Changing Futures
For people who are unemployed and facing barriers to employment
Lancashire Mind is a delivery partner in the Changing Futures project in Lancashire. Changing Futures is part of the nationwide Building Better Opportunities programme, funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and The National Lottery Community Fund to help tackle the poverty and social exclusion faced by the most disadvantaged people in England.
The Changing Futures project is focused on supporting people facing multiple and complex barriers to employment. All participants are unemployed or economically inactive and are at high risk of social exclusion, such as people from BAME communities, people with physical or mental health problems and people with learning difficulties.
Through the Changing Futures project, our partners work with each participant as an individual. Our Transformational Coaches help each participant to understand their own abilities, skills and interests to identify ways to help address their multiple barriers to economic activity.
This project was extended due to the success of its first 3 years’ delivery. As a result, the Changing Futures partnership will support 2160 people over the lifetime of the project to overcome multiple and complex barriers and move closer to employment, education or training. This project is delivered exclusively by social enterprises and community organisations and we are proud to be part this specialist partnership whose work is transforming lives across Lancashire.
Our partnership’s most recent quarterly results show that Changing Futures has already supported 1500 people who are 'hard to reach' with multiple and complex barriers to work. As a direct result of the support received from this project, 300 people have overcome the challenges they were facing and are now employed, self-employed or in training.
For more information about the Changing Futures project please contact:
Building Better Opportunities
Changing Futures is one of three Building Better Opportunities projects in Lancashire being delivered by a partnership of over 40 organisations, led by Selnet (the Social Enterprise Lancashire Network).
‘Age of Opportunity’ supports people over 50, ‘Invest in Youth’ supports 15-24-year olds and ‘Changing Futures’ supports people with multiple and complex barriers to employment. Over three years, these three specialist projects will help transform the lives of 3270 disadvantaged people based on their individual needs and interests, helping them to overcome complex barriers and move towards work and training.
Building Better Opportunities is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014-2020, and is investing in local projects tackling the root causes of poverty, promoting social inclusion and driving local jobs and growth.