Community support hub and foodbank awarded £315k
A community hub says an award of a £315,000 National Lottery grant will keep it running for three more years.
The Southend Vineyard Storehouse, which started 20 years ago, said it would have closed had it not been given the money.
The hub, on the Queensway estate in Coleman Street, has a community cafe, warm safe space and foodbank.
Storehouse manager Marie Bryant said the grant would have a "huge" impact on the lives of people in the area and claimed they had helped 18,000 people last year.
"I've put my heart into this project, the money means the world to us," she said.
"It would have been heartbreaking if we had to close; it is such a huge part of people's lives.
"For many, it is the only place they come to once a week."
The money will mainly fund the rental for the building and recruit new staff.
Ms Bryant added: "Now that we can recruit more staff, it means we have set up a rough sleepers session on Tuesdays.
"We're also now looking at doing cookery lessons."
The Storehouse is staffed by five part-time staff and 15 volunteers.
It was founded by Southend Vineyard Church who felt the community was struggling to provide vital support to local families in terms of having an impact on loneliness, isolation, homelessness and poverty.
Natalie Condon is a former volunteer, who became a member of staff
"The Storehouse was a pivotal help in my recovery from addiction in giving me somewhere to go and something to help me," she said.
"My life has changed very much for the better and I now love working here to give back help supporting other people."
Ms Bryant emphasised how much the community hub had helped people and was a key asset to the local community.
"It has literally turned people's lives around," she said.
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