A micro-site on the One Southend website has been published to help residents manage the cost-of-living crisis.
In September 2022, councillors agreed to declare a cost-of-living emergency. Southend-on-Sea City Council then moved to prepare resources, advice and other ways to support residents through the council’s own website and also via One Southend. The new online area hosts support in the form of videos, articles and links to further local and national schemes to help people deal with rising costs. This also includes a map of local provisions and a ‘warm places’ map.
The interactive maps display locations of where you can find food, clothes, toiletries and health items, and spaces where you can retreat to or work from to keep warm. It also displays contact information and operating hours of each organisation offering support, so make sure you check before you travel.
The council has also produced a booklet with the same information as the online webpage, which is due to be distributed to the city’s most vulnerable residents in physical and electronic form. The booklet will also be distributed digitally by some participating organisations of the provisions and warm spaces schemes.
Cllr Ian Gilbert, cabinet member for economic recovery, regeneration and housing, said: “It is fantastic to see how quickly the council and its partners in the voluntary sector have reacted to provide support for vulnerable residents. I hope that people will utilise the resources available and share the word of this new webpage on One Southend to help as many neighbours in Southend as possible.”
One Southend is a community-led digital platform which aims to support and celebrate residents in the City of Southend-on-Sea. The website offers a range of guidance in addition to cost-of-living support. This includes information and events surrounding health, wellbeing, technology, arts and much more.
To find out more about One Southend, head to the One Southend website.
To view all available resources on cost-of-living support, including the interactive provision and warm spaces maps, visit the One Southend cost-of-living microsite.