Blog: Our regional work in Hartlepool

Ailsa Park-Smith, one of National Energy Action’s Project Development Co-ordinators, shares work taking place in Hartlepool and how building new partnerships is leading to tangible changes for households living in the local area.  

As a Project Development Co-ordinator in the North East, I’m able to invest time in building local and regional partnerships to improve how support is co-ordinated for households experiencing fuel poverty. 

I’ve been working in Hartlepool recently, an area that has high levels of deprivation. I have come into contact with many clients who are struggling with the ongoing costs of energy bills. 

Through our Warm Welcome Programme, I’ve been able to work with the local baby bank and support applications to our internal Crisis Fund. However, it quickly became clear that a more strategic approach could help deepen our presence in the area and better support households with young children. We know that having new children in the household can stretch household finances, and polling by National Energy Action shows that parents often go without essentials in order to provide for their children. 

Through working with Sector Connector, a network convened by Hartlepool Community Trust, I’ve been able to collaborate with professionals from a wide range of backgrounds to share priorities, explore collaboration, and highlight our respective work. From this connection, National Energy Action has been able to support in multiple ways. 

• Local school partnership: After discussing our child poverty work, our Training and Education team delivered four KS2 educational workshops in a local primary school. These sessions are incredibly useful as it teaches children essential life skills early on, and we provide resources for the parents. We know that cost is often a barrier to keeping homes warm and healthy, so I also attended a parent advice coffee morning and have been invited back for a future drop-in session to be able to provide tailored advice to parents who need it. 

• Warm Homes, Healthy Futures collaboration: I met with the Head of Volunteers from the local hospital and shared insights from our Warm Homes, Healthy Futures programme. The programme focuses on individuals living in cold, damp, or poor-quality homes, particularly those with health conditions or disabilities worsened by low indoor temperatures. Working with staff across the health sector, I worked with the Home from Hospital discharge service. I delivered a stakeholder engagement session to their volunteer team and made introductions into our referral pathway. 

• Broader strategic introductions: I’m continuing to build connections with Voices of Hartlepool. I attended the Hartlepool Poverty Action Group in May to gain further insight and explore how National Energy Action can support residents across multiple priority areas, alongside an introduction to the Financial Inclusion Group. 

Fuel poverty has been an issue for years, but the constantly high costs are devastating for households on the lowest incomes or living in the least energy-efficient homes. National Energy Action turned 45 years old in 2026, and our work has never been so needed. As a charity that was founded in the North East, I’m proud to be helping make more warm and healthy homes a reality.