Hope Kitchen SCIO SC041770 is a growing charity based in Oban on the west coast of Scotland. Oban is a beautiful holiday destination for many and is often called the "Seafood Capital of Scotland" and "The Gateway to the Isles". However Oban also has social problems just like any town in Scotland. For the past seven years Hope Kitchen has operated as a soup kitchen feeding the most vulnerable and lonely of our local community. We provide hot drinks, soup and hot meals to anyone who requires our service.
Three years ago we moved into our own premises and we have seen our client group diversify and expand. We now see people with mental health problems, substance use problems, alcohol problems, rough sleepers, lonely and socially isolated people, people living in homeless accommodation, gypsy travellers and people with learning difficulties. We provide a safe place for people to sit and chat and enjoy the company of others. We operate a food bank and clothes bank for people in need and we accept self referrals and referrals from many local agencies like support services, social work and the NHS. We give out tents and sleeping bags if needed and we provide a washing machine and tumble dryer for rough sleepers to use.
We also assist our clients to fill in benefits forms and help with job searches. We firmly believe in feeding people's minds as well as their bodies so we offer a varied programme of activities which include money management, cooking lessons, creative writing and drop ins from local agencies.
We currently see 20-30 people per day and this is on the increase. Our current premises are bursting at the seams! We need to move to larger premises so we can continue to offer and expand the great service we provide to the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our area.
We need to raise funds to completely kit our our new premises which we have recently taken out a 5 year lease on. We need to install a kitchen, 3 toilets, a shower cubicle, storage areas, a dining area and an office. We have done a lot of our own fundraising so far including winning £3000 in the Building Better Communities Competition recently run by Jewson. We were also recently awarded "Organisation of the Year" for the whole of Argyll and Bute at the recent Third Sector Interface Awards. We have lots of local support from supermarkets and individuals but we need money to employ tradesmen and to buy fixtures and fittings to do out our building to a high standard so we can comply with local Health and Safety standards and regulations.
We want our new premises to be homely and welcoming and modern where people can come and be treated with dignity and respect. We have consulted our service users at every stage of the process and we believe we are developing the project that they want and need.
We have two staff and 15 dedicated local volunteers who give our service it's heart and soul.
To find out more about what we do please visit our Facebook Page @HOPE Kitchen
Thank you to www.heartandsound.co.uk for making our video.