Everyone is talking about it. Sometimes it’s difficult to speak about much else. It’s affecting all of us and many of us are having to change our lives in ways we’ve never had to before.
At ASSIST Sheffield things have also had to change. Closing the night shelter, reducing our appointments and the closure of the drop-in have all been very difficult decisions to make. Our fundraising and training activities have also been hugely curtailed.
But work hasn’t just stopped. The offices are quiet and 4 of our 9 staff are now self isolating, but we are all still working hard to ensure that our clients' needs are being met. We are continuing to provide vital cash welfare payments and bus passes. Our night shelter is closed but all of our regular guests have somewhere to sleep. We have managed to move a couple into our houses and others have found friends to stay with. We continue to keep in touch.
We have set up systems to communicate with clients to make sure everyone is up to date and we are regularly monitoring our phones if someone needs us. All clients are now receiving a regular welfare phone call.
We don’t know how long this will go on for. We don’t know how many fundraising events will have to be cancelled or delayed. What we do know is we really want to be able to continue to support our clients the best we can in these difficult times.
If you feel able to support us to provide welfare payments for as long as possible we would be very grateful. Please use the link at the top of the page to donate.
Thank you.