December's One Swale Roadshows

Published Tuesday 5 December, 2023
Last updated on Thursday 22 February, 2024

Swale Borough Council, in conjunction with Swale CVS and Faversham Community Networking Group, will be organising more roadshows to help people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

The first round of One Swale Roadshows helped over 300 people by bringing them together with 21 organisations that offer valuable support and advice.

This included receiving energy saving products, free clothing, health checks, information about benefits, housing and foodbanks as well as some even saving 45% on their water bill.

Following this success, the council will now be hosting a series of events across four locations up until the end of March 2024.

Each month’s events will have a theme, allowing more targeted help to reach the people who need it, but guidance and assistance on other topics will still be available.

The upcoming themes are:

• December: Fuel and Emergency Support
• January: Debt, Financial, Benefits Advice
• February: Health and Wellbeing
• March: General advice and support

The One Swale Roadshows are partly funded by the UK Government's Household Support Fund and Swale Borough Council.

Cllr Richard Palmer, the Chair of the community committee said:

“We understand that the cost-of-living crisis is putting a heavy burden on the households in our community.

“Everything is now more expensive than ever, but families' incomes haven’t increased accordingly, leaving many struggling to pay their bills.

“The One Swale Roadshows are an opportunity for us to get the information and support to the people who are worried about and struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

“We as a council offer support to the community but there are organisations around the borough that are doing amazing things to try and help those in need too.

“It was amazing to see the safe space we created filled with hardworking organisations all under one roof, and witnessing all the engagement from the community was heart-warming.

“Whether offering money saving advice, benefit support, free clothing and much more, these events have made a real impact for our community.

“Healthcare is also very important and the roadshows helped people get the access they need, being able to get health checks as well as flu vaccines.

“We will now be hosting these events more regularly for the next few months, so please go to your nearest one and take full advantage of the support they can offer.”

The roadshows for December will be:

The event in Sheerness will be hosted on Friday 15^th December 2023 in the Sheppey Gateway, 38-42 High St, Town Centre, Sheerness ME12 1NL.

The event in Leysdown will be hosted on Tuesday 19^th December 2023 in the Eastern Sheppey Community Hub, Nutts Ave, Leysdown-on-Sea, Sheerness ME12 4QQ.