Community Cafés Helping Residents Rebuild Lives

Church Housing Trust is proud to be associated with two Community Cafés in Middlesbrough and Hull which are providing training opportunities for long term homeless people.

YourCafé in Middlesbrough is part of the Stages Academy. where residents have a broad range of problems including addiction, family breakdown, offending and homelessness and benefit from the training opportunities YourCafé is providing.  Paul, a resident and trainee says “I’ve always liked cooking but I’ve been homeless and it’s tough.  I’ve now done my basic Food Hygiene and I’m cooking up some great food.  I love talking to the folks that come in to the café and I’m getting some brilliant experience.  I want to go into catering and this is my first step to a job and a place of my own.” 

Further south, YourCafé at The Crossings in Hull is providing volunteering, training and employment opportunities to its residents.  With an extensive menu and an outdoor terrace overlooking the River Hull, it is staffed by volunteers who have experienced different types of homelessness.  Darren, a resident and trainee says  "I have worked in a pub kitchen before so when I heard about this, I just volunteered for it.  All we did in the pub was reheat frozen food but here I'm learning how to make things. Hopefully, I can get some qualifications with the training they give here so I can get a job and a place of my own."

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Provision for ex Services in Catterick and Aldershot

Support for veterans facing homelessness is a key element of Riverside ECHG’s range of services. Church Housing Trust recently raised funds to help furnish and equip The Beacon, a new supported housing scheme in Catterick, North Yorkshire.   31 single self-contained flats are provided for single Service leavers who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Opened in August 2011 it provides accommodation for up to 18 months, and staff work with the residents to help them prepare for moving on into permanent housing in their area of choice. Facilities include a training and employment centre, a technology centre, a health resource facility, and a training kitchen and bakery.

We also provide funding for services and activities for the residents of Mike Jackson House, a similar scheme in Aldershot, Hampshire, which houses 25 ex-Service personnel. We have recently raised the funds for a log cabin to be built in the grounds of the scheme, which will provide a quiet and tranquil place for residents to relax away from the main building, and where social activities will take place. It will be constructed by some of the residents themselves, using skills they learnt whilst serving in the forces.

“When I first came out of the army I couldn’t really settle back into city life.  It’s like being in prison, even though you come out of prison you think, I miss it….  Some people can’t cope with being free like that.”

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Community facilities for homeless people in Sittingbourne

Bishop Michael Turnbull, a Patron of Church Housing Trust and former Bishop of Durham and Chief Secretary of the Church Army, was joined by Secret Millionaire, Gary Eastwood, at the official launch of new training and IT facilities which will benefit homeless residents, as well as the whole community in Sittingbourne, Kent.

Bishop Michael cutting the tape

They were welcomed to The Quays* housing scheme, run by Riverside ECHG, at the official opening of a raft of new facilities including a Computer Suite, a Consultation Room for use by agencies including NHS and Drug and Alcohol teams, and a conservatory-reading room.

“Homelessness is just a comma in people’s lives, not a full stop, and helping them break the cycle is all about what support they have to develop skills, access training and grow in self confidence,” said Riverside ECHG’s manager at The Quays, Donna Lee. “Because we are a big scheme that lies in the heart of our community we always look at how we can work with local agencies to benefit more people. So we’re absolutely delighted that Gary as a local Sittingbourne lad is supporting us to make a difference for local people also.”

Church Housing Trust raised £115,000 for the new facilities, and Steve Holdsworth, Trust Fundraising Manager said: “We are delighted to have been able to raise funds for the new facilities at The Quays, where the staff do truly outstanding work to help the residents rebuild their lives.”

In addition, Canterbury College have also donated fifteen computers to the scheme along with IT tables and chairs which will allow The Quays to offer full IT classes.

*The Quays is a national award-nominated 84 bed housing scheme working with single homeless and disadvantaged men and women. The scheme provides support for a diverse range of problems including drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems, unemployment and institutionalisation through long term prison sentences.

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Manchester prison visitors' centre

Riverside ECHG runs the Visitor Centre at Manchester Prison. Families often travel considerable distances to visit their relatives in prison and arrive at the Centre tired and on edge. Added to this, prison visiting – with all the security measures - can be very intimidating for children. The Play Workers have a vital role in looking after the needs and welfare of child visitors. The Visitor Centre runs on a very tight budget and has no funding to cover the costs of these posts, so Church Housing Trust has an ongoing appeal to fund two Play Workers.

“Over the years we have seen how upset some children can be by visiting prison and the strain this puts on families who already struggle to visit,” said Riverside ECHG’s Prison Centre Manager. “We believe that by helping relatives visit it keeps families together and leads to less family breakdown and homelessness. The Centre works with the families of men leaving prison, so they avoid homelessness and as a result are less likely to re-offend."

Research shows that holding the family unit together reduces the likelihood of a prisoner becoming homeless and re-offending, and reduces the incidence of family breakdown.

The work of the centre helps to reduce crime and deals with mental health problems, jobs, accommodation and helps by sustaining relationships and providing opportunities for accessing support.                                      

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Resettlement

Resettlement is a time fraught with difficulty for many homeless people. 'Moving on' can be a desperately lonely experience after the camaraderie of hostel life, and simply coping with everything may tax their abilities to the limit.

Church Housing Trust provides funding to assist hostel residents who are moving on in cases where statutory grants are not available, or are insufficient.  The aim is to enable the purchase of basic household items such as furniture and bedding, kitchen equipment and curtains to suit any given individual's needs. Resettlement grants afford support and comfort at a time when the recipients could be at risk of slipping back into old dependencies and addictions, helping to ensure a successful transition from homelessness to independent living.

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A parish priest found him sleeping in the porch of his church. He helped him to review his life and consider his options, and, with help from the the Single Persons Accommodation Centre for the Ex Services (SPACES) in Catterick Garrison, he was offered a room at Riverside ECHG’s Galleries hostel in Richmond, North Yorkshire. Once Gary had settled in he registered with a local GP and was able to receive medical attention for his diabetes, and the anxiety attacks and depression which were plaguing him.

Once Gary was confident and well enough to move on and live independently he decided to stay in the local area where he had built up a support network and had made friends. Further help from SSAFA Forces Help and Church Housing Trust enabled him to secure private rented accommodation and purchase the basic furnishings he needed. He sent us a thank you card to say how much he appreciated the help he was given. “You’ve all been phenomenal!”

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Violence from her step-father had forced 'Diane' to leave the family home and after living in emergency accommodation she was offered a room in a women's hostel in Birmingham.

She enrolled on an apprenticeship scheme in care working at a local residential home and was thrilled when she was finally able to move into a flat.  She was not earning enough to be able to furnish it, so a grant from CHT helped her buy basic kitchen items, bedding and material to make her own curtains.

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'Darren', 23, had a background of alcohol and drug addiction, and had been homeless for three years. Not surprisingly he also suffered from mental health problems, but, during his second stay at Vaughan House his behaviour stabilised and he is now in control of his addiction. Having discovered his artistic abilities, the staff encouraged him to start at college, and he was able to move on into his own place. CHT’s resettlement grant enabled Darren to buy things he needed to turn his bare flat into a home, so that he is finally settled and optimistically looking forward to the future.

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