New coalition to help workers hit hardest by pandemic

A new coalition of charities and businesses has been launched to help support those impacted by Covid-19. 

The coalition – Nesta’s Rapid Recovery Network – is a key part of Nesta’s £3m Rapid Recovery Challenge, which is helping develop tools and services to improve access to jobs and financial support for those hit hardest by COVID-19 quickly and at scale.

The three initial members of the network will help reach the end users of these solutions through individual, tailored engagement campaigns reaching people in communities up and down the UK:

• The Big Issue Group – through its Ride out the Recession Alliance (RORA) initiative, social investment network and well known publications, the Big Issue Group will work to engage directly with those who will benefit from these tools as well as drawing on their vast and growing alliance to reach diverse groups of people across the UK.
• Do It Now Now – a community interest company tackling the root of financial insecurity in the Black community – particularly among Black women, Black LGBTQ+ and Black non-binary people. Do it Now Now is experienced in direct engagement to reach a range of people and will use these methods alongside the support of an existing network of 75 providers across the UK to showcase relevant solutions and tools to this key audience who have been particularly hit by the economic impact of COVID-19.
• Youth Fed – a charity focused on helping young people – particularly in the North West of England – to overcome barriers to education, training and employability.  Youth Fed have tried and tested methods of engagement which they will use to help young people interact with the innovators’ tools and services and will liaise with other youth focused organisations across the UK to ensure as many young people are reached as possible.

To meet the size of the problem across the UK, Nesta is calling for more organisations to join the Rapid Recovery Network.

It is looking for organisations who have direct access to individuals and communities who have been hit hard by the pandemic and could use some support with access to jobs as all as assistance managing their finances.

Nesta hopes to engage with organisations from a wide variety of sectors and industries to reach as many people as possible – from banks and supermarkets, to housing associations and food banks.

‘While the end of lockdown may be in sight, the impacts of long Covid on the economy and people’s jobs and finances are still to be felt,’ said Nesta Challenges managing director, Tris Dyson.

‘Innovative solutions designed with people at their core are what we need right now to help people recover. The Rapid Recovery Challenge solutions have been selected by leaders in the field as well as tested extensively with individuals but we now need to get these tools into people’s hands without delay. With the support of our Rapid Recovery Network we hope to reach one million people by 2023, and we hope more organisations will join us in this mission.’

Photo Credit – Pixabay