We’re offering a ‘warm space’ for women to escape the bitter winter cold

Throughout the year we offer women a safe and secure place to shelter from everything the world can throw at them.

Now, with the winter freeze truly underway, simply keeping warm is a huge challenge to many of them.

The National Grid has made an important contribution to our work in this area by awarding us a generous grant under a national campaign it created to reduce the harms of fuel poverty.

The grant is a welcome contribution to the cost of running drop-in sessions at our London Road base.

In the time they spend with us, we ensure our clients get a good nutritious meal and, if they need further help, a shower, a change of clothes and a food parcel to take away with them.

For many of them, a few hours among friends in the drop-in is one of the highlights of the week.

The sessions also give our staff a chance to talk to the women, establish exactly what help they need and put together a care package to ensure they get the support they need.

During the cold spell, time spent in our drop-in could literally be a life-saver.

The National Grid’s £5 million Community Matters Fund is helping more than 700 grassroots organisations run projects to tackle fuel poverty this winter – the largest amount it has ever awarded in one go.

It has allocated £7,587 to The New Futures Project in this latest round of awards.

Carl Martin, direct services manager at the New Futures Project, said: “We are extremely grateful for this award from the Community Matters Fund. It will help us keep people warm, fed and looked after through winter.

“The New Futures Project works with some of the most vulnerable women in our community. 

“Being in a position to offer those women a comfortable and warm space to visit and relax in will enable us to tackle some of the huge disadvantages they are faced with on a daily basis.

“Again, we’d like to say a huge thank you to National Grid Electricity Distribution for this welcome boost.”

Chris Hayton, director of corporate affairs at National Grid, said: “Unfortunately, we know that many people will struggle to keep their homes warm this winter.

“At a time when addressing fuel poverty has never been more critical, our Community Matters Fund will support local groups to deliver help where it’s most needed.

“We’re looking forward to working with community groups to create positive change and to seeing the results of their hard work.”

New Futures was set up more than 20 years ago to support women involved in sex work.

However, we have evolved into a welfare and counselling service for women and young people dealing with sexual abuse or exploitation – frequently involving domestic violence, trafficking, poverty and debt, substance use or mental ill-health.

Call us on 0116 251 0803 or send us a message at: info@new-futures.org.uk

You can find us at 71 London Road, Leicester, LE2 0PE.