Warming Bristol Communities
Warming Bristol Communities
Helping disadvantaged members of Bristol's minority ethnic communities at risk of fuel debt
In October 2009 CSE won funding from the Big Lottery to run a three-year project (starting in earnest in January 2010) which aims to improve the lives of members of black and other minority ethnic (BME) communities in Bristol who are living in cold, damp homes, struggling to pay fuel bills or at risk of falling into arrears.
Specifically, the aim is that 1500 people from the Bristol Somali and wider BME community will be more aware of how to ensure their homes are adequately insulated, heated, secure and safe.
Around 10% of Bristolians are from black or other minority ethnic communities, and of these some 16,000 are of Somali origin.
CSE's Helen Richardson who is managing the project added: "Many Somalis living in the city are refugees and large numbers experience language problems, isolation, poor physical and mental health, and a low socio-economic profile. On top of this, they may live in substandard housing and are disadvantaged by not fully understanding the help that is available to them".
The Bristol Energy Advice Project aims particularly to help newly settled Somali families like this one
Warming Bristol Communities will involve working with a range of organisations in Bristol (see box, right). Working alongside these groups, the CSE project team will identify households living in fuel poverty and/or at risk of (or already suffering from) fuel debt.
Our energy advisors will work with these vulnarable householders to find ways of minimising their fuel bills and improving their homes. They will ensure that grant-aided energy efficiency measures (such as loft and wall insulation and boiler repairs) are installed where possible.
"In particular" adds Helen, "our advisors will help with issues like billing and heating controls that can be unfamiliar to many newly arrived Somali families".
In cases where households have fallen into fuel debt, the advisor will work with the residents and their energy supplier to find appropriate payment methods and tariffs.
And in order to pass our energy expertise on, we'll work closely with advisors, case-workers, translators and others from the partner organisations so that they too can become skilled at delivering domestic energy advice. Finally, we'll support clients to apply for and receive their benefit entitlements, and refer to other agencies for further help where appropriate.