A GROUP of people saved more than £40,000 between them in just six weeks after joining a money confidence programme which claims to be the first of its kind.

All In, an initiative created by Eastlight Community Homes, a housing association based in Braintree, gave 20 Essex residents a chance to dedicate a year of their lives to creating a bold solution to a big social issue in their community, and then making it happen.

Teams of residents, who were paid an annual salary to focus on their efforts, worked alongside their communities to research, design, trial, and pilot grassroots solutions to social issues ranging from the cost-of-living crisis to poor mental health.

One of the projects born from All In was Trusted, a first-of-its-kind money confidence programme offering expert advice from Colchester residents with personal experience of how to make their money stretch.

Gazette: Study - researchers from Essex University were involved in the projectStudy - researchers from Essex University were involved in the project (Image: Newsquset)

A group of ten participants saved more than £40,000 during a six-week trial of the scheme.

Karen Badenoch, who spearheaded Trusted, said: “We are so grateful for the opportunity and so proud of what we, together with the Colchester community, have achieved.”

Researchers from Essex University worked alongside the housing association throughout the project and have been “blown away” by its success.

Rebecca Warren, the lead researcher, said it had been a “transformative experience” for everyone who had been involved.

“This programme speaks to the government’s levelling up agenda and is a model which could be replicated around the country,” she said.

“They have created a unique approach to tackling change and it is impactful on multiple levels. These are projects which are genuinely important to the community.”

The other ideas created were Popcorn, a Witham-based support group for isolated young people; Kinder Minds, an empowering wellbeing programme in Braintree; and Grow with the Flow, which runs period positivity sessions at schools in and around Halstead.

James Green, social innovation and community empowerment director for Eastlight, said All In was the UK’s “first community incubator”.

“Together, [the participants] have built ideas which continue to make a difference to residents’ lives today and could only have been created in this grassroots way,” he added.