Impact
Spotlight on the work of Brushstrokes
New neighbours in 2019/2020
This year we have been able to help more people from more nationalities on a wider range of issues.
We helped individuals from 109 countries of origin this year
We helped individuals from 109 countries of origin this year - Up from 96 in 2018/19
Increasing numbers of Sudanese, Iraqi, Nigerian, Pakistani, Iranian, Eritrean, Romanian and Polish nationals have been seen this year.
We worked with 915 new clients, 1071 existing clients and 1148 family members.
47% male 53% female
Asylum seekers and refugees make up 49% of service users
Down from 61% in 2018/19
25% of service users were EU nationals making them the second largest group of clients.
1728 service users (Up from 1536 in 2018/19)
3837 Beneficiaries including 771 families and 1561 children
65% of service users lived in Sandwell
27% lived in Birmingham
41% of service lived in Smethwick
8% of service users lived in Oldbury and 8% in West Bromwich.
Resources
This year we were able to provide the following
4980 individuals provided with food
161 referrals to Smethwick food bank
687 clothing packs provided
499 provisions of household items
47 baby packs provided
87 provisions of Baby equipment
English Language learning at Brushstrokes.
246 people engaged with English Language learning
-
ESOL 167
-
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) 59
-
OET (Occupational English Test) 20
-
74% of our students are women
-
Learners are from 37 different nationalities.
-
57% of learners are pre-entry up from 36% in 2018/19
Advice
1342 new advice and support cases were opened this year
-
227 individuals provided with specialist benefits advice through the Settling Well project
-
1000+ individuals were supported to apply for pre-settled or settled status through the EU Settlement Scheme project
-
460 individuals received immigration advice
-
303 home visits were completed this year
-
107 Refugee Households supported to manage the transition from asylum support and provided with support to access accommodation, training, employment and welfare benefits.
Volunteering at Brushstrokes this year
We have 61 active volunteers
20 volunteers are refugees or were born outside the UK
9 volunteers gained employment during 2019/20
5900 hours of volunteers