Category

• Promising Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Prevention
• Mitigation
• Reduction
• Awareness

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Poverty driver

• Reduce cost of living
• Provide benefit in-kind (material)
• Provide benefit in-kind (experience)
• Increase income from benefits

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Keywords

• Community Action
• Cash-first
• Lived Experience
• Stigma
• Clothing

Aim

• To provide individuals give people access to the information and support they need to maximise their income.
• To connect individuals and families with organisations, who can provide advice and support related to Poverty related issues.
• To create potential employment opportunities through the Bikery and Bargain Box Charity Shop.
• To give individuals and families independent advice related to debt, housing, and employment rights.
• To provide educational initiatives such as employment training.

Summary

Gordon Rural Action (GRA) offers a wide range of vital services through the, Huntly Advice Hub which offers support to families and individuals in the Aberdeenshire area. The Organisation provides confidential and free advice on debt, housing, welfare benefits, budgeting, and energy costs.
The Advice Hub also offers community-led initiatives such as The Bikery, The Baby Bank, and Uniform Exchange, all of which have been introduced to tackle poverty.
GRA also operate a used goods shop named ‘The Bargain Box’. Profits from the shop contribute towards supporting local community services.
GRA also organise community events, which work towards reducing loneliness by providing and strengthening local support networks for vulnerable people.

What difference does it make?

Through various GRA initiatives such as, The Baby Bank, GRA has had a positive impact on Tackling Poverty at a local level. GRA’s various Projects have been helping to prevent and reduce poverty within Huntly for over 40 years.

Key take-aways

• Create communities that will always be in place for people in need.
• Prevent people from getting into a crisis rather than trying to get them out of one.
• Early intervention is a key for getting people out of financial difficulty, and early intervention in schools for improving mental health is key to people's well-being.

 

Organisations

Gordon Rural Action (GRA).

Location

Huntly (North Aberdeenshire).

The exact date is not known, but GRA has been operating for over 40 years.

Contact