We Live in a fantastic part of the country, Torbay has the romance of a picture postcard seaside community, lovely sandy beaches and warmer than average weather (most of the time) ... it truly is a great place to live and visit.

But behind the lovely picturesque scenery and the warmer that average climate, there is real heartache, depravation and suffering.

According to the 2018 Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

• Torbay is ranked as the most deprived local authority area in the south west. With growing inequalities as more people are being classed as deprived.

• 1 in 4 children in Torbay are living in poverty.

• We have one of the weakest economy’s in the whole of England

• There are high levels of vulnerability in the population of Torbay: With an ageing population, High levels of: homelessness, Mental ill health, Addictions, unemployment, and social isolation that most other parts of the country.

Social isolation is a real concern particularly amongst vulnerable groups, of which Torbay has rather a lot. There are very few community facilities in Torbay that support people in distress, particularly now the organisation like Anode and Heles Angles have close down.

Now the helping hands gang want to do something about that. We want to open a community support hub that anybody in distress can visit for advice, support and most importantly of all to see a friendly face.

We are looking to open the new buzzing community hub in a central location, with good access to all major bus routes; our vision for the buzzing hub is a open door drop-in centre where anyone can drop in support or just to see a friendly face.

We are looking to raise £6,000 to cover up front costs associated with acquiring a building, setting it up as a community hub and any other costs we encounter along the way.

Please give whatever you can to help the helping hands gang develop a state-of-the art facility for the community and ensure that people in distress will have somewhere warm and welcoming to visit when they need it most and a vital resource for the whole of the Torbay community.

To find out more about the buzzing project, give some feedback or find out other ways that you can help up visit

www.thehelpinghandsgang.org/buzzingcommunityhub