Saints, Nuneaton launched in January 2020 and since then has hosted a range of activities, supportive groups and community action projects from their multipurpose space in Newdegate Street in Nuneaton.
Set up by Together for Change (TFC), Saints is a pioneering ten year project to help tackle unemployment and poverty in Nuneaton with the aim of raising the aspirations of local people and inspiring them into work. It is an ecumenical venture, with the project being run jointly between TFC and eight Nuneaton churches and Christian organisations of varying denominations, all with one common goal – to bring community transformation to the heart of Nuneaton.
Saints is based at St George’s Hall, a former nightclub. At the heart of the space is a café and surrounding the café is a unique training room facility; a large children’s play space, and many spaces that are occupied by permanent market stalls (all hired by local small businesses).
Despite the Covid 19 pandemic, the project is thriving and sees around 500 people through their doors every week. The work at Saints focuses on three key vision points, ‘Enterprise and Equip’, ‘Sport and Support’, and ‘Create and Connect’. They currently run five regular free groups in areas of arts & crafts and physical & mental wellbeing, with plans to expand into other areas such as computer skills, English and Maths tuition, homework clubs, cooking on a budget and more.
Over the school summer holidays, Saints ran free outdoor family events every Wednesday with socially distanced activities for children, free food hampers and lots of family fun. Also, over the October half term holiday Saints partnered with the local council to provide free frozen meals for families who normally receive free school meals. The team were able to provide food hampers for 125 children and 77 adults, which were greatly appreciated.
Saints has accomplished a great deal in the 10 months it has been open and the team are excited about expanding the project. Renovations are underway on the upstairs of the building, with plans for a kitchen, toile facilities, a meeting/ training room and the restoration of the main hall. With this, they are looking to expand even further into the ‘Sport and Support’ and ‘Create and Connect’ vision points by offering a variety of activities that encourage mental, physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as opportunities for expression and community connection through the creative arts.
Find out more about Saints and how you can get involved on their website.