Representation by NOAH Enterprise (NOAH Enterprise)
- Date submitted
- 6 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Non-statutory organisations
Dear Sir I am writing in support of Luton Risings plan for growth. As a recipient of the ‘Community Investment Programme’ our services have received funding for more than a decade which has generated significant year on year social impact in our town. We currently receive £76’000 pa which is 1/3 of the operating budget of our centre. NOAH is pleased to deliver accessible and responsive care to people experiencing homelessness in Luton. The doors to our welfare centre are open and we see lives being changed each and every day. Last year 752 different people came to our centre for help, we served 6,229 hot meals and we helped 297 different people to find accommodation. We seek to empower the strength of each person to create change and leave poverty behind. NOAH could not deliver this project without the assured and generous support of our trust and grants of which Luton Rising is the most significant. Their investment delivers on the funds priority outcomes to improve health and wellbeing as well as reduce poverty and disadvantage. We have been able to help people access a myriad of health support such as GP access, nursing and dentistry. We have helped people gain new skills, learn English and gain employment. The grant is utilised to employ staff who understand the accommodation landscape and give expert and realistic advice, they also help people to navigate the DWP and the NHS systems. We purchase food ingredients for meals and the grant contributes towards the cost of operating our welfare centre drop in building. Our understanding of the new Luton Rising proposals is that they will facilitate further economic growth for the region and increase the number of jobs that local people can apply for which we fully support. We want to see Luton thriving as a town with great local industries and improved connectively to allow business to innovate and generate prosperity for people in the region. The Luton Rising contribution to community support has been £7.4m this year and we are informed that there is potential for this to increase by an additional £13m by the mid 2040’s. NOAH’s ambition is to innovate and develop quality services which create lasting change for those facing poverty. Some of our projects have been showcased on the European Stage as international best practise such as our EUSS employment accommodation project which helped 78 people move from rough sleeping into work via immigration support and training. Next we are developing a new building which will enable us to utilise an adaptive space in which we can react to the changing poverty of our time be that younger people, older people, families, single people and people from all walks of lives and backgrounds. An increase in future investment will enable us to evolve our skills and training programme which will dovetail with the Luton Rising objective to make sure local people are supported and well placed in making future applications for jobs that are created by the forecast economic growth. Luton needs levelling up and NOAH believes that the Luton Borough Council 2040 vision to eliminate poverty is an ambitious and appropriate goal. Success of the airport will enable NOAH to further our impact which will positively transform the lives of the current and future generations of Lutonians. Paul Prosser Head of Welfare Services