Signpost is an employment focused charity that works with communities in areas of sharp deprivation.
Signpost supports/empowers people via the provision of both physical and interpersonal resources:
Physical: A comfortable IT suite, located in the community, which offers people free access to the internet and all the training and benefits associated with IT.
Interpersonal: A welcoming culture that treats people with respect and the expectation of success. A thorough expertise in the challenges and cycles of unemployment and poverty with a supportive, practical approach to overcoming them.
Why the community needs usEmpowering communities requires the development of its members. In order to achieve this, meaningful activity and tangible success are required. Once started, this process is often self perpetuating. It makes sense to focus on something like employment or improved IT skills as they fulfill the requirements for building confidence and self esteem as well as solving immediate problems and providing real resources to sustainably empower individuals, their families and their communities.
Our impact on the communityAn important advantage of adopting a client centred approach that aims to empower people is sustainability: Once people experience success it becomes self reinforcing and offers the best hope of a real shift in their social and economic circumstances. After a person acquires this ability they no longer need our help. People who are able to change their circumstances for the better will, most likely, choose to stay out of poverty. This really is 'Helping people to help themselves.'
