Sunderland charity boss ‘gobsmacked’ by community sprit following riots

The manager of a charity that had its building set on fire during the August riots said she was ‘gobsmacked’ by the positive response from the local community.

Citizens Advice Sunderland’s building was targeted by vandals during the riot – but quick thinking and partnership working meant there was no reduction in service levels for those who needed support.

One of their offices was completely burnt out and while their main office was only smoke damaged, it was still deemed a crime scene and unusable with broken glass strewn throughout the building.

Manager Denise Irving said she was unaware of the riots happening in the town when she received a call to say the window had been damaged. Denise was only alerted to the wider disruption taking place by the people she called to try to fix the damage.

She said:

“They told me that they wouldn’t come out to Sunderland at the moment, and I thought that was strange. But within a few minutes, I was told that the place was on fire. I was absolutely devastated. 

“We immediately initiated our business continuity plan. I had about an hours’ sleep and didn’t stop until about 11pm the following night.

“It still hurts, especially when I look at the photos. And then you see all the goods piled up in a burnt-out mess. I’m quite a tough person, but it still hurts.

“It’s the people that make Citizens Advice, but seeing the building in the state it’s in is hard to take. It’s like our second home.”

Denise put her long-standing partnership working with the local community to the test and was quickly rewarded with a temporary place to call home – and, crucially, meant there was no drop-off in the much-needed services the charity provides.

Denise added:

“On the Friday (the afternoon of the riots), I told some people to come back to our drop-in service on the following Monday because their issue wasn’t time critical. So, we still had clients that needed support even though we didn’t have a building.

“I called the Chief Executive of Sunderland Council and he kindly agreed to give us some space at City Hall. I went to our building to sign post people there, and everyone was seen. There was no drop in our service whatsoever.

“Most staff have been working from home since, until we can find a more permanent solution.

“I think we were lucky that it was not September onwards and the fact that we aren’t as busy during the school summer holidays.”

Sharyn Smiles, who works for Sunderland Area Parent Support (SAPS) watched the events unfold on social media while she was on holiday. Having gone through a similar experience and wanting to take action, Sharyn immediately set up a GoFundMe page to help the community to rally around and support the charity.

So far, more than £23,000 has been raised from 700 donations – smashing the initial target of £2,000 and leaving Denise and the team shocked by people’s generosity. In addition, British Gas Energy Trust is also helping the charity get back on its feet with funding for new laptops and energy saving lightbulbs to give away to clients.

Denise said:

“It was totally unexpected. I still pinch myself because I wouldn’t have expected that amount of generosity at all. We’re all gobsmacked by it.

“It’ll probably take up to a year to be fully back in the office. Hopefully, the insurance will cover most of the main refurbishment of the building, but over the years we generally make do with second hand chairs and things, so we’re going to use some of the money to buy some ergonomic chairs for our staff to work on, which will make a difference since they’re sat with clients for six to seven hours each day.”

The team will also plan to hold an event to show the impact Citizens Advice makes to the community and to mark its 85^th anniversary.

Citizens Advice Sunderland is 1 of 38 organisations across Britain to carry out a Trust funded money and energy advice service. To find a service local to you, please click here.