Care farm celebrates 10 years with funding plea

A care farm has celebrated its 10th anniversary, with a call for sustainable funding to help expand the support it provides.

Pathways, in north Lowestoft, Suffolk, has 13 acres of land including a cafe and supports people with a range of health and wellbeing challenges.

Co-founder Geoff Stevens said: "It's a great achievement and celebration of everything we've done so far.

"It's as important as some aspects of the NHS; we can see people really quickly which is vital."

The farm gets funding from a mix of sources, linked to the different groups of people being supported.

Just over half comes from Suffolk County Council, 18% from Norfolk County Council, 14% from donations and small grants, 8% from selling produce and the cafe, 7% from independent fees and 2% from education funding.

Last year the farm income was just £2,400 more then its expenditure.

Mr Stevens said: "The main thing is to try and get some sustainable funding.

"We know budgets are tight for social services and the councils, but we need to have investment in what we are doing, rather than chasing the funding every single year."

"I've been at the farm now for about two years," said Colin Cripps.

"I moved to Lowestoft almost four years ago, I'd been homeless before that and was living in a very isolated fashion.

"What with Covid as well, that sort of tipped my mental health a little bit.

"I've done little bits of clearing, general maintenance of the trees, we've got a big pile of wood that needs cutting up."

Colin often works alongside Stephen St. Claire, who shared his story as part of a day of coverage on BBC Radio Suffolk.

"I was down the coalmines, and got smashed up down there and disabled.

"I ended up here in Suffolk, met my wife Tina, and we've been together for two years now.

"She's turned my life around, and this gets me out the way for a few hours.

"I was a bit of a nomad, I didn't care and was starting arguments in the pubs, and I thought it was about time I sort myself out."

East Suffolk councillor George King, who represents Gunton and St. Margaret's ward, said: "Pathways is all about giving people that second chance.

"Whether they have fallen through the cracks of the educational system as a young person, falling through the cracks of society, so much they might have ended up in prison and now on probation, or just generally do not feel like they have a place for whatever reason.

"They may have some form of trauma and Pathways, especially led by Geoff, gives people that warming touch, that grounding."

As a former teacher, he feels the farm should be able to access more education funding.

"School can be an allotment, school can be looking after animals on a farm, it can be all of those things and the soft skills you get here are just as important as what you can learn in school."

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