* Important announcement from the Signpost Centre board of directors *

Signpost Centre

A few posts under my belt
Signposts Services has been operating as a charity out of the Highfields Signpost Centre for 14 years. During this time we have been privileged to help the local community in many ways and be a safe space for people to gather. It is therefore with regret and sadness that we are relinquishing the running of the Signpost Centre at Highfields at the end of October 2020, and reducing the staff numbers working for Signposts Services due to funding challenges. Staff will be on site until then to answer queries, but during these last few weeks we will remain closed to the public.

Signposts Services will continue to serve the wider community of Staffordshire including Highfields through several of our ongoing projects, from an alternative base. These include Storehouse; delivering donated furniture to those in need, Crash; helping people with garden and house repair challenges, Information & Guidance; helping those needing to navigate the benefit system, Open house; seeking to reduce the isolation felt by many elderly people and Food Bank providing for those in need.

Although we are closing the centre at Highfields we are hopeful that the space will still be used to support the community and we are aware another group is already in discussion with the Borough Council to take on the building. We realise the new group will not be running the centre in the same manner as Signposts Services but we are hopeful they will be able to meet some of the community needs in Highfields.
We hope to organise a celebration of our achievement but because of current restrictions we are unsure what form that will take, if any. Updates may follow.

We are very grateful for the dedication and compassion of all the staff and volunteers at the Highfields Centre over many years and wish them every blessing in their future work.
Former volunteers are invited to call past from 9am to 2pm weekdays up until the end of October and retrieve any personal items or certificates which may have been left, please ring the doorbell and await attendance.

This is a sad time for us all, but we take solace in the difference we have made during our tenure.

Liz P, Neil, Jane, Liz D, Ashley, Gary, Charlie
 

arthur

Nixon Garden Neatness
Not good. I know a few people who were grateful of the service.

Rising Brook Baptist Church will carry on with the signpost services. The signpost project was always under the umbrella of the church and it's sad that the project will no longer be operating in the middle of the Highfields estate, but if people need help they can come to the church at Rising Brook.

The store house project is back helping people with furniture and the crash project is back helping people with gardening and decorating . The food bank has been operating Monday to Friday all the way through the lockdown and have PPE and distancing measures in place. The information and guidance project that helps people with benefits and debt will be back in October. Other projects such as keeping in touch with isolated people and signposting and referring people in need to other service will always be part of rising brook.
 

Signpost Centre

A few posts under my belt
The above is true, just to re-iterate the second paragraph,

"Signposts Services will continue to serve the wider community of Staffordshire including Highfields through several of our ongoing projects, from an alternative base. These include Storehouse; delivering donated furniture to those in need, Crash; helping people with garden and house repair challenges, Information & Guidance; helping those needing to navigate the benefit system, Open house; seeking to reduce the isolation felt by many elderly people and Food Bank providing for those in need."

It's important we point out that although the structure will be very different and the staffing severely reduced, we'll still be operating other services, as Signposts Services, from Rising Brook Church.
As those changes roll out over the next few weeks it will reduce some of our interactions including those with this forum, but for now if there are any questions we can answer then we welcome enquiries through our contact form here: https://signposts-services.org.uk/contact-us/
 

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
The above is true, just to re-iterate the second paragraph,

"Signposts Services will continue to serve the wider community of Staffordshire including Highfields through several of our ongoing projects, from an alternative base. These include Storehouse; delivering donated furniture to those in need, Crash; helping people with garden and house repair challenges, Information & Guidance; helping those needing to navigate the benefit system, Open house; seeking to reduce the isolation felt by many elderly people and Food Bank providing for those in need."

It's important we point out that although the structure will be very different and the staffing severely reduced, we'll still be operating other services, as Signposts Services, from Rising Brook Church.
As those changes roll out over the next few weeks it will reduce some of our interactions including those with this forum, but for now if there are any questions we can answer then we welcome enquiries through our contact form here: https://signposts-services.org.uk/contact-us/
So does that mean you'll still get the little drips and drops from those of us who nominated you through Amazon Smile?
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
I'm incensed that the charlatans we have in power voted against extending the free school meals scheme. I'm even more incensed that sheeple will carry on donating a few tins to the food bank thinking that its ok to do this while still voting for the party responsible for children going hungry, like they clear their conscience on children being hungry by adding a tin of beans to the food bank collection and then vote for the exact system over and over that causes this hunger.

Anyway I digress! I'd like to donate to the food bank. Is there any in the North end I can donate to so I can walk to the donation point thereby not adding an unnecessary car to the road and cause more air pollution!? Thanks
 
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