Provision to this project will be used to build an online system to help all within the Cowley area to access much-needed help, as well as help organisations to collaborate more effectively seeing the gaps in provision.
The community of Cowley is an eclectic, multicultural and populous part of the city of Oxford. Cowley Centre houses a large shopping area that is utilised by the surrounding communities of Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys.
The famous Cowley Road, an arterial road leading to the centre of Oxford and its dreaming spires, boasts an ethnically diverse population, and is one of the fairly ‘hip’ parts of town, with pubs, bars and restaurants running down the whole length; it has always attracted creatives, with the music scene being particularly vibrant at the O2 Academy and other music venues and every year it is home to the spectacular Cowley Road Carnival. Students and locals alike find Cowley Road an attractive place to spend a night out.
However, the Cowley community is in crisis, and we need your help to reach those most vulnerable and in need.
Here are a few statistics to highlight the situation:
And all of this was the situation BEFORE Covid 19 and the subsequent lockdowns.
The situation is deteriorating rapidly, but God is mobilising his people as you read this to reach those of the community of Cowley who are falling through the cracks, particularly vulnerable children and families.
The first step on what is a long road ahead, is to gather all the incredible resources in Cowley and Oxford and put them into one user-friendly online directory, so that there is one place the community can go to find the help that they need, when they need it.