We are a registered charity (No. 1077293) formed in 1998 to work with others to transform the lives of the most vulnerable groups in our North Liverpool communities. Our centre, a former 450 seated performance venue, is a fully resourced community facility dedicated to developing performing art skills and more importantly using them to engage disadvantaged and hard to reach groups.
Since we started working in the Anfield/Everton area in 1999, the community has gone through various changes and yet consistently been one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK (In 2015 report, 83.3% of residents remain in the Most Deprived 10% nationally).
Households have been plunged into deeper poverty over the last few years. 40% of children are in poverty (2016 Liverpool City Council Ward Profile). Worklessness is at 28% (a national average of 9%); many families face hunger and struggle to keep their homes. 89% of people we consulted want support to better manage their food and home energy budgets.
Our track record in impacting lives
In responding to our community challenges, we work to reduce isolation, improve life & employability skills and improve social cohesion. Each year we make in-depth difference to 850 lives, engaging a further 15,000 through performances in our venue. Our participants are a mix of isolated older people, disadvantaged young people, deprived families and refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants from minority backgrounds. Since 1999 we have engaged over 4,000 children & young people from the streets, trained over 1,400 adults, brought over 700 older people out of isolation, equipped 500 younger people with qualifications, help create 300 jobs. Over nearly 20 years we have developed successful, high impact programmes that improve health and well-being for over 60s, provide positive diversionary activities for young people that would otherwise be on street corners perpetrating minor crimes and antisocial behaviour, programmes that up-skill unemployed adults and migrants, support poor families to better manage their children, household budgets and well-being.
