WINTER support is available to anyone who needs it across the borough of Copeland, say council.

Copeland Borough Council’s social inclusion team have been working with partners to ensure that anyone who needs support can access services quickly and easily.

The Social Inclusion programme enables the Council to improve opportunities for residents to enable them to partake in society and live healthy, fulfilling lives. This is possible through collaboration with our third sector partners, statutory organisations, and funders.

Emma Williamson, Social Inclusion and Community Resilience Team Leader, said: “The winter period brings many challenges for families and in particular older people. The rise in utility costs, additional costs around for essential items such as food and housing costs as seasonal work may end and the additional costs of children being on holiday from school and Christmas puts additional stress on families.

"The council’s message is clear; that there is help available and that no one should be faced with the choice to eat or heat their homes.”

Social prescribing is one of the key projects delivered directly by the council. There are 65 groups and services registered onto our Social Prescribing Directory offering 79 services.

Between October 2020 and August 2021 there were 253 new referrals engaged with the programme, 139 were self referrals.