Response Fund

What we are hearing from charities

Voluntary organisations across Surrey have adapted quickly and efficiently to continue supporting our vulnerable local residents, but many are now at a crisis point due to pressures brought on by the pandemic, including severe financial loss and the surge in demand for their services.

A recent report released by the National Emergencies Trust (NET) states that 1 in 8 people living in the UK expect to seek support from a charity or voluntary body in the next 12 months, as a direct result of challenges created by Covid-19. For more than half (61%) of these people, it will be the first time they have ever sought charitable support.

We have been working closely together with organisations across the county, to identify crucial areas where funding support from our community is most needed. Key issues and concerns include:

• Significant loss of income from all sources
• Significantly increased demand for services
• Lack of resilience in their organisations due to staff and services being stripped to minimal essential levels
• The human cost of the pandemic
• The long-term effects on communities – for years to come

Organisations are also increasingly having to deal with severe issues and worsening of conditions amongst their existing beneficiaries.

One local organisation that supports people with physical, mental and learning disabilities informed us: “Many of our customers have challenging behaviours and thrive on routine, and the uncertainty and restrictions have had a negative impact on them. Similarly, we support many people with acute mental health and anxiety issues, and the isolation and uncertainty has triggered a worsening of symptoms. There has been an increase in incidents of challenging behaviour and mental health crisis over the last two months”.

Further findings can be found on the Data and Insights pages below.

As we move into a period where restrictions are being gradually lifted there is a sense that life will start to move back towards normality. However, for many, the impact of the pandemic will continue for some considerable time to come.

From 2021 onwards we will be building our Surrey Community Fund. The Surrey Community Fund allows us, using our local knowledge and expertise, to get the funds to where the need is greatest quickly and efficiently.

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