A CHARITY that has helped more than 10,000 Wokingham people look for work could be forced to close if its council funding is axed.
The Wokingham Job Support Centre (WJSC) has been running for 23 years with the help of a grant from Wokingham Borough Council (WBC), during which time it has offered advice and help to 10,500 people.
However, its WBC grant is now under threat, leaving the centre facing a financial crisis and only enough reserves to keep going for 12 months.
Steven Polak, Treasurer and Trustee of WSJC, told The Wokingham Paper the council’s grant of £16,600 provides 55% of its annual operating budget.
He said: “For this relatively small amount of contribution the whole borough gets a unique community service which would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, if it were not largely run by volunteers.
“We are a successful example of David Cameron’s ‘big society’ where the voluntary sector provides a much more cost effective solution than local or central government.”
He feels it is unfair that WBC is proposing to axe this grant.
“We understand that the council needs to reduce its costs, however we understand that we are now facing a cut of 100% in our grant, probably because we are seen as an easy target.
“We believe this is grossly unfair to all the borough residents who support us, work with us and the many thousands we have helped back into work over the last 23 years.
“This is a very short-sighted move by the council which will lead to the loss of a key service to the community. Even with recent improvements in the economy, in the last year we have had 250 new clients and some 1,500 visits to the Centre.”
Wokingham borough does not have its own Job Centre – jobseekers have to visit Reading or Bracknell to look for work – and the WJSC charity was originally set up by the Council. It currently runs from The Cornerstone in Norreys Avenue.
Mr Polak added: “We are the only organisation in the area to focus on the 50+ age group and we provide a massive payback in reduced community costs and improved well-being, family integration and community cohesion.
“We ask all Wokingham Borough residents to lobby their councillor to stop the council destroying this unique service.”
Cllr Anthony Pollock, executive member for finance and resources at WBC, said: “As part of a continuous drive for efficiency, and in light of ongoing pressures on the council’s budgets, we are looking at a range of options to achieve the necessary savings.
“Withdrawing or reducing the grant paid to Wokingham Job Support Centre is one possibility that has been put forward for consideration, but no decision has been made. The council’s budget will be finalised in February.”
For more on the centre or to ask for help, visit www.wjsc.org.uk, or the centre at the Cornerstone Building, Norreys Avenue, Wokingham RG40 1UE.
