The Beverley Cherry Tree Community Centre was originally set up by Steve Snowden, a social worker and father of Matt, who graces our front cover, as a charity in 1993. Its remit is to help prevent or relieve poverty and advance health and save life through the provision of advice, advocacy, information, services and human resources; education and training; community development; provide facilities and open space to be used by the disabled and elderly, children and young people. Manager since 2006, Jo Ramsay, says Cherry Tree is needed more than ever as its rooms are in constant use and office space is at a premium. Just Beverley went to meet Jo to find out what she does in an average day!
There is no such thing as an average day for Jo! There is such a lot going on! But it’s like a ship – there is no back door, you can’t jump off. As well as managing the team to keep them motivated, which can be difficult when they cannot help someone or they run out of money, much of Jo’s work is case work. The day we visited, the photocopier, which is
in constant use, had gone wrong and the phones were playing up; there was a room full of people waiting to be seen for advice, a ladies’ support group for carers, single Mums and anyone who needs time out was meeting downstairs and the
playgroup was in full swing. Needless-to-say, the kettle was on constantly…
Beverley Town Council help with the Centre’s running costs which pays for the telephone, internet, water, fuel, insurance and council tax whilst East Riding of Yorkshire Council funds a part-time adviser and receptionist. The ERYC grant has not increased since 2008, restricting the hours the Centre opens and increasing the reliance on volunteers. Jo would like to open 24/7 because there are not enough hours in the day to help all the people who call on them. The Trustees apply to charities for more funding – Jo is particularly complimentary of Reckitts.
Various agencies house themselves at the Cherry Tree Centre, including the Probation Service and Humberside Substance Misuse and Addiction so room rental does provide income. Jo said: “We get 15-18 people at our Friday Drop -in. We deal with Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) problems and Personal Independent Payments (PIP) as well as homelessness and sofa-surfers, regularly adding 4 new people, of all ages, to the list every week. There is no day shelter in Beverley although we can usually find them a bed for the night. The homeless can use Cherry Tree as an address to help them access benefits. We constantly battle the Council who say these people aren’t vulnerable. One case can take over… we have to put in place checks and balances to ensure people aren’t abusing the system but we can see clients up to 12 or 15 times to get them their benefits and then they only last for a year, so we have to start again.
It’s stressful for them, especially if they have mental health problems, as well as for us. We provide food vouchers for the hungry on Tuesdays and Thursdays which can be redeemed at the Food Bank at Toll Gavel Church on Wednesdays or at The Hub in Mill Lane on Fridays. I think it’s dreadful that we live in a society where we need Food Banks and allow so many people to be on benefits.”
Constant use of equipment means Cherry Tree would welcome donations of computers and other IT equipment as well as cash. But they would also welcome housewares such as pots, pans and wooden spoons, fabric and curtains and gardening
equipment. The Pre-school playgroup needs paints and crafts, glue, card and even pasta as does the Messy Time Parent and Toddler Group, which is separate to the Pre-school. The Breakfast Club for children which becomes a Holiday Club for under
11’s in the school holidays also welcomes donations. Additionally, they are a drop-off centre for clothes for Syrian refugees and they also work with asylum seekers.
Cherry Tree’s vital work was recently recognised when it was awarded the Duke of York Community Initiative Award. Jo, along with other members of the team, went to meet Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace!
Jo said: “He was lovely! Assessors had been to see us three times, talk to Trustees and volunteers and to service users to find out about the vital work we do and the high standards we achieve. No-one else in this area has won this award – the nearest to us is Recall in York and Whitby. Through this award, we’ve been able to network, develop new policies and
procedures so we can do things even better. Our Trustees are all volunteers – local people who give of their time and expertise because they care.
Having won this award and have our work recognised, we are even more enthusiastic about expanding our service to weekends and be able to offer more during the week. We would especially like to speak to people who can help our Advisor,
Steve, and me with advice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon/early evening and at weekends. We can train people! Recently joining us we have an ex-headteacher, an ex-newspaper editor and someone from industry – everyone is
considered!
This article originally appeared in local magazine Just Beverley.