We caught up with Jo Lake from Brighton-based charity Oasis Project to find out more about them and why they’ve joined the Brighton & Hove Living Wage campaign.
What does the Oasis Project do?
Oasis is an organisation giving hope to people affected by drugs and alcohol. We help women, children and families find the strength and opportunities to make choices that lead to change. Our services include 1-1 care co-ordination for women with drug/alcohol problems; group sessions and drop-ins; 1-1 therapy sessions for children and young people affected by substance misuse in families; a creche to enable our service users to access treatment; outreach work in the community with vulnerable, complex-needs clients; and a specific sex-workers outreach project. Oasis has over 22 years experience at delivering this varied kind of support in Brighton and increasingly across East Sussex.
Why have Oasis Project signed up to the Living Wage Campaign at this time?
Oasis is continuing to grow and develop as an organisation and it was felt that signing up to the Brighton and Hove Living Wage was an important step to take. We have a range of roles in the organisation and wanted to ensure that all our employees were receiving fair reward, particularly in the context of living and working in our City. Oasis values its employees and alongside salary payments offers a range of rewards and benefits including a well being hour and opportunities for learning and development.
Why do you think it’s important for organisations like yours to be a living wage employer?
Oasis offers a range of fantastic support to its clients and we want to make sure we are also offering exceptional support and recognition to the people that work for us. Being a Living Wage Employer means that this is transparent for our employees, our clients, our partner organisations to see.
Is it more important now during this pandemic to support employees?
During the pandemic our employees have been incredible, demonstrating resilience, creativity, flexibility and dedication to their roles. As an organisation we support our employees everyday, but it is even more crucial that we support them during this pandemic as we work in more dispersed ways with limited face to face contact. We have developed new ways for team communication and have continued to work safely but productively.