Huddersfield Mission

Who we are

Huddersfield Mission is a well-established charity that has been serving the people of Huddersfield in various forms for over 100 years.

We are a generic provider of support to people but we are well known for the help that we give to people who are homeless, or vulnerable due to poverty, mental health, addiction, or other multiple and complex needs. We run a community cafe that provides low-cost nutritious meals in a safe and friendly environment, serving (pre- Covid) about 1000 meals a month. Our cafe is run by a mix of staff and volunteers.

We have an advice and support team of three staff and five volunteers, who support people with a wide range of issues. Benefits claims and issues, housing and financial advice, access to food parcels from the Welcome Centre, clothing, furniture, and toiletries. We support people who are in three general groups, People in a life crisis, people who have long-term support needs due to chaotic lifestyles or ongoing issues such as enduring mental health, and people who need short-term perhaps single-issue advice and support. Each year we provide approximately 6000 individual advice sessions to about 1000 different people.

We own and run a large building that is the home to our community cafe and advice service but also has three other tenants and rooms for hire by a wide range of community organisations and groups. 1000 people a week use the building (pre-Covid). This is a useful source of income but we see it also as having a significant social impact too.

The Mission building is also a registered place of worship and has two congregations that use it. Huddersfield Mission's roots are as a Methodist Church but since 2014 the church and charity have been separate charities. We remain a faith-based charity proud and inspired by our roots but also open to all with an ethos of service.

During Covid, we were one of the Council Community Anchor organisations, coordinating direct support from neighbourhood groups with shopping, prescription and other needs, and acting as a conduit between the community and the Council. As we have our own advice service we were also offer more detailed support to individuals when required. This work has widened our beneficiaries, in the Tolson area (postcode HD5) of Kirklees which we are responsible for as a community anchor.