Council a 'disgrace' if it withdraws charity's £800,000, says dad-of-two
A FATHER-OF-TWO says it would be a "disgrace" if Derby City Council cuts the money it gives to a charity that turned his life around.
Action Housing and Support helps vulnerable people in the city get jobs and find homes.
The city council gave it £800,000 for the current financial year but wants to stop this from April 1 as it tries to save £62.4 million over the next three years.
The charity, which operates across the Midlands and South Yorkshire, says the cut would have a "massive impact" on the number of people it could help in Derby.
10% off for Derbyshire Gold card holder for Vinyl and Carpet flooring
Terms: "quote this is Gold 06"
Contact: 01332 418828
Valid until: Sunday, June 30 2013
It says it would also lead to 23 redundancies of full- and part-time staff.
One of those helped by the charity is Lee Wright, 28, who was referred to Action Housing by the city council after falling on hard times early last year.
His mother had recently died, his 10-year relationship with his girlfriend had broken down and he had been made redundant from his concreting job.
Mr Wright said Action Housing found him a home, gave him someone to talk to and put him in touch with drug and alcohol misuse charity Lauren's Link to help him deal with his drinking.
He is now one of six people on the charity's apprenticeship scheme, learning painting and decorating skills by bringing properties back into use.
Mr Wright, of Wiltshire Road, Chaddesden, said: "They've turned my life around. I have a flat where my kids can come and visit me, I don't drink, and I have references that will help me get a painting and decorating job. Since when has money been more important than someone's life? If this is what we are now assuming in this country, then I'm ashamed to live here."
Helen Greig, the charity's director of client support services, said the loss of the city council cash would not force the organisation to close as it operates over a wide area but it would mean cutting the equivalent of 18 full-time jobs.
Other services Action Housing provides include helping vulnerable people stay in their homes by advising them how to manage their benefits, and helping convicted criminals avoid re-offending
Councillor Fareed Hussain, cabinet member for adults and health, said the council was focusing on funding services it had to provide by law but he added: "The council is considering whether a small number of high-priority services may be offered a time-limited extension on their contracts beyond the end of March 2013.
"The council is working with affected organisations to devise contingency plans for potential loss of funding."
Comments
by ianshelton
Thursday, January 10 2013, 1:38PM
“Staff at Action HA are indeed on good pay, although certainly not stellar pay.
Sadly these days you can't go near this type of work without all manner of degrees & 'aptitudes' ... though in many cases you & I could apply common sense & life experience to get exactly the same outcomes. Hence staff in this work command fairly good K's per annum.
Having said that we must remember that Council's habitually pay their managers & directors - of which there are many - massive amounts of cash. And what do we get from these people that actually counts towards anything measurable ??
Though costly I reckon Action HA offers a decent return ; every criminal returning to crime costs tens of thousands if left to run amok, so I'd sooner pay some people a few thousand instead to prevent this occuring.”
by Wulfram
Thursday, January 10 2013, 11:07AM
“Whilst I agree with the comments below, it would be more helpful if we had been given some facts about how many people this charity has helped from the Derby City area in the past year - then we might be able to judge if the 23 staff being made redundant is in proportion to the help provided - at first glance it does seem as if a lot of the £800,000 has been spent on salaries for those working for the charity”
by ianshelton
Thursday, January 10 2013, 10:09AM
“Another thought - over at Alan Charles office ( police crime comissioner ) he has about 10 staff, all of whom will be on stellar rates of pay. These posts have been created to serve the role of PCC ; so that's a team of 10 just to 'big up' this role, reply to letters, sort meetings & generally faff about.
Meanwhile a team of people that actually does something to help people in need is having it's funding stripped, leading to job losses.
So the powers that be & government are creating jobs that serve one false god while taking away jobs that truly help the most desprate people in society ?
Absolute disgrace. If these policies persist ( and the pubs shut ) we'll have civil disobedience & rightly so.”
by NewForOld
Thursday, January 10 2013, 8:55AM
“I thought we were promised to be protected by the new Labour Council? Seems not.”
by ianshelton
Thursday, January 10 2013, 8:26AM
“Action HA is a superb organisation, which has spent many years helping vulnerable people get themselves together, people who on some occasions have been marginalised or written off by mainstream society. Their track record is excellent. Many people in Derby have benefitted from their help & support. Many would be on the streets without their assitance.
To cut this service away is indeed a disgrace, but it's no more than we should expect from a government which actively targets the disabled, the disadvantaged & the desperate. In today's world the poor must pay for the rich & Victorian values are being pushed along by stealth.
And after all we really need the new council house & indoor bike track eh !? So be damned with the undeserving poor & the needy. What a shocking set of priorities our leaders have.”