The Adult Literacy Trust  (London) believes that literacy is a right, not a privilege, and wants every adult to have the chance to gain this critical skill. The charity was set up to ensure that individuals who wish to improve their literacy skills receive the help they need to become successful readers, and to increase their life chances. It does so through one-to-one support, and as a complement to teaching in formal education settings. Volunteers act as an essential accompaniment to the progress learners are making in the classroom and help to accelerate and consolidate that progress. By harnessing the value of community and volunteering, they’re able to supplement the foundational learning taking place in overcrowded classes, providing adult learners with the tailored support they need to succeed.
The grant from SHCJ helped ALT recruit 80 volunteers and work with 120 adult learners who improved their reading confidence and skills to strengthen employability & job retention. Their well-being improved and they engaged more in community activities.

Case study
One of our learners, Peter, has recently achieved one of his main goals: to secure a new job. He used to be a professional bricklayer but due to injury Peter can no longer engage in heavy physical labour. He’s been facing the already daunting challenge of navigating the job market, made significantly more difficult by his struggles with reading. Recognising Peter’s strong focus on securing employment, our volunteer Lydia suggested using sample job postings and the necessary paperwork for job applications, during their reading sessions over 6 months This has given Peter the confidence needed to apply for jobs through his local Jobcentre Plus and he has secured his first employment contract, in high-end retail security.
Peter - “Lydia always required me to take the lead in our sessions. While at the beginning, I admit I found this sort of frustrating, I think it's what got me to develop the reading skills and the confidence I needed to land a job I'm truly excited about.”

Climate Ed (London/Birmingham) teaches Year 5 and 6 children about climate change and inspires them to take action. The programme enables and encourages children to think critically about social and environmental issues, to debate and to make reasoned arguments. It addresses key areas of carbon emissions and reduction including transport, food and general consumption.
The children learn practical skills and are helped to find solutions that they can take at home to tackle climate change.

The grant from SHCJ helped Climate Ed to expand to Birmingham for the first time, bringing the knowledge and experience they have developed to deliver the programme to 60 cohorts of children, 28 students in each cohort - so in total 1,620 children engaged. A key objective of the project is for children to also engage their families, so an estimated total of 6,480 individuals in Birmingham.

Case study
“I am the Partnership Manager for two school clusters in London borough of Lambeth – Windmill Cluster (10 schools) and Brixton Learning Collaborative (15 schools). Our schools work collaboratively to support pupils from disadvan-taged communities with opportunities to expand educational experiences. We first began working with Climate Ed four years ago and during that time the programme has run successfully in many of our schools. It has given pupils the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding around climate change and empowered them to take ac-tion in their own lives. The programme is well organised and has enhanced Lambeth schools’ offer to pupils. It’s been well received by teachers, giving children the chance to learn from volunteer facilitators from different career back-grounds, bringing a unique and additional value to the classroom experience. We have also commissioned Climate Ed to facilitate a secondary schools climate change conference event that was very successful. Climate Ed has developed a model of delivery that is highly effective and could easily be transferred to other settings. Their work locally was recognised at a recent Lambeth Civic Award ceremony with an award for climate justice. I am happy to recommend Climate Ed unreservedly to you.” Rachel Thomas

Hope Nottingham’s aim is to advance the Christian faith and relieve sickness, poverty, and distress. In partnership with Trussell Trust, local churches and a library, they operate 14 foodbanks across the city, supported by an army of dedicated volunteers. As well as providing emergency food parcels, other activities include prayer, faith activities, free drop-in cafes, low-cost food-clubs, friendship groups, community meals, allotment, ESOL and job clubs, as well as toddler group and Renew Wellbeing Youth Café.

The grant from SHCJ helped Hope Nottingham provide around 10,000 emergency food parcels across Nottingham, working with 400+ referring organisations. Community cafes served around 6000+ free breakfasts and £3000+ free lunches and around 341 food boxes through Food Clubs, who serve 60-65 households a week.

Case study
H initially received emergency food parcel support from Hope Nottingham during the Covid pandemic and then during the subsequent cost of living crisis. In the last couple of years, H has become a regular member of our drop in café and Friendship Club, where as a member of the local community, she has helped many other guests feel welcome, including other members of her family who she has encouraged to come along for support and friendship. H also be-gan to use the Hope House Food Club most weeks to help with the cost of living. She now volunteers with the Food Club, helping with the food delivery and sorting the food into boxes ready for club members. H has also been an enthusiastic supporter of our monthly community meals, both attending the events, volunteering with the cooking and inviting others to attend.

Mums In Need (Sheffield) is a unique support service for mothers suffering ongoing coercive control after separation from an abusive partner. They are enacting change in the system, moving people from stereotypes and misconceptions around what a victim looks like and raising awareness about coercive control's reality. They provide a range of sup-port to help mums navigate legal and family court systems, as well group activities and wellbeing support for mums and their children. MIN support around 75 mothers each year and have successfully worked with them to devise a model for improving support for victims and educating people on coercive control. They also partner with other agen-cies including solicitors, support services and the police to provide wrap-around support.

Mums in Need developed a training programme for organisations that work with victims of coercive control, to help raise awareness and understanding in the places it matters most. It enables organisations to spot the signs of coercive control and provide the right support to victims. The grant from SHCJ helped provide training over 12 months, reaching 25-30 participants at each workshop, a total of around 100-200 individuals

Case study
"Mums In Need provided me with a safe space to talk freely with people who understand the problems I was facing. They listened without judgement and gave the support I needed when I just didn't know how to cope. They have helped me to focus on healing so that I can thrive again and be the best mum I can be for my children. MIN has helped me reclaim my body and manage my finances, tackling the devastation left by coercive control. MIN has a big impact in helping women like me and their children rebuild safer and thriving lives." - Asha

Sixty One  (Bristol) helps prisoners and ex-prisoners live meaningful crime-free lives by inspiring, enabling and supporting the church and local community to provide the relational and practical support need. This support is provided through a range of activities including mentoring programmes, gift projects, educational courses, and other partnerships.

The grant from SHCJ helped Sixty One support over 150 ex-prisoners and 1,800 serving prisoners in a year. They have partnered with over 30 other organisations and charities and 230+ individuals to create a network of connections in areas such as housing, employment, mental health, and addiction.

Case Study
When Vincent was introduced to his mentor they quickly build a strong rapport meeting on a weekly basis to talk about the goals he wanted to work towards. He had no qualifications but wanted to get his Maths and English GCSE. His mentor helped him to access basic courses in both and then progress onto the GCSE courses. With hard work, support, and motivation from his mentor, Vincent successfully passed his Maths GCSE aged 50. He has recently trained to become a mentor, and will now be able to provide support to someone else in the position he was once in.

Snowdrop Project works in Sheffield and South Yorkshire providing practical and emotional support for survivors of modern slavery and exploitation to be fully empowered and move forward with their lives. They offer casework support, access to trauma-informed counselling and wrap-around services. Their holistic support includes legal support for issues arising from enslavement, help to live independently, emotional and psychological support, engagement within their communities and enabling access to education and employment. Over the last year, 274 adults and 119 children accessed our support services

The Snowdrop Project’s work highlights the lack of support for young survivors in South Yorkshire due to local services being overstretched and a lack of training on modern slavery and exploitation. The SHCJ grant supported work with 25 young survivors aged between 16 and 18, as they left children’s services, to help them find safety, build confidence, and move forward positively.

Case study
Q* arrived in the UK in late 2023 from Vietnam. She has a history of child exploitation as a domestic servant and has experienced ongoing exploitation and abuse throughout her life. When she was referred to us, she was traumatised, confused, and exhausted, often falling asleep during meetings. In the first three months, she was supported by our Child Trafficking Transition Lead, who worked with her to access a specialist solicitor. This has led to her negative trafficking decision being challenged and her receiving support to process her asylum claim. She has also attended weekly counselling and movement/relaxation sessions with Snowdrop. She is gradually making progress - she can ask direct questions in appointments, shows an understanding of her legal case, and appears more relaxed and confident in meetings.