The Big League CIC: Providing emergency support to those in crisis in Hartlepool

Since 2014, The Big League CIC has provided a safety net for members of the community in Hartlepool who are in crisis and needing somewhere to turn. From providing food and a warm space to acting as an education hub and a business incubator, here’s how the charity is supporting people to improve their circumstances with help from the Greggs Foundation.

Spread across four centres in and around Hartlepool, The Big League CIC is a charity that has been fully embedded in the local community for more than a decade. With a passion for inspiring change, the charity’s team have ensured that Hartlepool remains a place where people have genuine opportunities no matter how challenging their situation.

The local community’s need for The Big League CIC became sharply apparent during the Covid Pandemic when the charity assumed responsibility for serving up thousands of meals and food parcels across the town to those struggling to make ends meet. And since this time, the charity has gained a strong reputation for providing crisis support to individuals and families.

As Centre Manager, Nancy Pout explains,

“The Victoria Ward in Hartlepool is one of the top 10 most deprived areas in England. The average reading age and comprehension age is well below the national average and we have high unemployment rates, so the support service we provide in terms of health, nutrition, education and poverty prevention are really important here.

“But even with all the challenges that people are facing, it’s not always easy to get them to reach out for help. Here at the Salaam Centre – one of our premises in the town – we began putting on free tea, coffee and toast, just to help us begin welcoming people in and ensuring they have a place they can get warm, feel safe and meet other people.”

With a team of nine employed members of staff, 10 volunteer staff and an army of community helpers across the charity’s sites, The Big League CIC now offers a broad range of services. Beyond the charity’s kitchen and food parcels, it also provides clothing, household goods and furniture to those in need. The team also run or facilitate a range of activities for the community at the centres. Nancy says,

“We help to deliver craft activities and homework clubs – including adult homework clubs for those whose first language might not be English.  We’ve also recently launched a herb garden, encouraging people to get involved with growing herbs that can also be used in our community kitchen.”

A safe haven in crisis

One of the organisation’s key functions within Hartlepool lies in its role as an emergency resilience hub – one of just five sites across Cleveland to be identified as equipped to provide support in the event of an incident.

Whether it’s a fire or a storm, a power outage or a cold snap leaving people without heating or water, The Big League CIC has a critical role to play in the community response.

Food, water, heating, blankets and even back-up communications equipment like walkie-talkies. All are now housed at the charity’s hub at the Salaam Centre.

As Nancy explains,

“We have already been called into action. Unfortunately, one of our first incidents was the 2024 riots in the town. But, equally, we’re prepared to support people if they’ve suffered as a result of an emergency such as a flood or power outage.

“Over the winter we also promoted our warm space where we could provide people with a hot meal and a hot drink – providing a place to get comfortable with spare blankets, spare socks and energy efficient electric heaters.”

Core funding for vital support

Given the varied mix of activities offered by The Big League CIC and the unpredictable nature of the emergencies it prepares for, funding can be difficult to source for the charity. And despite the best efforts of all the organisation’s volunteers and staff, the number of people falling into food and fuel poverty remains great. Nancy says,

“We now have an average footfall of 1,500 people coming through our doors each month. That’s grown rapidly over the past couple of years. We’ve got an amazing team of volunteers to help those in need but without paid staff to facilitate our projects, we wouldn’t be able to deliver for the community.

“Having core funding from the likes of the Greggs Foundation Community Action Fund means that we can utilise grants where it will have the most impact. Projects can evolve as the requirements of our community change but there’s always a need to pay salaries, cover fuel bills and manage overheads that basically enable us to keep the lights on.”

You can find out more about how The Big League CIC is supporting the Hartlepool community by visiting their website here.