Community Support Project
Since opening in 2008, Hope Corner Community Centre has run an informal weekday support drop-in service for local people who are in crisis, need or require help with a range of living challenges.
Four years ago, trustees of Barnet Churches Action (which oversees Hope Corner) relaunched this as the drop-in as the Community Support Project and put resources and training into making it our primary care and referral service, able to provide better relief in need to residents.
The Community Support Project has helped hundreds of local people who have been facing immediate crisis issues (social, economic, medical, criminal, etc.) and longer-term problems that have affected their quality of life.
Many of the people we engage with either do not know where to get assistance or find the process complicated or overwhelming. We acknowledge that there are governmental and local organisations who could assist but often these are difficult to find or are inundated with enquiries.
The drop-in runs Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 2.00pm.
1-to-1 sessions
During the drop-in, there have been occasions when the Community Support Project manager was engaged in lengthy sessions with some people, often when the centre has been particularly busy during opening hours to the general public.
In 2022-3, there were 44 documented occasions when residents required assistance with form-filling, complex referrals and follow-up communications, as well as printing and sending documents on their behalf.
To meet this need, BCA introduced 1to1 sessions during weekday afternoons. The Community Support Project manager was then able to make appointments with residents to go through their cases in detail, giving the required time to deal with more complex issues in a calmer atmosphere. It also has allowed the manager to devote time to follow up on residents’ enquiries and seek the right services to assist them further.
For a 1-to-1 session, please contact the Community Support Manager to make an appointment on 020 8364 8756 or email hopecorner@outlook.com.