The community of Cowley is an eclectic, multicultural and populous part of the city of Oxford. Cowley Centre houses a large shopping area that is utilised by the surrounding communities of Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys. 

The famous Cowley Road, an arterial road leading to the centre of Oxford and its dreaming spires, boasts an ethnically diverse population and is one of the fairly “hip” parts of town with pubs, bars and restaurants running down the whole length; it has always attracted creatives, with the music scene being particularly vibrant at the O2 Academy and other music venues and every year it is home to the spectacular Cowley Road Carnival. 

Students and locals alike find Cowley Road an attractive place to spend a night out. However, the Cowley community is in crisis, and we need your help to reach those most vulnerable and in need. 

Here are a few statistics to highlight the situation: 

• 1 in 5 children are living in poverty (after adjusting for housing costs which are extremely high).

• A person who lives in Cowley has a life expectancy 15 years lower than if they lived in affluent North Oxford (comparing OX4 to OX1).

• Housing costs in Oxford are 16 times the local annual income.

• Rental costs are nearly DOUBLE the England average.

• Less than half the population can afford the so called “affordable housing.”

• Operation Bullfinch estimates that there were 373 victims of grooming by one paedophile ring.

• Key Stage 2 (age 7-11 years) school results are in the bottom 25% nationally.

• Sure Start centres, who give help and advice on child and family health, parenting, money, training and employment, in the last four years, due to funding cuts, have gone down from 44 to 8 centres who cover the whole of Oxfordshire. 

And all of this was the situation BEFORE Covid 19 and the subsequent lockdowns. The situation is deteriorating rapidly, but God is mobilising his people as you read this to reach those of the community of Cowley who are falling through the cracks, particularly vulnerable children and families.