“without the help of EAST DURHAM TRUST I don’t dare think about what would have happened to us. We were living hand to mouth and were at rock bottom with nowhere to turn.

​I can’t thank THe trust enough, they really are lifesavers.”

Stop Poverty in East Durham (or SPIED) is a 3 year project funded by the Big Lottery Fund. The project is intended to combat the effects of Poverty within East Durham through a number of different initatives. These are:

Benefit Checks and Support: We run a number of drop ins where local people can find out what benefits they are entitled to. Over £16.6 billion goes unclaimed in benefits every year. We also have trained volunteer Welfare Champions who can support people with issues around their benefits including support to complete forms and applications.
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Debt Advice: East Durham Trust is a Debt Advice Centre and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Welfare Champions are trained to support local people with issues around debt including debt plans.

Holiday Activities with Food: The project supports activities in community centres across East Durham for children during the holidays that include food to combat holiday hunger.

Transport to Work Scheme: The project is able to support local people who are having difficulties getting to work. This includes training, interviews, education and the first week of a new job. The scheme offers either access to a trained volunteer driver or a bus pass.
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Community Job Clubs: Community Job Clubs are based in community venues enabling local people to access support around mandatory job searches, CV writing, interview skills, accessing recruitment sites and more.