LOCAL charity Crosspoint celebrated its fifth anniversary last week with a special party held at the Paragon Hall in Westbury.
An increasing number of people from Westbury and the surrounding area have been using services provided by Crosspoint from its base in the Market Place. This was the key message given to supporters, volunteers and guests.
As guests came together to share a birthday cake, they heard about the wide range of services that are now provided from the welcome centre. Since its conception, Crosspoint has gone from strength to strength and has had around 1,400 visits to the centre from clients per year. Those attending can be assured of a listening ear, information, or signposting to other services or organisations, totally in confidence.
The centre is also a distribution centre for the local Food Bank, and volunteers are able to exchange food boxes for vouchers that are provided by local health and social care staff and other statutory services to local families in need.
“Over the past year we have expanded the number of drop-in sessions we are open to four per week, and have also started to offer counselling sessions to young people,” said Len Clift, chair of the charity.
“This is on top of the other services we offer, such as adult counselling, distribution of food boxes, budgeting and debt advice, help with filling in forms and applying for jobs.”
To accommodate these extra services, there have been changes to the layout of the drop-in centre to offer more privacy and confidentiality for clients coming into the centre.
Len added, “Being able to use our computers and the phone to contact agencies is also very popular, and we offer a warm welcome and hot drink to anyone coming into the centre. We like to think that we can really make a difference to people who need advice and support.”
The success of Crosspoint can be attributed to the commitment of volunteers who run the centre, grants from local organisations and the generosity of individual supporters. To cope with its expanding services, the team at Crosspoint would be delighted to hear from anyone who can offer support to the organisation through volunteering, fundraising or raising awareness. Visitors are welcome to drop in to the centre any time that it is open or contact info@crosspoint-westbury.org.uk
