Chance Sunderland

Chance The history of our service

Community help And Neighbourly Care for Everyone (CHANCE) is a well established voluntary organisation and a registered charity that is run by local people for local people. The organisation was set up in 1993 by a group of female residents who lived in the Garths, A high rise blocks of flats that was situated in the East End of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

Initially the group was set up as a support mechanism for parents and their young children who, lived in the Garths, who found themselves socially and economically isolated. A group of residents identified the need to offer support to the local community. They contacted the area housing organisation Home Housing to explore possibilities. The organisation provided initially two flats and through a variety of sources of funding they were able to convert two unoccupied flats into a drop-in resource for residents. Other agencies were approached to support the Project, which led to the development of a range of family support and education/training opportunities to benefit residents from the area.