The Justlife Centre in Manchester has been open for nearly 3 years now and 2013 was the busiest yet. The more established that we become, the more people know that they can turn to us. But the rise in numbers isn't just because of that. Benefit changes and increased sanctioning, growing levels of homelessness and cuts in other services mean that more people are coming to Justlife.Staff and volunteers helped 234 different people, who visited the centre 5161 times. We saw 44 new people and 159 individuals received one to one support or more intensive project work. The Justlife skills building workshops proved popular, with 113 different attendees. These workshops are brilliant at building relationships and improving confidence, as well as learning something new.Led by the nurse, Justlife gave health advice to 170 people and made 148 health interventions, helping to improve the health of some of the most vulnerable people in the city. The nurse made 30 onward referrals, ensuring people's health needs were properly tended to.And how many meals? Justlife served 2,766 meals at the Manchester centre. That's a lot of cooking!As we grow, we are always learning, asking questions and adapting to meet the needs that we see in our community. We are excited to be in the midst of a busy January already and grateful that we are able to help so many.
