By Joy Blundell

We stand at the hinge point of history. As we emerge out of Covid-19 Lockdown #3, the history books will record how we as a generation rebuilt from the rubble of the devastation of this disease.

By Luke Wallace

Young people are not designed to be locked up.

A year ago, I may have said that young people today are more interested in being online than in person. I think of my childhood of involving run outs, tig, hide and seek, kerby, pokemon cards and gameboy color. Today, I thought, young people like TikTok, xbox and snapchat. Talking? Being face to face? Just nope.

But in a year where we’ve all been forced online, I’ve had to conclude I was wrong. Young people hate being online. Despite the addictiveness of our phones, deliberately designed for endless scrolling (and don’t judge young people- you know you do it too!), young people crave up close and personal friendships, physical challenge and adventure.

This is why, over the coming months, we have some big plans to help young people do just this; ditching the xboxes for actual football tournaments, trips to wildlife parks, multi sports, outdoor games, walks, creative workshops, cycle rides and fun days. All the good stuff.

We have our first set of in-person schemes of 2021 coming up this Easter Holiday. If you have any young people between ages 11 and 18, check out our program and get signed up here.

Young People are really the same as everyone else; they can’t wait to say goodbye to zoom and hello to actual, real life people.

By Pam Jenkinson

It is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem! Yes 1 in 6! Furthermore, one in four of us have or will develop a mental health crisis in our lifetime. So surely having a mental health condition should not have any stigma around it – yet still many people are reluctant to admit or disclose they are not in a good place and are struggling? So why is this?

By Lauren Johnson

Have you ever felt scared and hopeful at the same time? So many young people around the country have said they feel the same with regards to COVID-19, the impact it has had and will have on their lives in the future.

Lincoln Food Poverty Report 20/21: The impact of the Pandemic

Simon Hoare, CEO of Acts Trust

This report presents the data from food bank usage during the period March 2020 to February 2021. Whilst lockdown restrictions have not yet lifted at the time of writing this report, this does still give an indication from a one-year period of the impact that the pandemic has had on food poverty in the City.

By Stacey Marriott

Imagine hitting rock bottom and feeling drowned by despair. All hope is gone and everything seems black and bleak and lonely. 

Imagine finding a place that is full of light and hope, where a warm welcome is extended by people who care. Safety and peace provide a cushion and paths are laid to other places that can provide support and help towards a better future.

This is the vision of the Night Light Cafe. 

At Lincoln Foodbank we have always said that we ‘provide 3 day emergency food parcels for local people in crisis’ but really it’s about so much more. The heart behind Foodbank is to build genuine connections with people and help empower them out of their current situation.

By Bethan Lloyd

Let’s face it, we’re all feeling a bit rubbish at the moment. Living through another lockdown, homeschooling,  isolation, grief, loss, winter weather and short, dark days – these things are all taking their toll and it can be difficult sometimes to keep our spirits up and our outlook optimistic. 

Sometimes, when the challenges around us feel like mountains, we all need to be reminded there are things to be thankful for. 

By Nigel Woodcock

The last year has been challenging for all of us navigating our way through the obstacles we have faced in living in a community facing a global pandemic. As a charity Acts Trust has had to adjust and adapt to ensure it is still relevant to those in our community who we aim to support.

By Simon Hoare

Empowered People

Are people truly empowered if they have had good things done for them? Or to them? When we see a problem and we know the solution, if we jump in and fix it, we may feel great about it, but did we really help?