Feature: Looking at the work of the East Marsh Community Trust

HEADLINES describing the East Marsh as a "benefits ghetto" would have had a demoralising effect on residents living in the ward.

That is the view of Annmarie Webster, chief officer at the East Marsh Community Trust, a charity which offers advice and support to local people in need.

Although she says the findings of the report did not come as a massive surprise, she says it is important not to overlook the good work which goes on in the area.

And she believes organisations like hers can provide hope and opportunities for those struggling to get into employment.

"There are a lot of people living and working in the East Marsh that are working hard, providing for their families and to pick up the paper and to read that they are living in a benefits ghetto would have been very demoralising.

"I was not surprised by the report, because the East Marsh has had high indices of deprivation in the past, but we shouldn't forget the good stuff. There's so much good that goes on in the area.

"Everybody needs to have a little bit of hope, aspiration, a goal, something to work for. I only wish that we were bigger and could employ more people and offer more opportunities.

"Although we are based in the East Marsh, our clients come from all over North East Lincolnshire, and there's nothing unique about the problems people from the East Marsh present."

Based in Kent Street, the Trust comprises three different departments: The Community Advice Service (CAS), which provides free debt, welfare and consumer advice; Community Chest, which restores and sells donated furniture at a low cost to people in financial hardship; and Community Housing, which owns and rents out three homes on the regenerated Guildford Street to families.

Originally based at Second Avenue Resource Centre on the Nunsthorpe Estate, the CAS moved in 2009 to Kent Street, where Community Chest was initially located.

By then the shop had already outgrown the modest premises, and moved to a larger unit round the corner in Freeman Street.

In March 2010 the separate services were brought under the banner of the East Marsh Community Trust.

As well as providing vital support to those in need, the charity has also helped people get back into work by offering work placements and training. While many volunteers have used the skills and experience gained on their placement to find jobs, others have secured paid positions with the trust directly off the back of volunteering.

"We have employed quite a few of our volunteers. That way we are growing and developing our staff."

The organisation currently has 15 volunteers working in a variety of roles, from admin to customer service and warehouse logistics – some of them having been originally referred there by the Jobcentre.

"That's how we get a lot of our volunteers," says Annmarie. "They come for a fortnight as part of their Jobseeker's Allowance criteria and they come back because they enjoy it so much."

Annmarie speaks from her own experience when she extols the benefits of volunteering.

"In 1993 I had been out of the workplace for three years after having my son. He started at nursery and I had a bit of spare time on my hands and I started volunteering for Impact, a drug and alcohol clinic in Grimsby.

"Those three years volunteering gave me the confidence to do a degree in applied social sciences, that I know I wouldn't have done otherwise, and here I am today.

"My success and achievements all stem from those three years working as a volunteer and I have never looked back since. I have always promoted the benefits of volunteering."

For more information about the East Marsh Community Trust call 01472 240256.