A community centre staffed by former addicts and victims of domestic violence is feeding, clothing and looking after some of the most vulnerable people in our city.
Labour councillor Gerrard Woodhouse, who runs the incredible L6 centre in Everton , said recruiting a team of people who have overcome hardship themselves has been key to the amazing work they to do support the poorest people in Liverpool.
The community building hit national headlines this week ahead of plans to open a 'baby bank ' where struggling mums can access cots, prams and baby clothes for free.
It is the latest lifeline the organisation is handing to the community, after providing thousands of families with free school uniforms, bikes, food hampers and toys for Christmas last year.
Speaking to the ECHO about how their small team of 13 manage it all, Cllr Woodhouse said the key was recruiting dedicated staff who are able to able to spot and support the issues people in the North Liverpool community are facing.
The majority of people who work at the L6 centre became involved with the organisation by needing help themselves - and now wish to give something back to the community.
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Cllr Woodhouse said: "All our staff have been through hardship. I had a drink problem myself from the age of 17, I just was not accepting it.
"People who come through this door are going through the same issues as what [our stafff] have had.
"Some of our staff have been through things like domestic violence, loan sharks, being on benefits.
"We have had some that have had a drug issue in the past. Staff who have had a criminal record and they want to take turn their life around and need our support.
"Our staff can spot the issues that people have got because they've been out, got the t-shirt and know how to support them".
The L6 centre was initially opened to provide traditional community activities such as afternoon tea and socials.
From the outside, it is a small, unimpressive building tucked away in the corner of one of the most deprived areas of the city.
However over the years it has increasingly become one of the most important places in the city for hard-hit families to seek help .
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One member of staff, 18-year-old Stephen Gallagher, from Everton, said: "It's a good feeling working here. You get to give back to the community. Gerard needed extra work and I was going through a bad time and he supported me.
"We help out in any way we can, no two days are the same. It's good work, we are always busy."
Services that are ran out of the building include a foodbank, laundrette, advice service, toy appeal, free school uniforms, s ocials for older people and - as of next month - a free mother and baby shop.
Cllr Woodhouse said their "non stop fund raising" and generosity of scousers is what allows them to put on all of these services for free.
Meanwhile, grants from charitable organisations such as the National Lottery allow staff - who often work up to 12 hours a day delivering food hampers and running events - to be paid a wage.
After visiting the L6 centre last year, Liverpool based charity The Steve Morgan Foundation also donated a huge £83k grant to the organisation, which has allowed them to buy a mini-bus to continue putting on their socials.
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Woodhouse said: "We are always fundraising. At our social events we can bring in £600. We take that to a charity called In Kind and we can get £6,000 worth of stuff. In a week we do about 16 fundraising events. We just keep going."
The centre's partnership with IN Kind Direct allows them to bulk buy toys, bikes and other provisions at low cost .
Through this partnership they have been able to stock two mobile containers full of baby provisions and school uniforms, which will open at the end of April.
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Staff at the centre said they felt compelled to address the growing poverty faced by new mums who are too poor to take their babies out of hospital.
Speaking about the need for their latest venture, Shirley Marshall, 54, who runs the L6 Centre finances, said: "People have got nothing. They are having babies and they are having to leave them in hospital because they haven't got car chairs or the good needed to look after a baby so we are here now, we are like a one stop shop.
From food bank to uniform to mother and baby, everything that vulnerable families need, people living in deprivation, is all here now under one roof. "
*Staff at the centre have urged people in need of help not to "suffer in silence" and get in touch by calling : 0151 260 1297 or visiting them at 99 Queens Road L6 2NF.
You can also be referred via your GP, children's school or housing association.
