Wave Community Bank has recently launched a new Help Point in Newhaven in an effort to help local residents access financial services and help with managing their money.
This new Help Point is at the Havens Community Hub and we met up with Paula Woolven the founder to find out more about this local treasure.
For those that don’t know the Havens Community Hub is a CIC that became active in the community in 2019 because the Founder, Paula Woolven, knew that there were pockets of unmet needs that she could work with the community to meet by creating sustainable projects.
Starting with a simple desk and phone in her garage in Telscombe Cliffs, Paula was then offered a community space ‘at 2a Thompson Road, BN9 0RS in Denton near Newhaven in 2020, where they are still based.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, three main projects were launched. Havens Community Cars, a volunteer car driver scheme to help people unable to use public transport, Havens Food Cooperative, a waste reduction, and priority redistribution food pantry, and Havens Happy Clubs, activity and social clubs for older people with complex needs.
Havens Community Cars is now a charity in its own right, with over 500 members being supported by 25 volunteer drivers.
Havens Food Cooperative works with 18 local supermarkets to provide a 365-day-a-year pick-up and free redistribution of food services supporting hundreds of households, community groups and charities, and other environmental causes. They redistribute over 1 ton of perishable food per week that would have otherwise been destined for landfill.
Havens Happy Clubs provides a warm, safe environment for older people to meet, have lunch and enjoy inclusive activities including singing, crafts, and entertainers.
The Hub also offers support and guidance to other local charities and causes to help them remain sustainable and active.
Havens Community Hub and its projects and sister charity have always had one simple ethos, “we’ll find a way, or we’ll make a way” and where community need remains unmet, the team of over 50 volunteers and 13 part-time staff will work to provide a solution.
With no government funding provided, Havens Community Hub raises money in a variety of ways from sponsored events to applying for small grant pots from local funders.
With the ‘perfect storm’ of the pandemic followed by the fuel and energy crisis and the rising cost of living, the services of Havens Community Hub and its projects have increasingly been called on with resources being stretched thin. The latest price-cap rise in energy costs is predicted to create even more users of the services of the Hub projects and one concern for the management team of the Hub is the thought of people turning to ‘loan sharks’ or disreputable lenders to cope with higher outgoings.
We asked Paula what difference it would make to local residents to have a Help Point at the hub and here’s what she said:
“I think Wave Community Bank approaching us at this time to have a session at the Hub in Thompson Road, Denton could offer so many positive opportunities and prevent people from being forced to take high interest or loan shark payments to make ends meet at this very difficult time for us all,” said Paula “Community Banking from a Community Hub just makes sense. Wave Community Bank’s ethical, sustainable, successful savings and loan schemes match the ethos of the Hub – providing joint solutions for all members of our community.”
Our Help Point at the Havens Community Hub is every Wednesday from 1.30-3.30pm. You don’t need to make an appointment and you can drop in for a warm welcome, a friendly chat, and help to better manage your money.
