Hyde Foundation and Hyde Charitable Trust (HCT) generated at least £18m of social value in 2020, benefitting both customers and Hyde directly, and other stakeholders such as the NHS and the DWP, and the economy as a whole indirectly as a result of positive changes to customers’ lives.

Benefits included:

• £1.6m in temporary accommodation costs avoided for local authorities
• £887k cumulative income gains for customers
• £701k raised in community funding
• £131k savings to the NHS
• £2.9m in avoided evictions costs to Hyde
• £956k value of grants made to individuals and communities.

HCT also made additional funding available to customers throughout the pandemic: releasing an extra £600k to set up an emergency relief fund for community individual grants; setting up a rent relief fund and awarding £484k to support customers in financial difficulty; and awarding £308k in crisis grants to help customers who couldn’t afford to buy food, helping families manage bereavements costs and supplying laptops for children so they could be home schooled.

The report also highlights how the work of Hyde Foundation and HCT contributes to Hyde’s wider goals, including its initiative to quantify the value of its social tenancies, as well as new measures Hyde is introducing to help improve its environmental, social and governance performance.

Kerry Starling, Hyde’s Head of Social and Economic Investment, said: “2020 was a difficult year for many of our customers and this report brings our social purpose to life. We have seen a significant increase in demand for support around employment, mental health, domestic abuse and food poverty since March 2020 and we expect this to continue to rise.

“Whether it’s helping to create places where people want to live, or offering support to help customers stay in their homes, Hyde Foundation and HCT play an integral role in delivering Hyde’s social purpose.”