CCB Family Home Energy Education and Advice Project

In 2015 the Berkshire Community Foundation funded CCB’s Family Home Energy Education & Advice project to support 141 families with young children in fuel poverty. Helen Dean, CCB’s Energy Advice Project Co-ordinator, advised vulnerable and low income families of ways in which they can reduce their home energy costs and be more energy efficient. This project provided drop-in advice sessions, across 15 Children's Centres across Berkshire, on how to reduce home energy costs. Training was provided to 23 family support workers and 45 families were supported in claiming the Warm Home Discount of £140, which levered in £6,300 of income to low income families that they would not have otherwise received. 

There are pockets of considerable deprivation in areas across Berkshire, and this project targets low income families in those areas attending Children's Centres. Ten of the sessions were in the Slough area, which has the highest index of multiple deprivation in Berkshire. A report published 2015, echoed the government statistic that over 1 million families were in fuel poverty, 45% of those in fuel poverty in the UK. In their survey 78% of families said they struggled with their energy bills last year, 75% struggled to heat their homes so no-one felt cold, 75% of families said cold homes were harming their children's health, and 53% said cold homes were impacting their children's school work. 

The Berkshire Community Foundation announced in September that they will provide some more funding for six sessions targeted at low income families, and other vulnerable groups. Helen will be using the funding to form new partnerships with organisations who support vulnerable individuals, such as the Carers Project in Slough, and Homestart West Berkshire. This Tuesday, Helen visited a mother and baby group run by Homestart and was able to give 1:1 consultations on reducing home energy costs to the families that Homestart support at the group. 

This winter Helen will be busily zipping through Berkshire to provide families and practitioners with energy saving advice. CCB also has funding from the Big Energy Saving Network to give talks and consultations on reducing home energy costs, targeting low income families and frontline workers. The next session coming up is a drop in advice session at Romsey Close Children’s Centre Health Visitor Clinic on 22nd November 9.30 am-11.30 am. That afternoon Helen is doing a talk to the volunteers at Slough food bank so that they can advise their clients on ways to reduce their home energy costs. On December 7th Helen is going to talk to the Health Visitor and Nursery Nurses team for Windsor and Maidenhead. If you would like to get in contact with Helen e-mail helen.dean@ccberks.org.uk