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Firm
Foundations
Firm Foundations provided personalised, one-to-one support for Middlesbrough residents experiencing financial hardship alongside challenges affecting their mental health and wellbeing.
Where?
Middlesbrough
Age Range:
18+
Funded By:
The National Lottery Help Through Crisis Fund & The National Lottery Community Fund
About The Project
Firm Foundations worked with people facing a range of challenges that were often linked and difficult to address in isolation. Participants were supported with issues including debt, benefit difficulties, housing insecurity, social isolation, low confidence and poor mental health.
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Delivered in partnership with Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind, the project took a holistic, person-centred approach, recognising that lasting change is more likely when the underlying causes of hardship are addressed alongside immediate needs. Support was tailored to each individual's circumstances, helping them identify priorities, overcome barriers and access the services and opportunities most relevant to them.
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Through one-to-one support, advocacy and practical assistance, participants were helped to navigate complex systems, attend appointments, access financial and housing support, and develop personalised plans for moving forward. Where appropriate, people were also connected with specialist services and wider community resources.
By supporting people through periods of crisis while helping them build confidence, resilience and independence, Firm Foundations aimed to improve both financial wellbeing and quality of life, enabling participants to feel more in control of their future.
Project Partners and Funders
The First Five Years
Firm Foundations was first delivered through the National Lottery Community Fund's Help Through Crisis programme, with the success of the initial five-year project leading to further investment that allowed support to continue beyond 2021.
During the initial five-year phase, Firm Foundations supported 352 people experiencing mental health challenges alongside financial hardship. Through personalised, goal-focused support, participants were helped to address immediate difficulties while improving wellbeing, strengthening financial resilience and increasing confidence in managing future challenges.
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The positive impact of the project was independently evaluated by Dr Alison Jarvis of Teesside University. Her evaluation found that participants experienced meaningful improvements in wellbeing, resilience and their ability to cope with the challenges they faced. The figures below highlight outcomes achieved by 175 participants, measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale.​
Have improved wellbeing:
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90%
Able to manager their money better:
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80%
Feel better able to deal with problems:
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69%
Able to manager their tenancy/accommodation better:
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69%
Feel more confident:
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62%
Better able to make up their own mind:
59%
2022-2024
Building on the success of the original Help Through Crisis programme, Firm Foundations secured further funding through the National Lottery Community Fund's Reaching Communities programme. This enabled the project to continue supporting Middlesbrough residents for a further two years, responding to growing demand and the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.​
The extended funding allowed the partnership between Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind and Actes Trust to reach even more local residents facing complex challenges and to continue providing support at a time when many people were experiencing increased financial pressures, social isolation and uncertainty.​
Between April 2022 and March 2024, the project received 232 referrals and delivered more than 2,400 contacts with local residents, including face-to-face appointments, telephone support and joint working with other agencies. Staff also distributed 240 food parcels and helped residents secure more than £185,000 in additional income, benefit entitlements, refunds and debt write-offs.