In the year 2020/21 almost half the people seen sleeping rough were assessed as having mental health support needs. This is a significant factor in helping people not only move on from street homelessness, but prevent episodes of sleeping rough in the first place. In response Thames Reach has teamed up with NHS mental health services, Lambeth council and other charitable organisations to improve the way these services work and to make sure that they are accessible to the people we work with.

Monica Geraghty, programme manager at the Lambeth Living Well Network Alliance, a service dedicated to mental health provisions in the borough, discusses its incredible work and how she looks after her own mental wellbeing.

“I have been working as part of the Lambeth Living Well Network Alliance (LWNA) for two years, and I am currently programme manager. The Alliance is a collaboration between five organisations: Certitude and Thames Reach (voluntary sector); NHS Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – now part of South-East London CCG; South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), and Lambeth Council. This collaboration brings together agencies from statutory and voluntary sector organisations who work together to provide smoother access to services and support for those who need it.

“Adapting to the pandemic has been a challenge but one that teams have executed well. Inpatients wards have had to redesign how they operate to manage COVID-positive cases. The Alliance Rehabilitation Team and the 3 Living Well Centres (LWC) have had to pull their resources together and adjust to remote working practices. A lot of hard work has gone into developing these changes, which has included people working outside the normal expectations of their roles to ensure services have always remained covered. During the first lockdown I was part of the LWC duty system which I wouldn’t normally have done which gave me a good insight to the work and pressures these teams face.

“From these experiences we have found that as an Alliance we are resourceful and adaptable; teams have been focused on how we can support our Lambeth service users and have instigated change at pace to ensure this can happen. The other big change is that everyone now knows how to use Microsoft teams – there is no escaping it!”

Photographs and writing created by members of the Deptford Reach community have gone on display at Deptford Lounge, as part of a project with arts charity Create.

Participants created the artwork as part of a 12-week project run by Create, and funded by the Deptford Challenge Trust. Guided by two professional artists, photographer Alicia Clarke and writer James Baldwin, the members of Deptford Reach explored a variety of photographic techniques (including reportage and still-life) and writing styles (including monologues and short stories) in order to express themselves and find their voice.

The resulting artworks are now on public display in the windows at Deptford Lounge until the New Year, and can be seen for free by passers-by.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of the workshops,” said one of the participants. “I like to do different things with my mind, like using the camera, writing and all that. I enjoy coming here to do it because it gives me something to do instead of sitting down indoors all day doing nothing. It helps me with my mind doing different things.”

Deptford Reach’s ‘Speak With My Voice’ partnership with Create has been running 2008. The project gives vulnerable adults the opportunity to work creatively with professional artists and one another, using photography and creative writing to break down barriers, build relationships and trust, reduce isolation, enhance self-confidence and self-esteem, and have fun.

Nicky Goulder, founding chief executive at Create, said: “This important project gives vulnerable adults the opportunity to work creatively with our professional artists and one another, using photography and creative writing to break down barriers, build relationships and trust, reduce isolation, enhance self-confidence and self-esteem, and have fun. Never has this work been more important, at a time when everyone has experienced increased isolation, and it has been a privilege to enable these participants to express themselves and enhance their wellbeing over the past few months. I hope everyone enjoys the exhibition, which demonstrates their talent so wonderfully.”

Jordan McTigue, lead manager at Deptford Reach, said: “This year has seen our work at Deptford Reach look quite different. While we usually operate as a day centre, we are now providing a floating support service to ensure vulnerable people in the community are not further isolated by the pandemic. Taking part in creative projects is something we know is incredibly beneficial, and well received, towards mental wellbeing, and we’re really pleased that this exhibition with Create is taking place at the heart of the community.”

Alicia Clarke, Create photographer, said: “It has been my pleasure to facilitate photography workshops with attendees of Deptford Reach. Taking inspiration from some famous photographers’ work, and discussing the meaning behind images, were key parts of our workshops, and it was so inspiring to then see the world interpreted through the eyes of the participants. There were lots of diverse interests within the group and I feel that everyone found ways to express themselves, and to enjoy the work of their peers. We had so much fun!”

James Baldwin, Create writer, said: “The group chose to focus on screenwriting and adaptation, speech writing and rhetoric, monologues for theatre, poetry and song, and short stories. Across this display you’ll find the pieces of work that each writer feels represents their voice best. Like a photograph captures a single moment in time, the writer’s writing captures them on that day, in that mood, with those thoughts. A literary snapshot documenting unusual times.”

“I’m the Lead Manager of the Bermondsey Project, which is three residential buildings in the area, each with ten self-contained or studio flats. Our project is mixed gender, but the majority of our residents are men. All residents have been referred to us from the mental health team and residents’ support needs fluctuate and the nature of mental health is that support needs are not always straightforward; someone can go from being stable to unstable fairly quickly. So within the project we deliver housing management and provide key work support – everyone is on a support plan tailored to their individual needs. We are always monitoring any safeguarding concerns and work closely with partner organisations; usually we have lots of different people coming in, like occupational therapists, social workers, carers, mental health professionals.

“Service users moving on to the next step is at the forefront of everyone’s plan throughout their time with us. This is generally two years but this is assessed on an individual basis. The client group we work with are often not suited to the private rental sector, so we need to make sure they’re supported in the right way.

“Changes during lockdown have been mostly around informing and advising residents about the situation, as some don’t follow the news and some don’t understand the situation. For instance we’ve had to make sure they’re aware that the shops they visit all the time are laid out differently and not always open the way they usually are. Communicating change is something we need to do regularly as well as reminders about personal hygiene. It is particularly important that we make sure those with additional health needs know to shield themselves. We’ve distributed leaflets and letters as well as speaking with them face-to-face while observing social distancing around the projects. Some residents need to be reminded about the new rules but we are around to make sure that no one gets left behind. The general feedback from residents is that the regular contact makes them feel cared for; we get in touch with them to make sure that they don’t have symptoms and have their essentials fully stocked. With fewer members of staff we’re running a skeleton staff at the moment who have really pulled together. Rob, who runs the MIMO course in the Employment and Skills team, has been redeployed here and he’s been amazing. He’s been decorating and deep-cleaning our rooms and communal areas, we’re so grateful for his work. As for staff, the team have felt valued by Thames Reach; our PPE deliveries have come very quickly, and when we did run low our stocks were replenished the next day with no issues. It’s been clear that our health and safety is really important.

“Some real positives have come from the current situation, in that we’ve seen the sheer dedication of our staff. We’ve been low in number but no one has complained and people have taken on new roles and responsibilities to fill the gaps and make sure the service we provide is still of the same high standard. I’m really proud of the team and how they’ve adapted, they’re a real credit to us and Thames Reach.”

– Amy Dawe, Lead Manager, Bermondsey Project

Psychology in Hostels (PIH), a project involving Thames Reach, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and the London Borough of Lambeth, has been announced as one of the three winners of the prestigious 2018 London Homelessness Awards. The partnership will find out if they have won the top prize of £30,000 at a special event in October.

Dr Emma Williamson, Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead of the PIH team, said:

“This partnership is a national leader in delivering ‘psychologically informed environments’: this is when a hostel or service focuses on the psychological impact of being homeless, and understanding that people who are homeless often experience problems with their mental health including trauma.

“This way of working places mental health and wellbeing at the centre of all treatment and interventions.

“Our teams work in three Lambeth hostels, and have recently expanded to deliver services across Westminster and Greenwich.

“In the hostels, the psychologists work within a multi-agency team, including residents, to design and deliver the service. By offering a highly-skilled mix of doctoral level NHS clinical psychologists and hostel teams, many barriers to service access are removed.”

Ian was a resident of Graham House and found the service extremely useful. He said:

“Having access to the team made me feel safe, I felt that I could leave the world outside and focus on rebuilding myself and recovering my mental health.

“Being part of the art groups brought back a lot of my love for that kind of expression, and I don’t mind sounding corny when I say that it helped me to reconnect to myself.”

Simon Dow chaired the judging panel for the London Homelessness Awards. He said:

“This partnership project shows what can be achieved when the NHS, local authorities and voluntary sector work together. Over the last two years over 200 residents have engaged with the team, and 1650 therapy sessions offered with a very impressive 78% attendance rate.”

More details about the London Homelessness Awards can be found at www.lhawards.org.uk.