We helped Emma apply for housing via the local council homelessness team and after coming across complications in this process, we had to advocate on her behalf in order to get the council to find her suitable accommodation and not leave her street homeless.

Once we were successful in this process, we sorted out her benefits which included housing benefit and council tax reduction. Emma and her son are in a safe, stable situation now, and Emma has a steady income and the ability to provide for her child. Finally, through this experience, she was introduced to many families in the Oasis family and now has the support of not just Oasis but also her local community.

From our work in housing to education, immigration to youth work, mental health to debt advice and much more – by donating today you can help ensure that we can continue building the Waterloo community; where everyone is included, making a contribution and reaching their potential. 

As a movement, we see the impact of poverty, inequality, and lack of opportunity on a daily basis. The continued cost-of-living crisis, increased levels of social isolation and post-pandemic mental health problems has shown that the need for healthy and inclusive communities has never been greater.

We rely on your generous donations to support people like Emma, who came to us when she found herself homeless after being kicked out of her house by her grandmother due to getting pregnant. Emma’s son was born extremely prematurely and had multiple health conditions, and they were living in a shelter.

This Lent/Ramadan, what one thing could you go without so that others can go with?

This Lent/Ramadan, we are putting out a challenge to the whole community: what one thing could you go without so that others can go with?

We are inviting people to pick one thing to give up throughout this period, either on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and to donate the money saved to the Lambeth Foodbanks, via our Justgiving page, so that it can benefit those who really need it..

Food poverty in the UK is on the increase and in the last year alone we distributed over 27,000 emergency food parcels. People don’t just need food however, they need the wraparound support we offer to help them identify and tackle the root causes of their food poverty.

 

This year, Lent and Ramadan overlap. It provides us all with a perfect opportunity to take stock of what we have and consider how we can share it with others to build a stronger, more resilient community. It could be a morning coffee you go without or a shop-bought lunch, a trip to the cinema or that new jumper you don’t really need. Whatever you choose to go without, and however often, it will all make a big difference to the lives of others.

To take part in this appeal and to spread the word, go to www.justgiving.com/campaign/whatonething

 

You can follow Oasis Hub Waterloo on Instagram @oasiswaterloo or follow our Foodbank @waterloofb

 

We rely on our community to share the word about what we do, so please do share this campaign with your friends, families and work colleagues. If every person who read this, shared it with ten others, our reach could be huge!