Nick and his colleagues have turned a pub plagued by violence and drugs into an establishment with good food and good beer –and a good heart.


Brett Sparkes, Unite Community’s co- ordinator in the South West who recruited Jess to the union, says the benefits system has been made ‘deliberately opaque’ to deter claimants. But it is a fundamental part of Community’s role to ensure that Unite goes into bat for its members, many of whom are either out of work or in low paid jobs.


“Unite Community has grown from zero to 3,000 in this region in four years. We’ve been involved in a wide range of campaigns from winning a women’s-only swimming session to saving 57 jobs in the Devon Youth Service.”


Brett met Jess in Westminster in 2013 at a demonstration in protest at the bedroom tax. “She has some fantastic ideas and we back her as much as we can,” said Brett.


“It is a fabulous story. But she doesn’t help others just out of a sense of duty. It is out of the goodness of her heart. And she is an absolute whirlwind. She makes me dizzy.”


She makes her family dizzy too. Heather, Jess’s 18-year-old daughter and equality officer at Unite Community’s Swindon branch, helps her mum to look after the clients and thought up the name of the project.


Unite lifeline


There is no doubt that what Jess and her team are doing is incredible work – and they’re not alone. “Unite is the only union that is reaching out into communities hit by the government’s deep cuts into our public services and our social security system,” says Liane Groves, Unite Community national co-ordinator.


“Our members provide advice and representation to people who are having their benefits either cut or reduced. This is not just charity, its work that empowers people and shows that by coming together in Unite Community you can make a difference.


“Unite Community membership offers a lifeline to those who have been left behind by the harsh economic climate that communities have to endure.”


For more see www.unitetheunion.org Find out more HERE


“My mum is bloody awesome and does far too much. She has always wanted to help people. Sometimes there are tears and tiredness but we get through it. She’s Wonder Woman.”


To find out more about Unite Community see unitetheunion.org 21 uniteWORKS Spring 2017


Pics by Mark Thomas


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