Local support

Community support

Community360 

Community360 hold virtual pub lunches, walk and talk sessions, telephone befriending and for patients leaving Colchester hospital, light touch support from volunteer befrienders to help you get back on your feet.

Telephone: 01206 505250
Email: information@community360.org.uk

Essex Wellbeing Service

Essex Wellbeing Service links Essex residents including parents and families with the practical, emotional and social care support they need. They have a dedicated group of volunteers to offer help and support.

Telephone: 0300 303 9988
Email: provide.essexwellbeing@nhs.net

Community Agents Essex

Community Agents Essex is a countywide network of agents and volunteers who support older people and informal carers to find and develop independent living solutions from within their local community.

Colchester's Community Agents are:

Morna Clements
Telephone: 07305 488233
Email: morna.clements@caessex.org.uk

Clive Wakeford
Telephone: 07540720604
Email: clive.wakeford@caessex.org.uk

African Families in the UK

The one stop place for families of African origin residing in the UK to seek advice and information on matters relating to parenting, children’s education and any family friendly activities that enrich family lives.

Contact Rachel Walton:
Telephone: 07539 455974
Email: afiukrachel@gmail.com

Colchester Chinese Association

Run by volunteers, it is set up to serve the local Chinese community and to support its integration into society. This is an all inclusive association.

Email: info@colchesterchineseassociation.co.uk

Refugee Action Colchester

Is a voluntary organisation working with refugees, asylum seekers and people with no recourse to public funds.
Telephone: 07503 027734
Email: enquiries@refugeeactioncolchester.org.uk

Financial and legal support

Colchester Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice offer a telephone and email service.

Cal their advice line 0300 330 2104 or email advice.colchester@cabnet.org.uk

Get help claiming Universal Credit by contacting their free national helpline, 0800 144 8 444.

Citizens advice also have an e-voucher system with Colchester Foodbank which enables clients to access a food parcel with in any of the Trussell Trust’s food banks.

Essex Law Clinic

The Essex Law Clinic provides free legal advice to those who live, study or work in Essex, and who cannot obtain legal advice in other ways or afford to pay for a lawyer. Appointments are completely confidential and are currently being conducted online through Zoom, either directly or facilitated by a support organisation. A written letter of advice will be provided following the interview.

The Law Clinic can provide initial advice on the following issues, housing and homelessness issues, employment issues, consumer issues, wills and probate issues, welfare benefits, equality and discrimination, family and child law issues

They are unable to offer appointments for issues that concern immigration, criminal law, tax and debt management. Email lawclinic@essex.ac.uk for a referral form and more details about the service.

Suffolk Law Centre

Housing legal advice and assistance is now available at Suffolk Law Centre under Legal Aid which can pay some or all of a client’s costs.

Legal advice and assistance is provided by a dedicated housing casework team mainly serving clients across Suffolk but with capacity to take clients form North Essex due to lack of legal aid providers in the area.

All advice is by appointment only. You must be eligible for Legal Aid. Means and merits tests are applied prior to any work being carried out, to determine eligibility.

Telephone: 01473 408111
Email: office@suffolklawcentre.org.uk.

Support for mental and physical health

Macmillan Information Centre

Providing emotional and practical support to anyone that has been affected by cancer.

Telephone: 01206 745347
Email: esneft.cancerwell-beingcentre@nhs.net

Alzheimer's Society Community Support Service Essex

Providing support via virtual groups, including peer support, quizzes, activity groups, virtual coffee mornings and signing for the brain.

Telephone: 0333 150 3456
Email: dementia.connect@alzheimers.org.uk

St Helena Hospice SinglePoint

Members of the public, patients, relatives, carers, GPs and other health and social care professionals can get advice and support over the phone 24/7 with regards anyone who may be in the last year of life or who have specialist palliative care needs.

Telephone: 01206 890360.

Macmillan Cancer telephone buddy support service

Macmillan have launched a countrywide telephone befriending service.

Action for Hearing Loss

Your local Action for Hearing Loss Community Support Officer can help with adjusting hearing aids, batteries and retubing plus more.

Call Angie on 07442 538939 or email angela.baker@hearingloss.org.uk.

Reengage

Reengage is a telephone befriending service. Their call companions love a good chat and they are great listeners too. They will enjoy getting to know you and telling you a bit about their lives. Whatever you talk about, the phone calls will give you a real boost. Call companions is a free service.

Telephone: 0800 716543
Email: info@reengage.org.uk

Al-Anon UK

Al-Anon Family Groups UK & Eire is there for anyone whose life is or has been affected by someone else's drinking.

We want to make it as simple and easy as possible for you to get to a meeting where you will find others who have also had family members or friends who are problem drinkers.
The best way to find out what Al-Anon is all about and how we can help you is to attend a meeting. You can either use our 'Find a Meeting' or call our helpline: 0800 0086 811 

Healthwatch Essex

A free service helping people access, understand, and navigate health, social care and wellbeing services in Essex. They also operate a feedback center for reviews on these services.

Telephone: 0300 500 1895
Text message: 07712 395398
Email: info@healthwatchessex.org.uk

Support for families and vulnerable residents

Essex Free School Uniform

The Essex Free School Uniform has been set up to help alleviate the pressure on parents by assisting with the cost of school uniform that can be accessed by a request through a food bank (and other partners) or direct through their email address uniform@dnanetworks.org.

Colchester Gateway

Colchester Gateway is continuing to support individuals and families with learnings disabilities, although during lockdown they have extended this to anyone in need who has no support from anyone else. They will issue foodbank vouchers and arrange delivery, can link with other organisations, help with housing and benefit and social care issues, advice on activities and care and support. Assistance with Covid testing and access to health services. Also have a small respite pot and may be able to assist with this. They can provide regular phone and or Zoom/MST support as often as someone may need this. They have a wealth of knowledge and contacts and try and help where they can.

En-form

Have set up an eco friendly delivery project called Colchester E-Cargo Bike Delivery Project as a Community Project. It will deliver items throughout central Colchester within a 4.5 mile radius which encompasses Wivenhoe and Rowhedge using a Colchester City Council E- Cargo Bike. Charges start at £3. However they have received some funding which allows them to offer a free service to vulnerable residents, particularly in the wards of Greenstead, Berechurch and Mile End. They also offer free deliveries to Community Groups such as the Foodbank and Uniform Exchange and their clients. In addition we offer groups the facility of picking up donations as well.

For more information or to arrange a pick up or delivery contact Lee Pugh on 07852 958953, e-mail hello@ecargobikecolchester.com or message them on Facebook

Green Doctor Service

Groundwork East offers the Green Doctor Service throughout the Essex area, focusing on Colchester, Braintree and Harlow. The service works with residents living in fuel poverty that may be struggling to pay their utility bills or to keep their homes warm to better get control of their energy usage, get on top of utility bills including utility debts, in order to live in warmer homes and have a better quality of life.

Residents can get in touch directly through greendoctoreast@groundwork.org.uk or by calling 0770 2941440. Referrals can be made through Groundwork East's website.

If you would like to know more about the service contact David via email at david.ashby@groundwork.org.uk.