Frequently Asked Questions Find out some of the answer's to Frequently Asked Questions. Here we try and answer some FAQ's, but of course if you do have a question for us use the contact us page. Expand What is Bridge Renewal Trust? Bridge Renewal Trust is a registered Charity (Charity No: 1131941) and a company limited by guarantee, the Bridge offers many services to local residents, organisations and statutory bodies. What does the Bridge Renewal Trust do? The Bridge offers a wide range of services to local people and organisations, it could be health and wellbeing related service such as our complimentary therapies, or the Health at the Hut healthy lifestyles advice and activities, or support on Mental Health via the Haringey Wellbeing Network. We support other local charities and groups through the Community Impact Haringey project. We also work closely with Haringey CCG and the Local Authority on engagement with local residents, of partnering on the safer neighbourhood boards, take a look around our website for more information. How is the Bridge funded? Like many other charities and groups locally, the Bridge often bids for contract work and we are funded to carry out this work by several funding streams, these include, Haringey CCG, LBH, National Lottery and more. How many people work at the Bridge? The Bridge now employs about 35 people, over 70% of those are people who are living in Haringey. The Bridge also has lots of opportunities for volunteers. Who edits the content of the Bridge website? The Bridge has several of it’s team members adding content, news and events to our website, if there is something you’d like featured on our website, that is relevant to our audience use the contact us section of the site to get in touch. How secure is any info I give to the Bridge? All contact information and personal data is stored securely and in line with our General Data Protection Regulation policy. Who is responsible for updating information? If a person wants to have their organisation or service added to the Bridge Service Directory, it is up to that individual or organisation to update any information.
Complementary Health Clinic Expand We provide access to a range of affordable therapeutic services that complement existing medical and social care services available at the Laurels Healthy Living Centre. Find out more
Community Empowerment Programmes Expand The aim of this program is to empower communities and enable them to increase control over their lives. We provide a range of support services including Community Champions, Home from Hospital and Health@theHut early help and prevention services.
Community facilities Expand Our community facilities include the Laurels Healthy Living Centre, Chestnuts Community Centre and Bridge Community Hut, where we have the opportunity to reach over a thousand members of the community from diverse backgrounds every week.
Safer Neighbourhood Board Expand We co-ordinate the Safer Neighbourhood Board (SNB) in Haringey. SNBs are in place in every London Borough, bringing police and communities together to decide local policing and crime priorities, solve problems collaboratively and make sure that the public are involved in a wide range of other community safety decisions. Find out more
Haringey Wellbeing Network Expand We work in partnership with Mind in Haringey and Tempo Time Credits to develop the capacities of voluntary and community organisations from the faith, housing and sports & leisure sectors to raise awareness of good mental health practices. Find out more
Haringey Giving Expand Haringey Giving raises funds, gives out grants, and enables corporate and employee volunteering in Haringey. It is an independent partnership led by local residents, which works closely with community organisations, local businesses, large corporates and funders. Haringey Giving is administered by The Bridge Renewal Trust. Find out more on the Haringey Giving Website
LGBTQI+ Community Network Expand The LGBTQI+ Community Network is a group of both dedicated LGBTQI+ organisations & services and those which work across the whole community (including the Bridge), working together to make Haringey the best place it can be for LGBTQI+ residents. The Network meets monthly to share work and develop joint projects. Current work is focusing on safety, including mapping safe spaces, increasing awareness of hate crime and support for reporting.
Multi Faith Forum Haringey Expand The Bridge Renewal Trust is a member of the Multi Faith Forum Haringey. The Forum meets monthly to discuss issues that faith communities are facing and ways in which they can be supported. The Forum has a contact list of nearly 150 individuals made up from all faith groups within Haringey. This contact list is used to arrange meetings as well as getting important information out to the faith communities of Haringey.
Safer Neighbourhood Board Expand Safer Neighbourhood Boards are in place in every London Borough, bringing police and communities together to decide local policing and crime priorities, solve problems collaboratively and make sure that the public are involved in a wide range of other community safety decisions. In Haringey, the Board consists of a diverse range of community members from the Voluntary and Community Sector, Statutory organisations and lay members. For more information on how you can get involved contact Deborah Williams [email protected].
BAME 9-point action plan Expand In light of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Haringey’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, The Bridge Renewal Trust, in partnership with Haringey Council, organises regular meetings that bring Haringey’s BAME community organisations and other statutory partners together to develop practical solutions to the problems. If you are interested in attending the next meeting and contributing to this work, please email [email protected]
Community Protect Expand Groups and organisations across Haringey have come together under the banner of ‘Community Protect’ to strengthen local messages about COVID-19 and to help slow the rise of coronavirus in the borough. The Community Protect alliance is coordinated by the Bridge Renewal Trust, Public Voice and Mind in Haringey, with financial support from Public Health in Haringey. Find out more here
Haringey Wellbeing Network Expand This is a partnership between Mind in Haringey, Bridge Renewal Trust and Tempo Time Credits. The overall aim of the network is to act as the single point of contact for access to community based mental health and wellbeing support across Haringey. The Bridge leads on building knowledge and resources within voluntary and community organisations, the social housing and sports and leisure sectors, and across faith groups. We do this by offering free training around Basic Safeguarding Awareness, Mental Health First Aid, best practice policies and procedures and assistance with obtaining funding for mental health and wellbeing projects. Please email [email protected] for more information.
Home Cooked Expand This is a partnership project to help tackle youth crime and violence in Tottenham Hale. This provides a range of initiatives for young people and their families such as sport provision, employment support, a future leaders programme and mental health support. This partnership is led by the Bridge Renewal Trust and Haringey Council with the Godwin Lawson Foundation, the North London Partnership Consortium, Father 2 Father CIC and Mind in Haringey. If you wish to find out more, please email: [email protected] Click here to see a list of Haringey’s wider networks and forums
What is a trustee? Expand Trustees are the people with overall responsibility for a charity and they make decisions about its future, it’s strategic direction and its governance. The role of a trustee is to make sure that the charity is on the right path to achieve its aims has the resources and policies in place to be able to do its work, and is complying with all legal requirements It is also role of trustees to ensure the charity is effectively supporting equality, diversity and inclusion on all fronts.
What does a Trustee do? Expand Every charity is different, and their board of trustees will reflect that. Overall, most trustee boards operate in a strategic way rather than doing ‘everyday’ work. This means that as a trustee you will be participating in board meetings to oversee the charity’s work and help plan its next steps. Often trustees will volunteer to carry out specific pieces of work in-between board meetings, focussing on particular areas of the charity’s work, for example looking at Human Resources, governance, strategy or other aspects. The charity’s CEO, staff and volunteers will be responsible for making it happen on the ground and delivering the plans that trustees have outlined. In Haringey, we have lots of smaller charities in which trustees are often hands-on with some operational tasks, as well as carrying out their governance and strategic roles. They may offer to help delivering a specific service, guiding the charity towards its long-term goals.
Who can become a trustee? Expand Almost anyone can be a trustee, regardless of age, level of professional experience, ethnicity, or any other protected characteristic. Everyone has something that is worth offering a charity. Lived experience – having experience of the issues a charity is trying to address – is particularly valuable. However, becoming a trustee doesn’t always seem accessible or achievable to everybody. Many charities recognise this and are working to remove the barriers to becoming a trustee.