Alan’s Story: How our charity helped him get back on his feet

As a social enterprise, each month, we like to let you know how, through supporting our business, you are directly supporting our charity.

This month, we look at Alan’s Story.

Alan* was recently referred to our charity, Newground Together, more specifically, their energy team. Our team learnt that following a hospital stay, Alan’s energy company fitted a prepayment meter without his knowledge. This led to Alan being unable to afford to heat his home or have running hot water for a shower. Upon hearing this, our team quickly issued Alan with fuel vouchers that meant he could turn his heating and hot water back on for at least a couple of weeks.

On top of this, the team also discovered that following a robbery, Alan no longer had a working fridge or oven and was living off microwave meals. With this in mind, the Energy Team also made a home visit to see if there was anything else they could help Alan with.

David Ellmore, NGT Energy Advice Officer, was aware of funds available to Calderdale residents for home appliances such as microwaves and fridge freezers and applied on Alan’s behalf. A few weeks later, both appliances were delivered and installed at Alan’s home.

“I can’t tell you the difference the Energy Team has made to my life. David has been a big help, and I can’t believe he managed to get me a new microwave and fridge freezer! Thank you to everyone at Newground Together. I would have been very cold and hungry without your help this winter.”

David said, “Seeing the difference this has made to Alan and his quality of life is very rewarding. I feel fortunate to be in a position where I can access additional funding required to make a difference to people’s lives.”

*Names have been changed to protect identity.