Nine charities across the UK have been given a boost by us to provide additional support for vulnerable people.
As a business we have provided additional funding that will help the nine charities deliver key services such as emotional wellbeing support, financial advice and medicine deliveries.
UK charities supported by this fund include:
- The British Red Cross, who have received £5,000 to help 140 elderly people and asylum seekers with food parcels, medicine delivery and welfare checks across Glasgow, Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Borders, Fife and Midlothian.
- The Carers Trust North Wales Crossroads Care Service has received £5,000 that will provide telephone emotional support services as well as practical resources for families and those in vulnerable situations.
- Dumfries and Galloway Carers Centre have been awarded £5,000 to provide 125 carers who have been struggling with the implications of COVID-19 with supermarket vouchers to buy basic essentials for themselves and their families.
- Glasgow’s Golden Generation has also been awarded £5,000 to deliver food parcels, books and puzzles to more than 1,000 elderly people and those with dementia across the city.
- Local Solutions in Liverpool has received £5,896 to help 175 unpaid carers and their families with living costs, unexpected expenses and travel – through a new emergency fund for those affected by Covid-19 in the Liverpool City Region and North Wales.
- Support in Mind has received £4,000 to buy essential technology so the charity can continue to offer 1-to-1 support and counselling for people affected by mental health in Glasgow, East Kilbride and Angus.
- South Gwynedd Foodbank has been awarded £3,000 to top-up energy for vulnerable people who need extra support with their fuel.
- Food delivery charity Food Train has received £5,000 that will help more than 200 vulnerable people across Scotland access groceries and receive wellbeing check-in phone calls.
- East End Carers in Glasgow was awarded £5,000 to provide additional training, helpline sessions and tech-based mindfulness and relaxation sessions to support families with autistic children.
The funding announcement follows the business signing up to the C-19 Business Pledge. Alongside the crucial job of keeping the lights on for 3.5 million households, we have committed to help customers, employees and the communities we serve through recovery from Covid-19.
Guy Jefferson, Customer Service Director SP Energy Networks, said: “Alongside our crucial work to keep the lights on and the power flowing, we’re committed to supporting people in our communities throughout the recovery from Covid-19. Helping these important charities ensure that our most vulnerable customers across Scotland have the help they need. “If you’ve received a letter from the NHS advising you that you are ‘at risk’ from Covid-19 then I’d really encourage you to sign up for SP Energy Networks’ Priority Services Register so you can access these additional services.”
Alex Gallagher, Response Hub Leader at British Red Cross Glasgow said: "Throughout the pandemic, the British Red Cross has been helping people who have been hit hardest by the coronavirus and those at risk of falling through the gaps.
“Right now, we are giving the most vulnerable people in our society a lifeline with access to essential medicines, food, and financial support. We are also providing welfare and emotional support to people who are lonely and isolated. We are grateful to SP Energy Networks for helping us to plug those gaps. Right now, every act of kindness matters.”
Steve Hawkins, Chief Executive of Local Solutions, said: "We work with people across the Liverpool Region and North Wales to improve people's lives who face disadvantage. SP Energy Networks' support will help 175 carers and their families through Liverpool Carers Centre's health and wellbeing service on Zoom, as well as enabling us to support carers in crisis during this difficult period. Unpaid carers continue to be our unsung heroes, caring for family members, often for many hours a day.”
Alison Jones, chief executive of Carers Trust North Wales Crossroads Care Services, said: "Our work improves the lives of carers and the family members they care for by giving them some breathing space. We're proud to be helping 200 families in North Wales with the help of SP Energy Networks – providing emotional support or technology to make their lives a little easier."
People who have received a letter from the NHS advising them that they are ‘at risk’ and should take additional measures to protect themselves from Covid-19 are being advised to sign up for SP Energy Networks’ Priority Services Register. This provides free additional services to customers in vulnerable circumstances if there is an unexpected power cut. They should sign up at spenergynetworks.co.uk or text PSR to 61999.
More information about how SP Energy Networks is responding to Covid-19 is available at www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/covid.