I've recently been introduced to the wonderful people at Turning Point whilst undertaking a charity…read moreproject to help people back into work. The small team at this Custard Factory based charity are lead by the hard working, enthusiastic, Monica who is super keen to help people. Turning Point 'turn around the lives' of those who need it, including those with substance abuse problems, those with mental illness with learning difficulties. They mentor, monitor, befriend and support people through their darkest hours and provide them with path into society. It's an amazing feat that needs amazing people at the helm and I'm very much looking forward to working with them in months to come.

From the owner: EESPro Employment Service exists to assist and enable people who have experienced substance &…read morealcohol misuse to access employment, education and training opportunities in order to enhance rehabilitation and reduce social exclusion. The service also assists Prolific and Priority Offenders (PPO).

UpRising had been mentioned on more than one occasion to me in connection to the various Into Work…read moreprojects I work on. This charity concentrates its efforts on young people, 19-25, but rather than work skills, the encourage people to build in their leaderships skills. In a sense, they offer leadership a programme with the objective to equip young people with the skills and knowledge that will help them work within their communities. Ultimately the aim is to build a better Britain, starting with these young people; the leaders of tomorrow. With a base in Birmingham, they are also working in Bedford, Manchester and London. Speak to Zehra Zaidi for more details.

This is a lovely little gem on Soho Rd, and a great shop for all communities…read more I walked in here and was greeted with a wonderful smile, and they were happy for me to just browse around. They sell all sorts from books, bric-a-brac, scarves, toys, clothes, vases, paintings, clocks etc. With the books they have a special offer of buy 1 get 1 free, and are also running a special winter clothing campaign, so, donations are wanted. I like this store as you can get pretty much anything in here, and they always have in new different stock on the shelves at a bargain. Now you can also Gift Aid it, so any cash donations you make are 25% bigger! Open Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm, closed on Sundays.

Soho Road has such more to offer but sometimes people don't give it credit. There are plenty of…read moreshops which sell some great items and sell products you don't normally find in the main town centre. Though there are a few British Red Cross shops across the city, this one on Soho Road does have a few items in there which are really good. Charity shops are becoming the way forward! Because people are tightening up their budgets, you'll find that this shop now has a few more people entering the store than it used to a few months ago. You find a lot of older people going in there to look for items such as; books, vases, clothing and seeing if there are any antique items hidden anywhere. Younger people pop in to find any vintage items. When I've been in there, there have been a few young girls looking for anything that they think they can customise or restyle for cheap.

Okay - the boring basic stuff about this place is that it's not JUST a fire station, but as a…read morecommunity venue it has local businesses based there, and rooms available to hire out for conferences with all the usual shenanigans you might expect. What is AWESOME about this particular station is the 'Red Hot Education Centre' which I managed to have a quick look around when I was doing some work in Handsworth. They've built a pretend house inside the station which you get to explore to try to identify the risks of fire - and after trying to identify them, you get to witness through windows looking in what actually could happen to such a house. Scary, and exciting, and totally engaging! Definitely worth a visit - particularly if you're doing work with groups about fire safety in the home. Plus the guys who work there are really very friendly and helpful (though don't be surprised if they pester you incessantly about getting a smoke alarm test done!)