We are piloting a project, Next Steps, funded by City Bridge Foundation.
We initially worked with partners in the Camden and Islington areas of London between September 2021 and 31st March 2023 and we have now extended the project to Enfield and Barnet April 2023- March 2024. We are now working across London until the end of the project in March 2025.
The project is focusing on areas such as mental health, work and benefits, domestic abuse, legal advice, disability, parenting and food poverty.
The aim of the project is to work with other local and UK-wide agencies and organisations to offer further support to single parents that goes beyond the remit of Gingerbread’s advice service and signposting. We have collaborated with a number of partners throughout the course of this project on various pilots. Our ultimate aim is to offer ‘seamless referral pathways’ and we are carrying on looking at how this best can be achieved and what works best for single parents and for organisations. This is a collaborative process and Next Steps can be seen as a learning project and we are working with an experienced evaluator (M2). We are working capacity in the organisations to look at the possibilities for a successful collaboration.
We are also offering a workshop focused on single parents’ needs. The workshops challenge assumptions and stigma and help identify single parents’ support needs. A single parent volunteer is involved in the delivery of these workshops. The events can be adapted to the needs of the organisation and range from a short presentation to a longer workshop/webinar with a discussion or a Q&A. They mainly take place online but can also take place in person.
If you are interested in finding out more please contact Mimmi Brostromer, Advice Development Officer.