SARC - Southampton Advice and Representation Centre - a prime example of an organisation doing an enormous amount of good with scant resources.

There is a voluntary sector body in Southampton which embodies all that is best in the voluntary sector, and which is currently under threat because of the difficult circumstances of funding in the City.

SARC - Southampton Advice and Representation Centre - is the main provider of Benefits Advice and Employment Advice in the City, helping the most vulnerable people in the City and widely valued by people of all and every political background. It is staffed by a small number of dedicated professional advisers and funded mostly by grants from the City Council.

It’s been around for 40 years, and one of my former colleagues in IBEX’s predecessor, SHIM, was instrumental in its founding - The Revd Canon Julian Eagle.

But from humble beginnings, in its last Annual Report it could point to £1,339,702 being won from about £170,000 funding per year, funds won for people among the poorest in the City, people who desperately need those funds,  and so that money will be spent locally and will stimulate the economy rather than being squirrelled away in to investments and savings.

Overall funding in the city on advice matters is being reviewed at the moment. The review is eminently sensible,  but there is real fear that the Centre’s share of the final settlement may not actually be enough for the place to remain viable.

There’s even the means to donate if you feel so inclined! 

I am sure you would agree that it is a prime example of an organisation doing an enormous amount of good on scant resources!

written by David Wrighton