Families may be experiencing issues such as domestic abuse, substance misuse, involvement with the criminal justice system, long-term unemployment or generational poverty. Rather than focusing on one issue in isolation, LIFT works with the family as a whole, recognising that these challenges are often connected.
At the heart of LIFT is empowerment rather than doing things for people. A key part of LIFT is the use of personalised budgets. Families are supported to identify what would make the greatest difference to their individual circumstances and, with professional coaching and guidance, are empowered to make informed decisions about how their personalised budget is used. This puts choice, control and decision-making back into the hands of the family, rather than professionals simply deciding what they need.
The focus isn't simply on getting through the immediate crisis. It's about helping people build the confidence, stability, skills and opportunities they need to move forward and, wherever possible, break cycles that may have affected families for generations.
Because lasting change happens when people are supported to believe in their own ability to create a different future.
The story of LIFT is also the story of Believe. LIFT, Let's Improve our Futures Together, began in 2011 and was originally delivered by Home Start Central Cheshire. In 2014, the original Be-lieve CIC took over the contract. Be-lieve had been established specifically to deliver LIFT, and its name stood for Building Esteem and Love in EVEryone, a principle that still sits at the heart of Believe Again CIC today.
LIFT was a £900,000 Lottery-funded project that improved outcomes for families with multiple and complex needs across four local authority areas. Its key objectives included capacity building and shared learning between the voluntary sector and local authorities at a strategic level. Joanne was the lead professional co-ordinator and then project manager from 2012 until the project was completed in 2015.
The original project may have ended, but its values, learning and whole-family approach have continued to shape Believe and now Believe Again. LIFT showed what can happen when families are listened to, trusted and given support that reflects their real lives, rather than being expected to fit into separate services. It brought together personalised budgets, practical help, emotional support, partnership working and a clear focus on empowerment and social return on investment.
We are passionate about the possibility of relaunching the LIFT Project. We believe it remains one of the strongest and most effective approaches for tackling poverty and supporting families facing multiple and complex needs. A new LIFT would build on everything learned through the original project, while responding to the realities families face today.
At Believe Again, we understand that poverty is rarely just about money. It is often tied up with trauma, exclusion, low self worth, limited opportunities and the exhausting weight of constant survival. We empower people with both practical guidance and compassionate emotional support, helping individuals and families take steady, sustainable steps out of crisis and towards stability. From budgeting, benefits, housing and employment advice to rebuilding confidence, self esteem and hope, our trauma informed approach treats the whole person, not just the circumstances. Using the SEA™ (Self Esteem Approach) and ASP™ (Age, Stage and Phase) models alongside specialist outcomes frameworks focused on wellbeing, empowerment and sustainable behavioural change, we walk alongside people as they break the cycle and build a future where they, and the next generation, can thrive.
Other ways we support
SEA™, our Self Esteem Approach™. Every challenge starts with the relationship you have with yourself, so building self awareness, self compassion and inner stability comes first.
The ASP Framework, Age, Stage and Phase. Our strategic early intervention and prevention model that meets people where they are, recognising that age, stage of change and life phase all shape the support someone needs.
Fresh Thinking, our specialist eating disorder service. Trauma informed support for those affected by eating disorders, and the families walking alongside them.
YOB, Be Your Own Bestie. Bridging the gap as young people step into independence, with a consistent, believing presence.
Want to talk it through?
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