New 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. This will allow The Quays to offer full IT classes from the end of April.

*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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CHT funds new IT Suite in Reading

Hamble Court is home to thirty-five single homeless men and women with a variety of support needs including drug misuse, alcoholism, mental health, histories of rough sleeping, ex offenders and other issues. It has a dedicated team of support workers and housing workers who work with the residents, putting together support plans so that they can sort out their problems and move on to more independent living.

The new IT Suite, funded by Church Housing Trust, will be used to teach residents IT skills.  The Support Manager at Hamble Court, Stewart Tippett, said:  “A grounding in computer literacy is absolutely essential in many career paths and by offering this facility, we are greatly improving the prospects of our residents.   The dedicated work of our Education and Training specialist Worker at Hamble Court, Christopher Symonds, has been instrumental in setting up the room within the hostel, which will be used to teach the residents IT skills.  A grounding in computer literacy is absolutely essential in many career paths and by offering this facility, we are greatly improving the prospects of our residents.  We are so grateful to CHT for their funding."

After residents have gone through a brief induction on how to use the facility, they can use it for job searches, looking into housing options, applying for courses or just researching areas of interest to them.

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Women and Children's Refuges - Barnsley & Wakefield

Tragically around 70% of children who come into Barnsley and Wakefield Women's Refuges have witnessed their mother being violently attacked and have themselves experienced both physical injury and sexual abuse. Witnessing or experiencing violence can result in psychological trauma, anger, fear, insecurity and guilt. The Children’s Workers run tried and tested programmes to help children deal with the trauma they have experienced and to give them coping strategies should they ever find themselves in a similar situation again. The postholders also work with the child’s school to try to ensure their education does not suffer.

There is currently no statutory funding available for these vital posts, so funds raised by Church Housing Trust are crucial in supporting these highly vulnerable children. We are fundraising to continue a post at both the Barnsley and Wakefield Refuges.

Children’s Outings and Activities
Most of the women fleeing domestic violence have very little by way of money and are unable to provide their children with treats or outings, let alone a holiday. Funds raised by Church Housing Trust are paying for a programme of outings and activities, such as trips to the seaside, Christmas pantomime, bowling and swimming. These are a highlight for children whose lives have been turned upside down by violence.

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Provision for ex Services in Catterick and Aldershot

New Project for ex Services in Catterick

It is estimated that around 10% of the homeless population in England are ex-Service personnel. Although the majority of service leavers settle well into civilian life, the reasons that a small but significant minority remains vulnerable are well documented. Some find it hard adapting to life outside of the armed forces having served for many years, some will have suffered a breakdown of family relationships, and some will have to cope with physical or mental injuries obtained during their time serving.

‘The Beacon’ is a new supported housing project for ex-Services located in Catterick, North Yorkshire, opening in January 2011 and consisting of 31 self-contained apartments. The focus of the project will be on helping the residents prepare for civilian life, with the focus on life skills, practical skills training and preparation for work.

The Ministry of Defence has given the land, and the Department of Communities and Local Government are funding the building costs, but this funding does not stretch to all of the furnishings and equipment.

Church Housing Trust has therefore launched an appeal to raise around £100,000 for items including furnishings for the flats and communal areas, and equipment for a training centre, IT suite, laundry and health centre. ABF The Soldiers’ Charity (formerly the Army Benevolent Fund) has generously donated £50,000 to start the appeal and CHT is hoping to raise the balance from trusts, foundations and other supporters.

Mike Jackson House in Aldershot

Church Housing Trust is supporting the work at Mike Jackson House, a new 25 bed hostel for ex Service men and women that has recently been built in Aldershot.

Some Service leavers find it very difficult to adjust to civilian life and homelessness is a well-documented problem among a minority of this section of the population. The project provides short-medium term housing for homeless people from any of the three Services and staff work with residents to help them make the transition to independent living.

Thanks to generous donations, Church Housing Trust raised £65,740 to furnish and equip the accommodation which was opened by General Sir Mike Jackson - the former head of the British Army, in February 2008. Every resident has their own flat and the project also has an IT suite, gym and life skills training kitchen. CHT will continue to support the residents of Mike Jackson House by providing them with a Welfare and Resettlement Fund.

In partnership with the MOD, English Churches Housing Group is already successfully running a similar ‘sister’ hostel named The Galleries in Richmond, North Yorkshire. Since it opened in 2003, The Galleries project has provided a home, training and employment support for over 150 single Ex-Servicemen and women.

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Strangeway's prison visitors' centre

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 ECHG’s Prison Centre Manager, Mike Gorman. “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.

To compound the problems, a lack of money often means that people resettling cannot afford to purchase even the most basic household necessities, with the result that may end up sleeping rough in their own homes. In cases where new tenants have virtually nothing by way of furnishings or household goods, they easily become detached from the resettlement process - many abandon their homes to become street homeless again.

In order to address this issue, Church Housing Trust is appealing for £50,000 to provide Resettlement Packs, as and when needed, to residents moving on from the 70+ hostels we support throughout England. The aim is to enable the purchase of basic household items to suit any given individual's needs. Packs are only used when statutory grants are not available, or are insufficient. At an average cost of £250 each, the resettlement packs are designed as a very practical way of meeting the particular needs of each individual, demonstrating our faith in the future of homeless people who are trying to make a fresh start.

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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 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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Emma didn't get on with her mum's new partner and when she was sixteen she was thrown out of her family home. She was referred from a Leeds City Council hostel to one of the ECHG's schemes while she was still attending sixth form college. Fortunately Social services paid her rent, as she was not eligible for housing benefit and CHT's funding enabled her to buy a second-hand cooker when her old one broke. She has now been at ECHG's scheme in Leeds for two years, and has successfully secured a place at University after passing her A levels.

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Darren, 23, has 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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