Save energy, stay warm

Positive Action in Housing

Supporting BME households in Glasgow to access energy safeguarding services

Our project at a glance

• Priority vulnerability group: Digitally and culturally excluded groups, and financially vulnerably people
• Strategic priority area: Supporting priority vulnerability groups to access tailored support services
• Support target: 1,905 households over 21 months 
• Duration: July 2024 to March 2026
• Investment: £313,187 over 21 months
• Forecast SROI: £1.93

Why we’re working together

Minority ethnic groups are disproportionately vulnerable to fuel poverty. In addition, many asylum seeker, refugee and ethnic minority communities face specific language difficulties and cultural factors which make them less likely to engage with energy efficiency advice and assistance. 

We’re partnering with homelessness and human rights charity Positive Action in Housing to deliver much-needed energy advice services and safeguarding support to Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities across Glasgow. This includes refugee households, new EU migrants and settled BME communities living in the city’s most deprived areas.

Project objectives

• Providing one-to-one multilingual energy advice to BME households in Glasgow
• Holding energy awareness workshops in collaboration with other local BME organisations 
• Supporting eligible households to sign up for the Priority Services Register
• Raising awareness of carbon monoxide safety and providing free CO alarms to households most at risk of CO harm
• Training volunteer Community Energy Champions to share energy knowledge within their communities

How we’re working together

Multilingual personalised energy advice

Through one-to-one sessions, Positive Action in Housing will support BME households with both immediate energy crisis interventions and longer-term support to alleviate fuel poverty. Our culturally sensitive sessions will help build confidence around using energy safely, efficiently, and affordably. By holding these one-to-one conversations in the household’s preferred language, we can ensure the households will fully understand and benefit from essential energy safeguarding and debt resolution information.

Energy awareness workshops

We’ll be running 20 energy awareness and financial skills workshops, covering topics including energy saving tips, managing energy bills and broader household budgeting and financial resilience. We’ll be offering workshops in different languages, delivered at venues arranged in collaboration with other BME organisations in Glasgow ie Bridges Programme, Garnethill Multicultural Centre, and Glasgow City College ESOL department.

Community Energy Champions 

As part of our project, we’ll be training Community Energy Champions. These volunteers will be able to clearly identify the signs of fuel poverty in their community and cascade knowledge to their peers, supporting their community to maintain safe and warm homes. This will increase the volunteer’s own skillset and employability, as well as their community’s overall understanding and awareness of energy.

How to get involved

Accessing support from Positive Action in Housing

As one of our VCMA network partners, you can refer your BME clients in Glasgow for support from Positive Action in Housing on the charity’s website or by emailing sraboni@positiveactionh.org.

If you’re a BME household living in Glasgow, you can get support from the team at Positive Action in Housing through the charity’s website.

Becoming a Positive Action in Housing partner

You can find out more about ways to get involved with the charity on the Positive Action in Housing website.