide early, coordinated interventions that help people and families avoid or move out of crisis. 

HTC will continue to work closely with community organisations to strengthen local relationships and reach people who may otherwise be unlikely to engage with services. Existing outreach venues include West End Women and Girls Centre, Newcastle’s only open-access, community-based women and girls’ centre, and Children North East, a charity supporting families, children and young people experiencing difficulties in their lives. 

Michael Fawole, Centre Director at North East Law Centre, said: “We are incredibly grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for its continued support, which will enable us to deliver the Help Through Crisis project for a further three years and bring the partnership’s work to a total of thirteen years. We are committed to securing additional match funding to support delivery in years two and three, and we are also grateful to all our delivery partners for their continued support in helping the project grow from strength to strength.”  

Jane Kingston, Head of Advocacy at Connected Voice, said: “We are delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has continued its support for this project. Over the past ten years, this successful partnership has enabled us to provide coordinated specialist support to people facing some of the most challenging and vulnerable circumstances in our community. 

"The security of this funding has allowed the project to evolve and respond to changing needs. We want people to feel empowered to understand and exercise their rights, so a key focus this year will be building people's confidence and skills to self-advocate through our Know Your Rights training programme.”

Useful link: Help Through Crisis | Connected Voice