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.

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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

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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.

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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

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4980 individuals provided with food

161 referrals to Smethwick food bank

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687 clothing packs provided

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499 provisions of household items

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47 baby packs provided

87 provisions of Baby equipment

 English Language learning at Brushstrokes.

246 people engaged with English Language learning 

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  • 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

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  • 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

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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