SWAP celebrates its 20th anniversary!

The Southampton Warmth for All Partnership has celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Dating back to 2004, this tight partnership of charities and advice services helps Southampton residents access the full breadth of support available in the city, from help with the cost of living and staying warm and well, to money and debt advice and housing issues.

The group is chaired by Southampton City Council’s Public Health team and includes representatives from the Southampton Healthy Homes (affordable warmth and energy advice service) team here at the Environment Centre (tEC), Citizens Advice Southampton, Southampton Voluntary Services, Age UK and various city council departments. The purpose of the group is to ensure collaborative working between organisations and to improve the overall support available to residents in Southampton.

The group gathered together in person at the city council to share a series of presentations that highlighted how much the group has evolved and adapted to challenging external factors, particularly over the past five years. Since its last milestone event to celebrate 15 years in 2019, the city has been faced with the Covid pandemic, cost of living crisis and energy crisis and as a result, group members have seen a huge increase in demand for their services.

Although there are ongoing challenges to manage, this partnership prides itself on the quality of its professional network and ambitions to continue delivering an effective support system in the city. We look forward to helping more residents live more comfortable lives over the coming years.