News & Blog

Case study of how financial support transformed the life of a refugee in the Sheffield area.

Ms Z* arrived in the UK in March 2019 after fleeing her native country of Iran where she was an architect and sought asylum here. Great Places colleagues first met Ms Z* to help support her future goals and make plans for the future. Ms Z* was proactive and attended various ESOL and English support classes, taking place […]

In response to the restrictions imposed by lockdown, the Community Investment Team had to adapt the Great Places employability offer. Previously Great Places held regular jobs fairs in different venues, including local community centres. The challenge was to deliver a similar experience for our customers online, providing relevant information, advice and guidance. In December the […]

What was John’s situation? John moved into his property in June 2020. Previously he’d been living in a campervan on an industrial estate, and before this on a friend’s field in a tin shed with two horses. John’s living situations were the result of a relationship breakdown. John had been in this situation for around […]

This week is Volunteer’s Week (1-7 June 2021), and at Great Places, we want to recognise volunteers for the fantastic contribution they make to our communities as well as share how volunteering impacts the work we do as an organisation. Great Places’ social purpose ethos means we exist to support some of the most disadvantaged […]

Blackpool based mental health support service, Stand Together and Recover (STAR), is receiving expert advice from legal specialists Bevan Brittan, thanks to social value support offered as part of its involvement with Great Places’ Legal Services Procurement Framework. Bevan Brittan responded to STAR’s request for help in securing new premises as part of its plans […]

Partnership and cross-organisational working is so important when it comes to tackling all aspects of homelessness. When Great Places met Charlie, through our Social Impact Bond outreach work his primary need was a home. He had a long history of failed tenancies, homelessness and going in and out of custody. His most recent accommodation was […]

Sally is just one of our customers that has benefitted from our Hardship Fund.  Sally is a well-known Great Places Customer who lives alone and relies heavily on her Local Community Centre for support and advice. Due to the current Coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the community centre, she has been struggling to access […]

We are proud to work with organisations supporting women and girls in our communities and to coincide with International Women’s Day at the start of this week we  wanted to highlight the Community Investment Team’s ongoing support for the  Idle Women project in in Lancashire. Idle Women is an arts and social justice project that […]