Community hub bids to expand to meet rising demand

Dame Hilary Chapman, Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire (left), visited The Link Community Hub in Stradbroke

Volunteers at a Sheffield community hub which offers a food bank and financial advice have spoken of their hopes for a bigger space to meet demand.

The team at the Link in Stradbroke said they were having to limit the amount of people able to access support as the current site "just isn't big enough".

They spoke during a visit by Dame Hilary Chapman, Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, who praised the Link as an "amazing organisation".

Organiser Ellie Eadon, 25, said: "Residents and the local community are reliant on the services we provide because there's nothing else."

She added: "Unfortunately, our groups and services are limited to who we can invite, because our space just isn't big enough to hold the need of what it's for.

"We are looking at obtaining a bigger space, fingers crossed, so we can support more people and grow our groups even further."

The Link is having to limit the amount of people it helps due to the size of its buildings

Volunteers hope a bigger building will allow them to offer education and training facilities, as well as mental health support.

Ms Eadon said: "A lot of the services that people access now for their mental health or drug and substance abuse, they're the other side of town - sometimes, it means getting two buses there.

"For someone on a limited income, it's not always accessible."

Gary Bollington, 61, is responsible for collecting surplus food from supermarkets which the hub gives away for free, but said that everything was gone within a couple of hours.

"I think that tells you a bit about how desperate people are."

He grew up in the area and his mum lived there for 70 years, so he said he felt it was important to "put something back".

"Some people are struggling a bit, but they take a great deal of pride in their homes and community, and you can see here that people pull together - they want to support each other."

Resident Donna Allen, 44, said the Link had been a "big help" with food and housing advice.

"We're all a nice bunch of people really, we watch each other's backs - it's just basically keeping an eye out for everybody," she said.

Volunteer Gary Bollington said that free food offered by the hub usually ran out within hours

Dame Hilary said: "It's got a really significant reach into the community, but these are the organisations that know the people who live in this area.

"They understand their needs, they don't judge them, but they can help them - they're absolutely the way forward.

"The people who have needs can get their needs met with their self-esteem intact, with some pride."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.