We are KYSO Project CIC a non-for-profit organisation in Manchester, Over the past month, we’ve seen the UK affected by the COVID-19 virus, with many hospital deaths and many more cases within the community.

Watch The Message From Our Founder Kemoy Walker:

We have seen key workers such as nurses, doctors, support workers and many more lose their lives whilst on the frontline.

We have seen stories also of many community members losing people daily and some weekly, we have seen many parents lose jobs that they have worked for many years and losing a job means they cannot afford to pay their bills or provide for their families.

We have seen the world in turmoil and people slowly adjusting to a new way of living. We’re seeing a huge spike in mental health issues and many people not coping. We received news of a young person in our community had sadly died of suicide, a dear friend to one of our KYSO members.

The government response around mental health has been insufficient with services needed to help communities during this lockdown.

More support is required for vulnerable people who need essentials such as food and personal care products. Many parents who had part-time and zero-hour contracts no longer have work and need support to help them through this pandemic. There is also the undeniable need to assist families who have to manage the unplanned, high costs of bereavement. Ultimately, we want to ensure we can provide relief for these families. We want our parents and loved ones to feel comforted during this time.

This fund is being raised for those who are:

- Having one or more members of their household classed as ‘at risk’ or ‘vulnerable’

- Low-income living households

- Recently unemployed

- Manchester-based

It’s for this reason why we’ve created the KYSO Project Fund – we’re raising £10,000 for our community parents who cannot afford to pay bills due to losing jobs, those who are struggling in general with food and resources to keep them going, we also want to raise money for key workers, who are risking their lives to work on the front line.

Provisions

This fund will support community parents that we know are struggling and going to food banks to make ends meet weekly. We will be providing two relief options: £240 to cover food, bills and other necessities, and £500 to cover larger costs such as rent payments.

Further available support for applicants

Once families have received donations, we will continue to work with unemployed/underemployed people in partnership with Jobseekrs. Services offered will be methods to help with their return to employment.

Apply for support

If you or a family member finds yourself in the position we have outlined above and would like to apply for support from the fund you can Apply for KYSO Emergency Fund

Any amount you can give will help us make a difference. The money we donate is to save lives in the worst affected areas in Manchester, by not allowing the fear of loss of income become the reason they risk their lives. Please contribute and share.

Get in touch

If you have any questions related to this fund or it’s organisers please get in touch .

Project led by Kemoy Walker CEO of KYSO Project CIC.