Local community group, Wanstead and Woodford Migrant Support (WWMS), is today celebrating after being awarded £20,000 in National Lottery funding to support its work with refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants in Redbridge. The group, based in Chigwell Road, Woodford Green, will use the money to address housing needs, whilst working with the community to develop solutions to related and often complex issues.

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WWMS has been running since 2017 and is run by one paid member of staff and 6 volunteers. This is a Christian initiative that was founded to provide support, advice and advocacy to migrants facing overwhelming difficulties.

As well as providing housing support, the group offers immigration advice and representation, and runs bi-monthly coffee mornings on Saturdays. The coffee mornings are an opportunity for people to meet, make friends and access support. It is hoped that other activities will be available soon.

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The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will see the group working with beneficiaries and local partners to seek solutions to acute housing issues and related problems such as money and health. The National Lottery Community Fund recently launched its new strategy, ‘It starts with community’, which will underpin its efforts to distribute at least £4 billion of National Lottery funding by 2030.

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As part of this, the funder has four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.

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National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year The National Lottery Community Fund was able to distribute over half a billion pounds (£615.4 million) of life-changing funding to communities.

 

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk