Haringey’s voluntary and community organisations will benefit from additional financial assistance, following a Cabinet decision this week.
The sector has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with organisations across the country experiencing income losses, having to halt or reduce services and even finding their very survival threatened.
Both nationally and locally, voluntary and community bodies cater to and provide assistance for vulnerable and marginalised groups which are already at greater risk of the effects of COVID-19, such as people from Black and Asian backgrounds, disabled people and women at risk of domestic violence.
The council has therefore agreed measures to assist local voluntary and community organisations during the pandemic, including the creation of two £250K Hardship funds – one for operating costs and the other for critical support – and assistance to help organisations access external funding.
Haringey previously announced a three month ‘rent holiday’ for community organisations based in council buildings – that will be now be extended to six months.
The pandemic is continuing to impact on the sector and its ability to offer the services that so many in the borough need. The council recognises that without support, the impacts of the lockdown are likely to result in increasingly severe difficulties for many of those most in need in Haringey and even higher demand for council services which are already stretched and underfunded.
Voluntary and community organisations have given the council invaluable support during the pandemic. Haringey has worked closely with its partners through our Connected Communities programmes, including for example with the Reach and Connect service and our food distribution hubs, which have provided several thousand packs of food, medicine and essential items to vulnerable households in the borough.
Cllr Mark Blake, Cabinet Member for Communities, said:
Haringey is fortunate to have an excellent range of voluntary and community organisations, which do fabulous work helping some of our most vulnerable communities.
It is absolutely right that we offer all the support we can to to ensure that they continue to reach and serve those in our borough who are most at risk during the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
I’m pleased that these measures have been agreed and I’m calling on the government to do far more to protect this sector and in turn, those in our society who rely upon the specialised help that voluntary and community organisations offer.