Thrive: A Safe Place to Call Home (2021 – 2023)
Thrive Homelessness report, A Safe Place to Call Home, highlights the findings of a pilot scheme in South Somerset exploring the often hidden realities of homelessness. Led by a specialist Homelessness Agent, the project uncovered the complexity of issues faced by those at risk, many of whom remain unseen in official data. Supporting 70 individuals and families, the scheme helped 44% secure a safe, permanent home. The report underscores the need for early, tailored support and greater understanding of rural and urban challenges. Building on its success, CCS (now operating as Thrive) funded a six-month pilot in East Somerset.
Thrive: Learning English in Somerset Report
The Thrive (previously Community Council for Somerset) report, Learning English in Somerset, highlights the needs of people learning English alongside the range of courses available across the county. Drawing on provider insights and feedback from over 200 learners, the report shows strong motivation and the value placed on opportunities to practise English in real-life settings. It also identifies key barriers, including limited access to online learning, Conversation Clubs, childcare, transport, and IT support. The findings underline the importance of expanding inclusive, accessible provision to help learners build confidence, improve integration, and better participate in their local communities.
Thrive Impact Report 2024-25
The Thrive 2025 Impact Report highlights a milestone year as the organisation launches its first report under a new name, reflecting its commitment to stronger, more connected communities across Somerset. Over the past year, Thrive supported 18,854 people through practical help, trusted relationships, and community-led solutions, with 73% reporting increased confidence and 81% improved wellbeing. Key achievements include Village Agent support, Talking Cafés, Together events welcoming 7,250 people from 40 nationalities, and initiatives tackling isolation, fuel poverty, and sustainability. Alongside direct support, Thrive has strengthened partnerships and influenced local policy, demonstrating its commitment to ensuring every community can thrive.
Thrive Cold Homes Tough Choices
The Thrive report, Cold Homes, Tough Choices: Fuel Poverty in Somerset, exposes the scale and impact of fuel poverty across the county, revealing that around one in ten residents, nearly 58,800 people, are struggling to afford to heat their homes. Drawing on local data and lived experiences, the report highlights the severe effects of cold, damp homes on physical and mental health, particularly for vulnerable groups. It also identifies rural areas as being hardest hit. The report calls for coordinated action, including improved housing standards, energy support, and investment in efficiency measures, reinforcing Thrive’s commitment to tackling inequality.
Hunger in the UK Wave 2 (Sept 25)
This Trussell report presents a comprehensive assessment of hunger in the UK in 2024. It finds that food insecurity has increased to 16% of households, affecting 14.1 million people, despite falling inflation and no reduction in food bank use. Hunger is driven primarily by low incomes, debt, insecure work and an inadequate social security system, disproportionately affecting disabled people, families with children, renters and marginalised groups. Drawing on large-scale surveys and lived experience research, the report shows why food banks remain widely used and sets out policy changes needed to reduce severe hardship and end the need for emergency food.
A Growing Health Toolkit
A Growing Health Tool Kit is a practical guide produced by Garden Organic and Sustain to help community food growing projects work with the health and social care system. It explains how health commissioning works, how to develop and present food growing activities as health services, and how to gather evidence and measure impact. The toolkit brings together research on the physical, mental and social benefits of gardening, alongside product examples, evaluation tools and case studies of commissioned projects. It is designed to support community growers to secure funding, build partnerships and contribute to public health outcomes.
Food poverty: Households, food banks and free school meals
July 25 House of Commons Library research briefing – an evidence-based overview of food poverty in the UK, covering household food insecurity, food bank use and free school meals. Latest national statistics, trends over time and disparities by income, region, ethnicity and family circumstances. It also examines the impact of the cost of living crisis and food price inflation, outlining current government policy and funding arrangements. It is designed as an impartial reference to support understanding, analysis and decision-making, drawing on official government data and major charity datasets, including Trussell food bank figures and Department for Work and Pensions statistics.
Spark iT Impact Report 2026
Spark iT was founded in 2021, as the UK emerged from Covid, to tackle digital exclusion at its roots. Today, partnering with community spaces to run
Digital Cafés across Somerset each month, more than 30 cafés open their doors. Each with trained and friendly volunteer Digital Champions on hand, ready to help.
They’re free, welcoming to everyone, and support people to use the internet safely and access online services that support their health, wellbeing and daily lives.
A study of The Reach Foundation’s Cradle-to-Career Partnership
This document gives practical insights into cradle-to-career (C2C) models and community-based approaches for improving social mobility. It provides actionable steps, case studies, and 15 innovative practices that can be adopted to support under-resourced children and families. By reading, VCFSEs will gain strategies for partnership, community engagement, and sustainable impact, helping them drive joined-up, relational support and systemic change in their local areas. Holyrood School in Chard is one of the case studies
PROMISEworks Impact Report 24/25
PROMISEworks latest results from a year of imbedding impact and presenting needs analysis.