It was a real privilege to be present to mark the first anniversary of The Junction Multibank in my Middlesbrough & Thornaby East constituency. It is a remarkable operation and has resulted in all manner of household and personal goods and materials being supplied to nearly a quarter of a million people across our region who really benefit from them by helping them to live a more dignified and slightly less stressful life.
But it’s about so much more than that. It is also the relationships that are formed. It tells people who are having a tough time that they are not alone and that people do care.
The fact that perfect products are stopped from going to landfill is also a huge positive.
The work that so many people do, the suppliers, the warehouse staff, the managers and their referral partners – and so many more – is quite magnificent.
I also particularly thank Gordon Brown for his commitment and leadership on this issue and raising its profile.
Visiting The Junction Multibank
On the day itself we were given a passionate outline of the work done by this team and the effect it has on local people by The Junction CEO Beth Major and Multibank Manager Simon Nott as well as Chair of Trustees Matt Knibbs.
Some of the numbers we were given were incredible – in one year alone The Junction has supplied two million items – which amounts to more than £10mn of goods going to people in need – and around 137,000 families and 244,000 individuals have been helped.
The job of government
Sadly, the deep rooted social and financial needs that multibanks serve are a sad indictment of an economy that has failed too many people for over 40 years.
It is unacceptable that the state safety net is simply inadequate for those who need it and that people who go to work and put a full shift in week in week out, such as the carer we heard about, but who are unable to equip their children with the same clothes and necessary accessories enjoyed by their school friends, is simply unacceptable.
The Labour government’s task is to tackle poverty, the continuing cost of living crisis and such glaring inequality.
This will be a long term mission but the upcoming budget is the critical moment for us to demonstrate our commitment to ending the austerity that blights our communities and hopefully that will start with the abolition of the two-child benefit cap which will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.
The need for the wonderful work of the Multibank will continue for some time and I would encourage everyone to give whatever support they can. The lead shown by our superb hosts for the event, AV Dawson, is beyond admirable and Louise Croce from this wonderful local family-run business gave a passionate account of the benefits everyone gets from it.
Their own scheme of giving their workers paid leave to volunteer at the Multibank is just one example of the superb response of many local companies demonstrating the wonderful compassionate Teesside spirit and solidarity.
We also heard from representatives from Amazon about their role and of the part played by local astronomer and Redcar & Cleveland councillor John McCue whose role in getting the multibank off the ground was told by trustee and Darlington councillor Chris McEwan.
Local charities such as Five Lamps in Thornaby and catalyst in Stockton were also represented so we could hear the benefits they’d received – as well as teams from within the Junction Foundation itself.
The whole project is supported by a number of Teesside councils, charities, businesses and other local organisations who all help make it the extraordinary organisation it is.
These acts of kindness and compassion are so incredibly valuable and they and many many others need to be acknowledged.
One day hopefully food banks and multibanks will be consigned to history, but in the meantime there is a great deal of work to do.
Any businesses or individuals who would like to know more about donating, volunteering or getting involved in other ways can click here.
