'From thriving to surviving': Northamptonshire charity boss shares concerns about getting through coronavirus pandemic

The boss of a Northamptonshire charity supporting people in the criminal justice system believes they have 'gone from thriving to surviving' during the coronavirus pandemic.

C2C Social Action has opened an allotment in Northampton and opened a new women's centre in Kettering having spent lockdown relying on home visits and Zoom.

Chief executive Angie Kennedy said grants have kept the lights on but the future is a worry if they do not get more financial support from the authorities or funding pots dwindle.

"It's really moving from thriving to surviving - we have essential services that we provide and we're looking at anything and everything we can to maintain them," she told this newspaper.

"We're looking creatively and in the community to do things outside the box but we're just trying to keep going and maintain those service which are so desperately needed."

C2C Social Action offers a range of help to men, women and children who have mostly found themselves in court for all sorts of reasons which can be helped.

Unhealthy relationships, drugs, alcohol or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time can be factors towards offending and the Christian charity works to solve issues and remove barriers.

C2C set up the Good Loaf cafe in Northampton as a project to help offenders but it has since become its own community interest company.

The coronavirus lockdown brought several challenges, mainly having to close its busy women's centre in Northampton and having to do everything virtually or from the doorstep.

Angie said: "We had to go door-to-door delivering food and doing welfare checks on the door to make sure people were okay.

"Now that's reduced a great deal the food parcels are collected from the women's centre and we're encouraging people to come out but we're only open by appointments so it's hugely limited."

C2C Social Action's biggest fundraiser, bring the Knife Angel to Northampton in June, has been postponed to May, 2021, meaning a lot of potential donations have been lost.

The new allotment allows the social workers and offenders to meet outdoors in a private space where they can discuss any issues and do something rewarding by growing their own produce.

While the new centre in Kettering gives the charity another base in an important area of the county to help even more women.

Both projects and the day-to-day work would not be possible without grant funding as it is C2C's only revenue stream except some money from the Probation Service.

Volunteers started selling masks during the lockdown otherwise the organisation does not trade anything so it relies on generous trusts and different charitable pots to pay the bills.

According to analysis by the JPIMedia Data Unit, which this newspaper is part of, C2C Social Action received £45,000 in grants relating to coronavirus - the highest in the county.

Angie believes they deserve more government or council backing due to the scale of the work they do and how much of a deficit there would be if they folded.

"We are the only organisation in Northamptonshire that does this, that works with offenders, and we have got the only women's centre in the county," she said.

"We're not expected to do it but we're relied upon to do that as a service and yes we want to help these women but sometimes it feels like yes, we are the best place, but the government and council need to invest in the charitable sector."