New Life Centre

Bude New Life Centre

Bude New Life Centre

We have been working on a number of social provision projects within the North Cornwall community (centred on Bude) for the past four years. Our desire is to see lives and our community transformed through simple but effectively delivered projects. These projects will provide both a safety net under people's lives and also tools and support networks to assist them in making future progress for themselves.

Our previous project centre proved too small and restrictive for both the services provided and also the projects we wanted to develop. Therefore, we have leased and refurbished new premises. Bude New Life Centre has been set up as a limited company and charity,

The Foodbank and drop-in centre has been running for nearly seven years. A proven track record gained through hard work and consultation has resulted in hundreds of food parcels being distributed to individuals and families in crisis. This together with sign posting clients to other organisations; provision of furnishings for homes and offering befriending and counselling means we have both proven need and our ability to deliver vital services.

Engagement by volunteer workers with the clients has clearly shown the requirement for further services to meet needs. Crisis is by its nature unpredictable but many of the clients we have helped have underlying problems and deficiencies in their lives that we would like to seek to alleviate. Debt and money management, together with a lack of basic life skills are but two such needs. We intend to provide these services and education opportunities within the project for which we are seeking help from grant making trusts and generous individuals.

The lease of a new building, together with its refurbishment, to become fit for purpose, has enabled us to house these extension services and also to develop other community services identified anecdotally and also through a community consultation process.

The web site for Bude New Life Centre is http://www.budenewlifecentre.org/ or you can click on the links in the text below.



CAP Money Coaching Service provides (under the auspices of a Christian debt counselling organisation) training courses, seminars and counselling services to individuals and families that are facing difficulties because of debt or inadequate money management skills. Vibes After School Study Club will provide a safe environment in which young people (Year groups 7 - 11) can meet in a sociable setting to study, whilst offering parents a sense of reassurance that their children are safe in the between hours of school closing and parents arriving home from work. The Club will have access through an internet hotspot to web support for the young people to be able to study, do homework and research.Volunteer youth workers will be on hand to offer informal support advice and mentoring to young people. A café atmosphere will be created and refreshments available to the young people as well a suitable work surfaces and seating for them to be able to study. Meet and Eat Luncheon and Coffee Clubs provide meeting points and social / support groups for a wide range of centre users including the elderly, parents and toddlers. The project, meeting in Refuel, will help to deal with some of the problems of isolation caused by domestic circumstances and rural isolation.Befriending workers will be available to encourage conversation, social activities, peer mentoring and mutual support. Family Contact Centre We have provided a dedicated space for family contact to be facilitated and sustained for estranged families. The provision is a "home setting" in which parents and children can meet to spend time together and to form a base where children can be safely dropped off by one parent before being collected by another. The Life Skills Centre provides training areas teaching skills such as: · Catering · Home care · Home management · Family enrichment · Marriage enrichment · Parent support · Personal development · Job applications and interviews. The service is delivered by a range of providers who have expertise in the subject. Some courses are taught practically using dedicated spaces within the building e.g. Catering in the kitchen, home management in the Family Contact Centre. Others are delivered through teaching groups, seminars and longer courses. Youth and Children's Projects are provided in a dedicated space within the project. We will gradually see the development of a number of clubs/activities for young people and children. These projects will be in the Riverside Youth Suite. It is anticipated that a part/full time youth and children's worker will be appointed to develop the activities of this project The Food Bank and Care Centre continues to serve the needs of crisis intervention that it has been working with for the past 5 years. It provides food for clients in crisis who are referred by third party professional and voluntary agencies. A shower and bathroom facilities enables transient people to access personal hygiene facilities and a laundry enables personal clothing to be cleaned. This project is run in partnership with The Trussell Trust which has appointed this project as a "Centre of Excellence" Community spaces and lettings have been created to facilitate meetings for local groups and businesses. A conference hall (Riverside Conference Suite) has been created on the first floor. It isfully equipped with audio visual technology to enable gatherings of up to 50-60 people to be facilitated. A smaller meeting room (Riverside Lounge) is located on the ground floor.Disabled cloakroom facilities on ground and first floors.Lift for access to first floor. A two bedroom apartment has been created on the second floor.