This Christmas, we’re delighted to be partnering with Social Bite, who are the largest deliverers of freshly made free food to people who are homeless in the UK. They have just launched their Christmas Meal Appeal in association with Just Eat, in order to provide up to 200,000 meals for homeless and vulnerable people over the festive period.

Until Christmas Day, whenever you order a takeaway from Just Eat, you can choose to donate at checkout and help provide a meal for people experiencing homelessness, with each donation being matched by Just Eat.

The Christmas Meal Appeal was officially launched this week by Helen Mirren, and is being supported by other well-known faces including Rob Bryden and Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy.

The funds raised by the appeal are being distributed to a number of charities including Thames Reach in order to support homeless and vulnerable people this Christmas.

‘Thames Reach is honoured to be part of this campaign with Social Bite,’ said Thames Reach Chief Executive Bill Tidnam. ‘This year has been challenging across all our services helping vulnerable people away from street homelessness, but the efforts of communities coming together to help each other has been really encouraging.

‘Our work centres around helping people find decent homes, build supportive relationships and lead fulfilling lives, an important part of this is supporting people who are moving away from street homelessness, who are working hard to build a home, but who are often struggling with loneliness and isolation.  For them the idea of festive food is important, perhaps most importantly because of what it represents and we are very grateful to be one of Social Bite’s recipients this winter,’ he added.

Mark arrived at our Robertson Street hostel in January 2020, having struggled for a long time with alcoholism.

He had spent many years working on production of long running ITV show The Bill as a driver, transporting light and sound equipment, as well as working on Eastenders and a number of films. The job was intensive and he would often be working seven days a week. When production of the show ended in 2010, though, Mark found himself at a loss and struggled to find new work. ‘When production finished on The Bill, that’s really when I started drinking,’ he says.

Whilst working on the show, Mark rarely used to drink, as he would often have to be up to start work at three or four in the morning, but after the show finished, he lost contact with a lot of people, and began to feel isolated.

Then his mother and brother both sadly passed away, and Mark began to drink heavily.

‘When you’re drinking the first thing you do in the morning is run to the toilet and you’re heaving up but there’s nothing there to come up. You can’t eat, you can’t drink, you can’t even drink water. You get the shakes, bad nightmares, sweats, you don’t look or feel good,’ he says.

Since arriving at Robertson Street, Mark has received a lot of support from his key worker, Alison, who told him that getting a place of his own was possible once he’d gotten help for his drinking.

Alison has been amazed by the progress Mark has made. ‘He’s become so resilient,’ she says. ‘The difference we’ve seen in him from when he arrived to now is huge.’

‘The people here actually care,’ Mark says. ‘The staff are absolutely amazing.’

Nine months into his stay at Robertson Street, Mark is doing well and is spending lots of time in the gym. Alison has helped him get the backdated Personal Independence Payments he was owed, and he has now saved up some money, which he intends to use on furnishing his new flat.

‘I know if I touch the money I’ll spend it on booze and lose everything,’ he says. ‘So instead I’m focusing hard on just saving everything for the flat.’

Mark is also hoping to get a job soon, and to save up further for a car and a holiday. ‘Having something like this to aim for is helping me stay sober.

Mark is one of many people who are moving on from street homelessness. This winter, we’re highlighting the work we’re doing to help these people move on and live more fulfilling lives. You can find out more about our Moving On From Homelessness campaign and the services supporting people like Mark by clicking the link here.

This year has seen not only an unprecedented increase in demand for many of Thames Reach’s services, but also the need to adapt as quickly and effectively as possible. Volunteers across different projects have helped enormously with these efforts, and to say thank you earlier in the year we asked staff and service users to nominate their star volunteers for our inaugural Volunteer Hero Awards, marking those who have gone above and beyond to help our projects and services across London. Although social distancing guidelines meant we were not able to host a full ceremony with all winners and staff together, over the past few weeks, winners have been presented with their Volunteer Hero Awards by chief executive Bill Tidnam.

From supporting outreach services to gardening projects at a residential project, each winner was nominated by either a staff member or service user for their outstanding contribution to Thames Reach’s vision of ending street homelessness. There were twelve winners overall, this is what some of them had to say after finding out they had won:

“It is my privilege to be able to volunteer for such a dynamic charity. I am always excited to get out there working alongside fantastic staff who have such dedication and passion for the work that they do. Everyone at Thames Reach have shown me nothing but kindness and patience and that is replicated with the poor souls who they meet living on the streets. I am struggling to get my head around the fact that i was even nominated as i think that i am simply doing what most other people would do if they were given the opportunity. Each time that we get someone off of the streets feels like a great moral victory to me as it does to all of the wonderful people who i work with. I would recommend that everyone should try volunteering at least once in their lives.”
– Paul, Rapid Response Team

“For me, volunteering is a snack for the soul. It’s a way to give back to my community and contribute in my own way. The pandemic was more of an incentive for me to get out there and help out. To quote Billy Ocean, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’.”
– Manos, Rapid Response Team

“Back in March I was lucky enough to do the TRaVEL (Thames Reach Volunteering and Employment for Life) course as a learner, I thought that with PTSD and anxiety I was no longer able to help anyone let alone myself. The course rekindled my desire to encourage others to reach full potential and I was accepted to volunteer for the next TRaVEL course. The course has rewarded me immensely, not only am I gaining invaluable skills from working with Lisa and the learners but also find that this experience has changed me for the better. I want to push myself towards a career that involves helping others. This experience has opened my heart. It was an honour to be awarded one of the Volunteer Hero awards and the recognition really humbled me.

“I have learned that job satisfaction is more than money. To be given this opportunity to help in a time of crisis has made me realise there is no lockdown on hope.”
– Joe, TRaVEL

A selection of nomination comments from staff and service users:

“Faye has been with us since 2019 and has been a fantastic volunteer throughout. She is consistent, committed and is always willing to be flexible even when we have had to make last minute changes. Faye was fantastic during the pandemic and recently supported Jamie [Lead Manager, Rapid Response Team] in explaining the role of volunteers within our team at a volunteer Streetlink event. She was particularly good at explaining the realities of outreach on the ground and this is a testament to her sound communication skills and empathy. She is a perfect volunteer!”
– Nomination for Faye, Rapid Response Team

“During the pandemic, often we were short staffed and Vicar Rob stepped up many times so I could complete early shifts and day shifts. It was an eerie and scary time, yet he remained calm and professional and never once let me down in sometimes manic situations. All the services you take for granted i.e coffee shops, cafes and loos (!) were all shut down and his church St Barnabus became my beacon of light.”
– Nomination for Vicar Rob, Newham SORT

“During lockdown Clare continued to make weekly contact with her clients and support them via the phone; she was keen to remain in contact with them and support the SI [Social Inclusion] service during these very difficult times. She is consistent, extremely enthusiastic, reliable, approachable, friendly, understanding, compassionate and selfless and has created invaluable bonds with her clients. I have received great feedback about Clare from her clients; they look forward to her visiting and calling them, she helps them feel motivated and focused and often gives purpose to their week. She always has a non-judgmental attitude and accepts them for who they are.

“One of her clients has progressed hugely, which is down to the support she has received from Clare; they now have a small support network they didn’t have before and get out for weekly walks with a group which she would never have considered before.”
– Nomination for Clare, Social Inclusion Project in the Tenancy Sustainment Team 

Thames Reach provides a range of outreach services to people sleeping rough in London and Surrey. We know that sleeping rough is damaging and dangerous and the purpose of our outreach services is to provide these people with a route off the streets.

In the year 2018/19 the Greater London Authority CHAIN database recorded around 51% of people sleeping rough across London as being nationals of a state other than the UK.  This group does not have access to many of the accommodation and support options that are open to UK nationals and, as a result, they tend to spend longer sleeping rough and are more likely to die on the streets.

Establishing immigration status means that people can then establish entitlement to support.  Our outreach staff are not qualified to provide immigration advice and where we are working with people with unclear immigration status, we will encourage them to seek appropriate independent advice from advisers and organisations who are approved by the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), and who will ensure that they fully understand and consent to any necessary information sharing.  This means that we do not share personal information with the Home Office, but instead refer to appropriate agencies for specialist advice and support.

We believe that people sleeping rough should be entitled to the protection of society, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, and we will continue to work actively with local authority services (such as safeguarding and child protection), and other statutory agencies where this is justified by the risk to the individual, other people sleeping rough, members of the public or staff.

Today, Monday 2 November, is the official launch of Thames Reach’s new outreach service in the City of London, providing direct support for people rough sleeping in the borough.

This new outreach team will work across the City every night of the week, checking new reports of rough sleeping on the day they are received, and developing personalised, long-term support plans with people who have been sleeping rough for long periods to help them off the streets for good. This will include helping people with different needs into accommodation where they can receive the appropriate level of support to help them lead fulfilling lives.

Bill Tidnam, Chief Executive, said: “Working with people sleeping on the streets to resolve their homelessness, so that they can recover and play a full part in society, has been at the centre of what we do at Thames Reach since we started in 1985. These are difficult times, but we are looking forward to working with everyone in the City of London to make a real difference to the misery of rough sleeping.”

Marianne Fredericks, Member of the Court of Common Council and Chairman of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Sub-Committee, says: “As chairman of the Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Sub Committee, I am delighted to welcome Thames Reach as our new outreach service provider. With their extensive experience working with several London councils and the Greater London Authority, Thames Reach is committed to supporting the City of London to reduce homelessness, with a special emphasis on reaching our most vulnerable long-term rough sleepers.”

At Thames Reach, we are looking forward to working further towards our vision of ending street homelessness by expanding upon our 35 years’ experience delivering services to homeless people. Currently, we employ approximately 400 staff and run services in and around Greater London, including: Local authority street outreach teams in Croydon, Newham, Lambeth and Hackney; a rapid response to rough sleeping service covering 24 boroughs; a range of hostels, each sleeping up to 50 people; supported housing and long-term tenancy sustainment for people who have previously slept rough in 16 London boroughs, including Tower Hamlets and Westminster.

Gabriel* is a Portuguese man living in London, who found himself homeless for the first time in the spring of 2020. He had a history of substance use and when he became homeless, his drug use had increased, due to the additional stress and trauma of his situation.

He had support in place around his drug use, but was struggling to fully engage with this process; overcoming this first barrier was essential in order to begin his journey away from homelessness. A lot of the early support he received was around stabilising his use, which he actively engaged with, and was successful in doing.

Gabriel also had a strong skillset and a long history of employment. The key to supporting him was helping him feel empowered to make steps towards employment and increasing his confidence, which had suffered during his periods of drug use and homelessness.

On a practical level the Lambeth Non-UK Employment Project (LNEP) team created a CV for him, provided transport costs so he could look for work and sent him job opportunities. Gabriel was encouraged to actively participate in the process, and by providing him with the tools he needed, he began taking steps to find employment.

Moving out of London was something Gabriel felt would be beneficial to his recovery. He found a job in Hastings as a cleaner in a supermarket, and needed to start within a few days. This is when support had to be as flexible as possible; the team needed to move quickly to ensure he was able to relocate in time to secure the position.

As soon as he was offered the position the team referred him to the Private Rented Sector (PRS) service within Thames Reach’s Tenancy Sustainment Team (TST), during which time he was secured hotel accommodation in Hastings and relocated immediately, to begin work within a few days. This gave the PRS team enough time to work on securing affordable accommodation locally and begin the resettlement process.

Gabriel is happy in his new job, it is a role that is not too mentally challenging for him; he says it gives him time to work on his recovery and rebuild his confidence. On his time off he is enjoying long sea walks and feels it is the first step towards a new future.

While the pandemic has meant big changes in the way we all live and work, we still need to provide essential services to the people we work with, who are particularly affected.  Adapting and working collaboratively has been crucial in ensuring that not only is no one left behind to sleep rough, but the people who rely on us continue to receive the appropriate support. We spoke with three members of staff about how services have changed and about how they are coping at this time:

Matthew Davison is Lead Manager for TST (Tenancy Sustainment Team) South:

“We’re still operating a near-normal service from our office and across the community; we are still very much available for urgent and non-urgent queries and don’t want any of the people we work with to feel that they have been left alone at this difficult time. Social distancing is respected during any face-to-face contact, which is being prioritised for those in need of urgent support, which can mean a variety of things, whether this is having no income or health, legal or safeguarding issues. For non-urgent support, we are regularly checking in with clients over the phone. Welcome Sessions for new nominated clients are also being held over the phone as much as possible, and in some circumstances we are helping clients move into new properties.

The team are facing challenges, mostly with the reality of having to social-distance themselves. For example, due to the nature of some types of medication, some clients have had no option but to go to pharmacies in person to collect their prescriptions. There has also been a lack of clarity around whether clients have been, or should be, identified by the NHS as being in the high-risk ‘Shielding’ category. These have been dealt with very much on a case-by-case basis and we have been working together to put the needs of our clients first.”

Sarah Jeeves is our Learning & Development Officer. Alongside her work in the Central Services team, she has been providing support in one of our hostels.

“In terms of HR, it’s been a lot busier since the lockdown; on top of our day-to-day work we’ve been updating policies and processes, especially around sickness and working from home. There have been lots more enquiries and staff asking for advice, which is changing and updating as we go. Some of the team are working remotely so we’ve been having Microsoft Teams meetings, WhatsApp video meetings… it’s changing but we’re adapting to it well so far.

I started thinking about volunteering at the hostel after realising that many staff members would be self-isolating or shielding. Working in HR, I knew first-hand that the staffing shortages would be affecting our most essential services, and when I began coordinating our volunteers, I decided to wonder how I could make my work go further. The main differences between my normal work and working in our hostels is how you start to perceive things and organise your day differently. Whereas in HR there are systems and schedules, working with people with a range of needs means you need to be prepared to be more spontaneous and proactive.

The benefits to both the hostel and myself have been pretty clear, for example I imagine it was a relief to have someone who knows Thames Reach well and already works here providing support where necessary. Seeing our work in the hostels has allowed me to see how I might do my normal job differently; I organise our training schedules so I can see where Managers might need training in different areas. My confidence has definitely grown here, and I feel capable to do the work whether it is based in an office or hostel. I also have a background in mental health so I’m confident in how to approach certain situations. As I’m managing the volunteers, I know exactly where the gaps are in our essential services and am always happy to talk to staff, and members of the public, about how they might want to volunteer their time and skills during this difficult time.”

Jakub Turek is Senior Practitioner for the Rapid Response Team.

“In the current situation a lot of services have been temporarily closed or have limited access. For us in the Rapid Response Team it means we have to work harder and build stronger relationships with local authorities to ensure our clients are supported during this hard time which affects everybody.

We have been working closely with other Outreach services like never before. The solidarity in the homelessness sector in London has been really encouraging.

Our service has been delivered with no disturbance apart from receiving a much higher number of Street Link referrals. We have been responding to referrals every night 7 days a week. Our team have been working really hard to ensure all referrals are visited and clients are placed somewhere safe.”

During the coronavirus crisis, Thames Reach outreach teams have been helping people experiencing homelessness and precarious living conditions to escape the streets and find accommodation where they can be socially distant, protect themselves, and help prevent the spread of the virus. We have worked as part of the Government’s coordinated response to the pandemic, known as Everyone In, which has helped thousands of people move into temporary accommodation since the lockdown began.

Now, we’re working hard to making sure that the people we’ve helped during this period are able to move on into secure, long term accommodation and escape homelessness for good. This means not only providing decent homes, but also helping people to gain access to better health care and developing long term employment prospects as they seek to make a better life for themselves in the challenging environment this virus will leave in its wake.

The pandemic remains with us right now, though, and its social and economic fallout is already creating huge challenges for homelessness charities across the country. Our services have been running and adapting throughout this crisis, but we still need your help to make sure that the vulnerable people protected from the virus during lockdown don’t fall back into a life on the street. Your support could help provide a starter kit for a new home, or provide training and work opportunities to help people maintain their independence. It could also help support people with drug and alcohol issues, or assist vulnerable people with mental health needs living alone in the community.

Support us today

Please support our mission to help homeless and vulnerable people find decent homes, build supportive relationships and lead fulfilling lives, ensuring that no one is left behind at a time when rough sleeping is more dangerous than ever.  

Thames Reach have been providing outreach services at Heathrow Airport for several years, and recently with increased measures needed to ensure people who are rough sleeping are kept safe and able to self-isolate during COVID-19, we have been working on-site to find temporary accommodation for people sleeping rough in Heathrow Terminals 2-5 as well as the bus station. This has been a collaborative effort between Thames Reach and partner organisations including Heathrow Travelcare, social services and local authorities. Starting early on Wednesday 1 April, we have seen a real commitment to ensuring people who have been rough sleeping are cared for sensitively and effectively. Over three days, this impressive operation has seen a limited number of staff working in a complicated environment with a range of needs catered to, including complex needs, resulting in over 160 people being successfully given accommodation in this short space of time, an unprecedented effort.

Accommodation setups vary from hotel rooms, including some at the Thames Reach-run hotel in south-west London, to self-contained flats for those with COVID-19 symptoms, and extra provisions for people with pets. These are safe, positive spaces where individuals are able to spend time in clean, contained settings with food provided, in order to protect their immune systems from the risk of the virus.

Hotels are based in local authorities across the city, from Wandsworth to Ilford via the City, which are being staffed by various providers including Thames Reach. This is a thoroughly collaborative project, and we are working with organisations including St Mungo’s and Look Ahead to ensure the needs of each individual are met.

Having worked day and night at Heathrow, we are incredibly relieved to have been able to accommodate such a large number of people off the streets but our work is not done. We will be liaising with central and local government as well as our partners to ensure that those we have managed to temporarily re-house are not left behind once the quarantine is lifted.

Getting people into accommodation is a first step, but we need to make sure that we are able to help them take the next step away from homelessness and into stable and suitable accommodation.  This story will progress and we will be releasing updates accordingly.

On Thursday 2nd April, Thames Reach Chief Executive Bill Tidnam co-signed a letter to the Prime Minister on behalf of several organisations in the homelessness sector. The letter is a statement of gratitude to the collective push to ensure no one is left sleeping rough, with a new call for support to ensure teams are able to do this safely and effectively.

The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson

MP Prime Minister

10 Downing Street

London

SW1A 2AA

Dear Prime Minister,

I hope that you are recovering well. Following on from our previous letter, I want to thank you and your team for the swift action that has been taken to help protect the most vulnerable people in our society in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. People experiencing homelessness, particularly those who are rough sleeping, are most exposed to the risks of the virus, not only because they do not have a safe home to self-isolate or follow sanitation guidance, but because they are three times more likely to experience a chronic health problem including respiratory conditions.

In particular, I want to express my gratitude for the coordination of the “Everyone In’ hotel and emergency accommodation operation led by Dame Louise Casey and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to house all rough sleepers. This will undoubtedly save lives. Measures taken by the Government to boost the welfare system and protect renters from evictions will also help ensure that the pressures built up by the pandemic do not result in people being forced into homelessness.

There are however, a number of remaining barriers to the government achieving its ambition and while there continues to be far too many people still on our streets or in dangerous congregate accommodation this remains a public health emergency and a race against time. I have enclosed a fuller note on the measures required. These include, most essentially, assistance from national government to temporarily remove the legal barriers that exist to people receiving homelessness assistance, a dedicated funding stream for local authorities to secure accommodation and provide the ongoing support to people so that they can remain there, Covid-care and PPE for staff working in frontline homelessness services and local funding to assist people who are struggling to pay their rent.

Finally, we stand ready to assist the government in planning for an end to the hotel arrangements that sees all individuals provided with housing and support and helps meet the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping for good in this country.

Yours sincerely,

Jon Sparkes, Crisis

Rich Henderson, Homeless Link

Mick Clarke, The Passage

Pam Orchard, Connection at St Martin’s

Steven Platts, Groundswell

Bill Tidnam, Thames Reach

cc. Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP, Rt Therese Coffey MP, Rt Hon, Priti Patel MP