Category: Open Arms

By The Open Arms Team

On Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th September 2025, the Open Arms Team along with other Rotherfed staff attended the Rotherham Show.  All staff from Rotherfed attended on a rota basis to showcase the services that Rotherfed provide to the community of Rotherham. The weather was good, and the event was well attended.  We saw a constant flow of people from the community attend at our stall where they were given valuable information about the work we do. We were also assisted by volunteers and some of our trustees whose help was greatly appreciated. We handed out leaflets, trolley key chains, pens, stickers, flower necklaces, sweets and blew up animal headbands for the children. It became clear that our stall was gaining a reputation by the fact that we were receiving requests from children wanting an animal headband which was their favourite and someone saying that they had seen other children wearing them and made it one of their missions to search the stall out giving the headbands. We also saw some happy faces when the parents of the children learned that as the headbands were free, as some things at the show were quite expensive.   

Whilst visiting our stall, as well as providing information about the Open Arms Sessions, the people were also invited to enter a free competition by guessing the price of the hamper.   

It was a very busy two days, and we spoke to loads of people and had over 400 entries to the competition. Some participants took it very seriously and counted the items within the hamper and even considered the items carefully and made a calculated guess. It certainly did seem that the activity gave people something to think about and was fun and entertaining and we heard lots of laughter and did make the day an enjoyable experience. One participant who guessed the lowest amount guessed £14.00 and the participant who guessed the highest price was £367.00. The correct price of the hamper was £47.81. 

After checking the entries, the winner nearest to the correct guess was only 6p out! The winner kindly asked that the hamper be donated to a foodbank, and in accordance with their wishes, this was delivered to the Social Supermarket at Rotherham Minster and will make such a difference to their members.

By The Open Arms Team

Rotherfed, Citizens Advice Rotherham and District Laser Credit Union and Voluntary Action Rotherham have partnered to develop and deliver a co-ordinated response to support communities. 

The project, called Open Arm (now in Year 4) is aimed to deploy Community Development Workers and Advisers to deliver information, advice and guidance ‘one stop shops’ across 5 libraries and 20 wards in Rotherham throughout the year, ending at the end of March 2026.  It will also help develop community leaders to offer support to their communities too. Drop-in sessions are free for anyone to attend. 

All support delivered will have a strong focus on financial and social inclusion, it will aim to empower communities with a foundation of support and make better use of community assets. The support provided involves a range of issues including, money management, energy advice, cost of living support, digital support and community support.

The Open Arms Sessions delivered in libraries 

Drop-in-sessions began in April 2025 across Rotherham libraries as listed below, held on a fortnightly basis from 9.30 am until 3.30 pm: 

Mondays: East Herringthorpe – Mowbray Gardens Library 

Tuesdays: Wath – Wath Library 

Wednesdays: Dinnington – Dinnington Library 

Thursdays: Munsbrough – Greasbrough Library 

Fridays: Maltby – Maltby Library 

Open Arms Sessions delivered in Wards 

We are now 5 months into the programme and as well as delivering to the above 5 libraries fortnightly, we have now delivered Open Arms sessions to the following Wards: 

Hoober Ward – 7-11 April 2025 

Keppel Ward – 22-25 April 2025 

Hellaby & Maltby East – 6-9 May 2025 

Sitwell – 19-23 May 2025 

Rawmarsh West – 2-6 June 2025 

Wales – 16-20 June 2025 

Boston Castle – 30 June – 4 July 2025 

Bramley & Ravenfield – 14-18 July 2025 

Rotherham West – 28 July – 1 August 2025 

Aughton & Swallownest – 11-15 August 2025 

Rawmarsh East – 26-29 August 2025 

5 months delivering The Open Arms Project 

To date we have welcomed 288 new attendees to the Open Arms Project in libraries and 161 new attendees to the Open Arms Project in Wards in Rotherham, making a total of 449 people. Support has also been provided to individuals who have found the Open Arms Project an asset and returned for assistance.

How the Open Arms Project has developed over the first 5 months of the Year 4 contract 

Funding was approved for the project at the very last minute, so as soon as notification was received, Rotherfed made enquiries about securing venues. Initially, we wanted to find out more about the Wards of Rotherham where the Open Arms Project had been requested to deliver to.   

So, our first step was to liaise with RMBC Neighbourhood Co-ordinators to identify appropriate venues and enquire as to whether there were any organisations/groups that the neighbourhood would like to see in that Ward, so that we could approach them with a view to inviting them along to the sessions. We have liaised with Neighbourhood Co-ordinators regarding this and continue to interact with the Neighbourhood Co-ordinators and have found their input very helpful. 

We have also discussed appropriate venues with Rotherfed staff, who were happy to assist with identifying venues, describing their facilities and assisting with neighbourhoods and identifying what information and assistance would be mostly likely required.   

Once the appropriate venues were identified it was necessary to contact them. Whilst for some venues a quick internet search revealed contact details, for others this was not always possible and quite often involved making several phone calls to reach the person in charge of hire of the venue. Some venues had online booking platforms and complex hire agreements that required completion, which all required to be navigated. It was also essential when making enquiries, that consideration be given to the facilities that are required for delivering of the session, such as having access to hot water so drinks can be prepared, wi-fi, parking facilities, a confidential room available when Citizens Advice attend so that any advice can be given privately.   

Furthermore, for the children’s activities that have been delivered over the Summer School Holidays, it was necessary to check the facilities were suitable for the various activities taking place and capacities were adhered to when booking.  

During the children’s activity weeks, the Open Arms Team at Rotherfed came together to ensure that the delivery of the children’s entertainment went ahead without any issue. Therefore, organising the children’s entertainment, sorting out the paperwork, providing refreshments and ensuring that the entertainment went ahead without issue.   

Once venues were secured it was necessary to create flyers and advertise. These flyers were shared amongst partner agencies, social prescribers, with venues, Ward Councillors, Neighbourhood Co-ordinators, schools and generally in the public to promote the services. We have carried out further promotion by attending public places like attending libraries, swimming pools, local businesses, busy Ward areas and schools with handing out leaflets to raise awareness of the Open Arms Project.

April 2025  

As venues were secured Rotherfed have created flyers and continued to advertise the sessions. Further work was underway working on future venues in other Wards and compiling contact information of community organisations and/or groups with a view to inviting them to venues.   

May 2025 

Hellaby & Maltby East Ward at 3 venues: Redwood Community Centre, Hellaby Parish Hall and Bartholomew’s Community Room.  During these sessions we were accompanied by organisations; ‘Dying Matters’, Working Winn, Sharon (Energy Project Rotherfed), Clare Moseley the Neighbourhood Co-ordinator and two Police Community Support Officers to enable information to be provided to the community.  

Sitwell Ward at 3 venues Herringthorpe URC, Whiston Parish Hall and Broom Methodist Church where we were accompanied by organisations: AGE UK and Sharon (Rotherfed).   

June 2025 

Rawmarsh West Ward at 4 venues: The High Street Centre, The Steadlands, Salvation Army and St Mary’s Church, Rawmarsh and we were accompanied by organisations; AGE UK, Sharon (Rotherfed)   

Wales Ward at 3 venues: Kiveton Park & Wales Village Hall, Kiveton Park Library and Kiveton Park and Wales Community Development Trust where we were accompanied by organisations; Neelam (Rotherfed) and RMBC adult mental health strategy.   

July 2025 

From April until the middle of July 2025, the Open Arms Sessions ran from Monday to Friday 9.30 am to 3.30 pm with Rotherfed, Laser Credit Union and Citizens Advice in attendance. On Monday, Thursday and Friday a general advisor attended from Citizens Advice and on the other days Tuesday and Wednesday the other projects that the Citizens Advice run attended such as Healthwatch and Digital IT. When a general advisor from the Citizens Advice was at venues, it was necessary to book a confidential room where possible which often dictated the venue. 

Boston Castle Ward at 4 venues: Canklow Pavilion, Riverside Library, Tesco’s Community Rooms and the Unity Centre. We were accompanied by organisations; Neelam (Rotherfed), RMBC adult mental health strategy, South Yorkshire Fire Service, AGE UK and Working Winn.   

Bramley & Ravenfield Ward at 2 venues: Ravenfield Parish Hall and Bramley Parish Hall where we were accompanied by organisations; Sandra (Rotherfed), RMBC mental health strategy and AGE UK.   

Rotherham West Ward at 2 venues: St Paul’s Church and Liberty Church. For the 2 days that we were at St Paul’s Church, Peter from the Church arranged to put on a craft session where children could attend and make wooden coasters and a couple of children attended and were really pleased with their creations.  We were accompanied by organisations: John (VAR).  For the 3 days we were at Liberty Church, we hosted 5 children’s activities which were very well attended namely, Mr Dan’s Circus Workshop, Daisy’s Animal Friends Session A and B, Mr Dan’s Disco and Patsy’s Fun Show.  During these activities we were joined by Beth who carried out face painting and Kelly with her ice cream van. We were accompanied by organisations; Sharon (Rotherfed), Phil (Rotherfed)and David (VAR) and Andy (VAR). 

August 2025 

Aughton & Swallownest Ward at 2 venues, Swallownest Community Centre and Swallownest Baptist Church. For the 3 days we were at Swallownest Community Centre, we hosted 5 children’s activities which were once again well attended namely Mr Dan’s Circus Workshop, Pasty’s Fun Show, Barney Baloney music, puppets and magic and Jungle Jo’s Exotic Animal Show Session A and Session B. Once again, during these activities we were joined by Beth who carried out face painting and Kelly with her ice cream van. We were accompanied by Sharon (Rotherfed).   

Rawmarsh East Ward at 2 venues, Liberty Church Parkgate and Rawmarsh Library. For the days we were at these venues we hosted 4 children’s activities which once again were well attended namely, Trudi Knotrites Cirus Skills, Daisy’s Animal Friends Session A and Session B and Jungle Jo’s Exotic Animal Show.   

Over the last 5 months as you can see, we have attended several venues in quite a few Wards within Rotherham which has supported the community and raised awareness of the assistance that is available at libraries every fortnight.   

The Open Arms team continue to deliver the services amongst other Wards from September onwards and in the 5 libraries. It is envisaged that during the school holidays, within the duration of the project, whichever Ward we will be delivering the project we aim to organise a family activity which will raise awareness of the project and support the community.   

By Lee Lazenby, Open Arms Team

A client attended an Open Arms session with an NHS social prescriber who had been made aware of the good work that was done by Open Arms and encouraged to bring clients to the services available. The client had numerous health issues and wanted support / advice from Citizens Advice in relation to benefits to ease financial problems. 

During the session it was identified that the client needed adaptations in the household to support the health issues and was given advice on making an assessment and grants available. On checking benefits it was identified that the client had not received full entitlement to disability premiums and that this should have been considered during the claim. 

Following our phone call to DWP the client was sent the forms to check entitlement and was awarded £32,000 back payment for arrears of benefit, it was reported that the client was delighted with the news as this has helped his financial pressures. Since then, the NHS social prescriber has told me she will bringing all her clients that need benefit help to the Open Arms service.

By Lee Lazenby, the Open Arms Team

We are thrilled to share some fantastic news from Rotherham Pride, a community group we have been proudly supporting over the past year. Through our guidance and the seed-funding grant we provided, Rotherham Pride has gone from strength to strength, making a real impact in our community. 

Last year, they celebrated a major achievement by winning the VAR Community Achievement Award. Now, they have taken it one step further—being shortlisted for the prestigious Gaydio National Pride Awards in not one, but two categories! These awards are the biggest LGBTQIA+ recognition platform outside of London, making this an incredible milestone. 

We recently received this heartfelt message from Matt Dyson, representing Rotherham Pride: 

“I just wanted to say thank you again for helping us grow to what we are now in only 18 months! Without help from yourselves, we wouldn’t be where we are now.” 

This recognition not only highlights Rotherham Pride’s dedication and hard work but also displays the power of community support and collaboration. We are incredibly proud to have played a role in their journey and look forward to seeing their continued success.

By Lee Lazenby, The Open Arms team

In the past week we had a family come to see us with issues which were a result of an unexpected close family bereavement. I met with them on the very first visit to our outreach session.  They did not arrive until mid-afternoon.  After hearing what they had to say, I suggested they come back to see us on another day when there would be more time to go through everything with them. I sign-posted them to deal with “quick win” resolutions first and later informed the tasks I had suggested to do were conducted successfully.

On visit number two, I chatted a bit more with the family before they saw the CARD adviser and they said they had been sent all over the place since the bereavement. With having no experience in such matters previously, no one knew what to do, people they were coming up against lacked empathy with their overall situation which had happened by no fault of their own and their words were “they didn’t want to know.”

Four days later, they were back again, this time they showed some distress and anger that these issues were still ongoing. It transpires; after spending more time and obtaining further information, the issues were being tackled in the wrong order from what I could make out. I asked them if they would not mind answering questions so I could try and help them. I reiterated I was not at the outreach to give advice but merely to sign post to the most suitable charities and organisations and that is what I was aiming to do.

I discovered the last time the family met any kind of social care involvement was approximately twelve months ago. I then traced back to some contacts and as it turned out, I found a telephone number, made the call and he remembered relevant details straight away. Although he no longer worked the same job, he provided me with information which in the end assisted one of the family members who, since the passing of the relative had not had any means to support himself. 

Just when I thought I had resolved one of their main concerns, another family member informed me of an eviction if outstanding payments were not made to the council by 5pm that day. The time at that point was turned 2pm and the CARD Advisor was still with another client. I suggested to the family, although they wanted to do everything together, they needed to split into two and each group had their own task to do. Time was of the essence. Some family members went to deal with the issue of the person without funds and the other was sent home to obtain relevant information. 

It was discovered, DWP and the local housing office were working from different figures. The reason for non-payment was due to a transition period where they were moving from one benefit to another and therefore there was no money coming in to continue to pay for outgoings. After letting the authorities know about a bereavement more time was allowed to pay but that date had long gone. However, in another letter from a different source, the DWP had also allowed for the lack of money for the change of benefits and the date was now in fact another month’s grace, notified the council. It was up to the family to coordinate but due to the bereavement, it was forgotten.

By this time, the CARD advisor was available. I gave her a quick overview of the situation as it was currently, and I made sure she had all the relevant information to be able to deal. The advisor contacted the council as the client was a little anxious at this point. She explained who she was and that she was acting on behalf of a client and was assisted.

The young man without any income was provided with a face-to-face appointment to apply for Universal Credit the very next day. Normally, this centre only deals with u18’s, however due to the fact the individual is neurodiverse the age range is extended to 25 years of age.

With our help and support the family were able to get these issues resolved allowing them time to grieve for their loved one without the worry of all these problems anymore.

By Lee Lazenby, Open Arms Team

Due to a change of political party in government bringing about a transformation to our existing benefits and welfare system which has been implemented over recent months, we have had a few successes.   

One of which was a lady called Jane whom I first came across on the evening of the 7th of November via our Face Book page.  She was enquiring about the days, times and locations of our Open Arms Community Hub sessions. 

I responded and sent her our latest timetable. 

Jane told me where she lived, and that she would attend at the earliest opportunity.  I said I looked forward to meeting her as I would be at the outreach on the day in question. 

She attended two days later.  Jane told me she had been turned down twice previously for Pension Credit.  I asked her when this was. She checked and it was a short while ago. On the second occasion it was just a few pounds that took her over the threshold for applying. I helped her fill in her registration form and it was then Jane said she felt lonely. I advised her to request a benefit check, just in case there was anything else she might be entitled to and whilst she was waiting, I signposted her to a few social groups in her area. She was quite reserved, but I persuaded her to approach a group in the library and have a word with them. She was very happy I had taken the time to listen to her and she admitted she was starting to feel better and hopeful. The CARD adviser was a big help to her too. He sorted everything out and said all she had to do was to wait and see what happened. 

It was not long at all before I saw Jane again.  On the 19th of November she turned up at Riverside Library just to thank us for everything we had done for her.  She couldn’t quite believe it when her bank account had been credited to what was a Pension Credit, the first of many. Pension Credit provides extra money to help with living costs if you are of pensionable age and on a low income. Now she is receiving this benefit, Jane can now apply to R.M.B.C and make a claim for housing benefit as she is a council tenant.  Also available to her is a winter fuel payment, a council tax discount as well as many other things subject to age and/or dependant on which type of pension credit awarded, plus assistance with heating costs through the Warm Home Discount Scheme.   

Jane said she was over the moon regarding the outcome. 

Jane got in touch with me again through Facebook as I had asked her previously if she had considered becoming a volunteer due to her feeling of loneliness, time on her hands and maybe boost her confidence. I offered encouragement as she said she would not have anything to offer so I explained she could get involved as much or as little as she wanted. No pressure as volunteering is meant to be fun, enjoyable and rewarding to all involved. Jane agreed and then mentioned since her last visit, she had received a £200 heating allowance. She went on to say she had been on a “right downer” over the past few weeks, she wasn’t interested in preparing for Christmas, but this had lifted her spirits, and she is really looking forward to the festive season now. She has yet to let me know if she managed to also receive a discount on both her rent and council tax, although she did state she is more than happy with the heating allowance.  I don’t think she was expecting that, at least not that princely sum. 

Who knows, we may even have Jane volunteering on The Open Arms Project in 2025.  What a testimony that would be. 

By Janet Malsch and Lee Lazenby, Open Arms Team

At the start of November, a lady called in to one of our Open Arms sessions at Wath Library.  Ms S was seeking assistance and information about our services. Drawn to the welcoming environment, she decided to reach out. 

Over a brew, she bravely shared her story. For the past five years, she had been in an on-and-off abusive relationship, which had left her unable to cope with anxiety and mounting debts. Determined to make positive changes in her life, she sought advice on how to address her financial challenges. 

The CARD adviser attending the session, suggested two options.  Either she attends the debt drop-in session at their main office in Rotherham between 09:30 and 12:30 or return in two weeks with the relevant paperwork as she needed more time. Ms S lived locally, so she opted to go back to the library. 

On returning, the advisor referred her to the CARD debt team for further support. During her visit, she also had an open and heartfelt conversation with the Open Arms team, once again, expressing her struggles and her determination to move forward. 

She later shared her gratitude, saying the support and care she received made her feel heard and valued, and now feels confident about tackling her financial situation in the hope of it leading towards a brighter future. 

This story highlights the impact of creating a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for individuals in need and the power of small gestures in fostering hope and confidence. 

By Janet Malsch and Lee Lazenby, Open Arms Team

Joanne, a retired lady, recently visited the Open Arms Project after her Winter Fuel Allowance was withdrawn by the government. She was welcomed warmly by our team with coffee, biscuits, and a friendly atmosphere before meeting with one of our Citizens Advice advisers.

During the consultation, Joanne shared that she had been facing significant personal challenges, including a brain haemorrhage, which had taken a toll on her. Despite her struggles, Joanne was unaware that she might be eligible for additional financial support.

Thanks to a thorough benefits check, it was discovered that Joanne was entitled to Pension Credit—a crucial financial aid for her. Not only did our adviser help her apply for this benefit, but they were also able to backdate the claim to the end of June. This resulted in a substantial payout, providing Joanne with a much-needed financial boost as the colder months approach.

Joanne expressed her gratitude to the team for their support and guidance. She is now in a much better financial position, allowing her to feel more secure and prepared for winter. Her experience highlights the importance of the Open Arms Project and the difference we can make in people’s lives by offering personalised support and advice.