The Annexe is a recently-refurbished (2010) local Community & Resource Centre run by the Wharton Trust in the Dyke House area of Hartlepool.

Dyke House is within the top 2% of deprived wards in the UK and, as such, experiences high levels of unemployment, low levels educational attainment and aspiration, high levels of health inequalities and extreme levels of deprivation. 

The centre, throughout its 21-year-history, has supported the people who live in this community and surrounding areas in a variety of ways over the years. Our staff are incredibly passionate and committed to reducing the effects of worklessness and poverty in the area. Most of our activities are around:

• Supporting people to access employment and training advice and opportunities

• promoting healthier lifestyles amongst all ages, including access to exercise classes and advice on diet/healthy eating

• engaging young people in positive activities

• improving literacy and access to information through our community library

• developing IT skills and providing low cost access to internet services through our newly-equipped IT suite and free internet browsing

We believe that all of the above help to develop more productive and employable individuals and help with our aim to prevent the next generation of young people from falling into the poverty trap that their parents, and in some cases, grandparents have fallen into.  

By providing families in the Dyke House area with opportunities that help them to improve their lives, develop skills and increase their confidence we hope that the end result will be gainful employment. Creating more positive role models within our community will have the knock-on effect of inspiring more young people to want a better life for themselves and motivate them to work for that better life.