charities in brighton

There are two very successful charities in Brighton that are currently providing the services that we intend to recreate in our service, BUCFP and Off the Fence. Both of these charities mainly target the groups of people in Brighton who may be more vulnerable due to poverty, homelessness or unemployment whilst remaining completely diverse and inclusive.

BUCFP – Brighton unemployed centre families project

They provide support, education, advice and a safe location for Brighton families in poverty. They try not to distinctly specify who they are targeting but offer their services to those who are unemployed, in poverty, claim benefits, pensioners and etc..

They are currently offering a sewing class in Brighton that works on a drop in basis. It is a warm space for those who need it whilst offering a transferrable skill. They additionally offer a £1 vegan lunch for those who attend, it is just a donation so those who cannot afford it can still get involved. Something important is that they allow children to eat for free. This allows parents to spend their money on feeding themselves rather than their children, something very uncommon in poverty

Off the Fence – homeless and vulnerable charity

They provide a service to vulnerable, marginalised people of Brighton including the homeless, women at risk and vulnerable youth. They have over 150 volunteers that offer mentoring, prayer and reflection, lunch clubs for children, etc..

They are currently running a women’s gateway centre that supports and creates friendships for women who are currently experiencing challenges, crisis’s or emotional difficulty. Their project antifreeze aims to target the homelessness problem in Brighton. They give homeless people skills, necessities and other things that they may need free access to

 

I think in our project, it would be important to remember that these charities are not only helping these groups of people with physical items that may better their experiences, but also offering safe warm spaces. Especially in times of the cost of living, it is so important to remember that some people cannot afford to heat their homes so offering a warm space is enough for these people. Whilst additionally offering a transferrable skill like sewing and mending, there can be opportunities for people to gain a life skill and perhaps use it elsewhere. This would definitely be  something that we will offer with our concept, this would reduce the amount of clothing going to landfill by using mending and sewing techniques to used discarded textiles and garments to fix clothing that will greatly benefit the groups that cannot afford to replace garments as quickly as others.