Thames Reach receive grant as Lloyd’s of London Foundation charity partner

Thames Reach are delighted to have been selected as one of Lloyd’s of London Foundation’s partners for 2023. This selection was made after a vote by employees at Lloyd’s, resulting in a £50,000 grant to support financial resilience and digital skills training for people at risk of homelessness.

Thames Reach have been selected on the basis of fulfilling the Foundation’s criteria, including: supporting people and communities directly, demonstrating long-term sustainability, and supporting groups that are at risk and hardest to reach.

Our Employment and Skills team help the people we work with to move towards suitable employment by developing essential skills and finding sustainable jobs, thereby ensuring they can afford their rent, pay utility and food bills, and ultimately keep their homes, ever more so, during the current cost of living crisis. With this grant, the Employment and Skills team will be able to help 2,000 people this year.

Thames Reach’s Employment and Skills programme includes the following strands:

• Financial Resilience and Digital Inclusion: IT training and equipment to ensure the people that we support have the skills essential for the day-to-day activities of everyday life.
• Information Advice and Guidance: to help a person to establish their goals, objectives and aims (keep a roof over their head, pay the bills, train and develop skills, and seek employment).
• Access to Training including English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL): over 50% of the people currently sleeping rough in London are non-UK nationals and need to improve language skills in order to access work.
• Volunteering: we provide people with little recent experience of the workplace environment, an opportunity to volunteer with appropriate support and training to build confidence, self-resilience, workplace skills which are a precursor to a pathway into employment.
• Job Brokerage: we provide job brokerage with employers, as we help people prepare to move into work, including interview preparation, work placement, and matching people with supportive job offers.
• Step Up: we provide those already in work with support to increase their income and job security.

Bill Tidnam, Chief Executive at Thames Reach, said: “We are delighted to be one of Lloyd’s of London Foundation’s charity partners for this year. This generous support will allow us to expand our work preventing homelessness, by helping people to maintain their tenancies, develop skills, find work, and gain confidence. By providing digital skills and financial resilience advice to almost 2,000 people, we will be able to work towards closing the social and digital exclusion gap, and help people manage their own lives successfully.”

Zorina Begum, Area Manager for Employment, Skills and Prevention Services at Thames Reach said: “It is a privilege that Lloyd’s employees have chosen Thames Reach as one of their Foundation charity partners of the year. We very much look forward to the many opportunities to work with Lloyd’s employees as volunteers to support the delivery of our skills and employment homelessness prevention work, for instance as mentors to our service users, supporting with CV writing and interview skills.”

For editors:

Thames Reach is a charity based in London, supporting people facing homelessness through prevention, response, and recovery. The charity specialises in helping people with complex and multiple needs, including mental health and drug and alcohol use. It manages a range of services, including street outreach, frontline hostels, day services, specialist supported housing and employment and skills schemes. Thames Reach’s mission is to assist homeless and vulnerable adults to find decent homes, build supportive relationships and lead fulfilling lives. thamesreach.org.uk

The Lloyd’s of London Foundation is the independent charity founded and funded by Lloyd’s. We partner with people and charities to build resilient communities.

Society needs resilience more than ever: the ability to bounce back from unexpected events and prepare for a more sustainable, inclusive future.

That’s why we are working to empower and embolden communities through tangible action and long-term partnership.

We channel the resolve, relationships, and resources of the Lloyd’s market to open doors and drive real change for people around the world – instilling confidence and unlocking independence. www.lloyds.com/foundation