Page 6 - Aspire_Social_Impact_Report_2021
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NO GOING BACK
Responding to the challenge of COVID-19
When COVID-19 began, Aspire’s team members worked tirelessly to ensure we continued to reach those in need, sustaining their access to personalised employment, housing, homelessness prevention and wellbeing support.
The restrictions of the pandemic forced us to adapt. We worked with local partners to ensure the people we supported had food, medication and access to emergency accommodation.
We also made sure they were able to maintain contact with their support workers and loved ones through the digitisation of 1:1 guidance, offering hundreds of devices and additional support with connectivity to ensure our beneficiaries could stay connected.
This new way of working came with extra costs. Our Emergency and Christmas Appeals - ‘No One Left Behind’ - raised over £100,000, enabling us to step up to meet the need for our support across housing and homelessness prevention in the key months of the pandemic. We established emergency accommodation
in Oxford city for people experiencing rough sleeping - by rapidly converting long-term empty properties into homes in time for
winter - and we expanded our homelessness prevention and supported housing teams.
None of this would have been possible without the generous support of local people and organisations in our community, trusts and foundations - we are so grateful to everyone who supported our appeals!
Paul, Head of Homelessness Programmes
 “I was so
grateful for Aspire delivering food parcels and offering daily telephone support during lockdown. It helps my mental health knowing someone is at the other end of the phone.”
S, ‘HOUSING FIRST’ PARTICIPANT
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