The Hub is home to several of the charity's key services, including a community kitchen, where individuals can attend cooking classes and a weekly ‘meet and eat’ every Friday. The Hub also hosts the Fresh Start Pantry, a community food club "created to help people stretch their money further. Currently, over 100 members visit the pantry each week and pay around £4.50 for a shop worth £30."

On top of their established services, the charity recently began collaborating with North Edinburgh Arts, Spartans Community Football Academy, and Move On to create the North Edinburgh Support Service (NESSie). According to Biddy, this initiative combines the unique skillsets of each charity "to help people prosper, and most importantly, push for system change."

"It’s also one of the first Scottish projects to be developed from a Human Learning System. This means we have no criteria –we will work with all those who need our support and work in a real person-centred way. We are really excited about it.

"We have recruited four individuals who work as a bespoke team. Based out of each of the charities’ hubs, the team is empowered to help anyone who walks through the door, and anything they learn from working with individuals in the community is used to inform the matters we take to decision-makers".

When asked what challenges the charity is currently facing, Biddy stresses that before the pandemic, Edinburgh was already struggling with a major housing crisis, and the cost of living crisis has only compounded many people's feelings of hopelessness: "There are massive challenges, but we like to talk about hope. Whether we provide an extended period of support or simply help someone get a microwave, at Fresh Start we can ultimately help people and bring them hope that things will get better."

Something that gives Biddy hope is the charity's 150+ strong volunteer force made up of retired individuals, those who want to give back, and people who've been through the charity's services themselves. Biddy illustrates:

"You can't underestimate the value of giving your time. The human element is worth more than we could ever calculate, but we know that it would cost Fresh Start an extra £250,000 a year to do what we do without volunteers.

"It is excellent to see people of so many different backgrounds working together. We've had feedback that volunteers get a lot from it too, whether it's a chance to socialise or a safe space to build confidence in your skills."

Looking towards the future, Biddy is optimistic "We've been through quite a significant period of growth with new projects and services, so we are focused on bedding these in and pushing for some real system changes through NESSie." However, their ultimate priority remains "helping anyone that walks through that door, and if we aren't placed to offer the support, we will put you in touch with an organisation who can."

Baillie Gifford staff voted for Fresh Start as their 2023/24 charity of the year. You can find out more about the charity by visiting their website.