Over the weekend, members of the Ealing Move-On team competed in the famous Tough Mudder, in order to raise funds for the people they work with facing digital exclusion. Diana, a senior practitioner in the team, discussed how the day went:

“The team got together at the start of the day, excited and nervous for the task ahead.

“We kept doing fundraising calls until the last minute! We have received great support form our colleagues at Thames Reach, friends, family, colleagues from partner organisations and the local authority.

“Once we reached the grounds, it got real, there was no way back, we all started feeling the energy and enthusiasm of the event; all our belongings were dropped off, including phones. Then it was only us, together as a team, warming up on the starting line.

“One by one, the barbed wire, the muddy slopes, the running on the mud, the jumping of fences, the frozen, icy waters and rope pyramids, the electric obstacles, united us together as a team.  It tested phobias, fears and most importantly it showed us that we could conquer it all, working together, supporting each other through hard times. The experience reminded us that we were doing this for the people we work with, who face so many difficulties, inequalities, and loneliness.

“We finished all muddy, soaking wet and very proud for the conquering of 5K Tough Mudder.

“We were so tired afterwards, and struggled to find a ride to the nearest station, until a miracle happened and we managed to get a taxi. Instead of taking payment for carrying our muddy selves, he asked to donate the price of the fare to the fundraising page. This man warmed our hearts with an act of kindness and selflessness, which is needed in these testing times, and was a heartwarming and hopeful end to such an amazing day.”

Well done to the team for completing the muddy challenge: Jernel, Winston, Marie, Diana, Sylvia and Ishmael.

If you would like to donate, head to their JustGiving page.

If you have been inspired to fundraise for Thames Reach’s work ending street homelessness, please visit our fundraising page.

As the Conservative leadership contest draws to a close and we find out who will be our new Prime Minister, we know that the big issues facing the next government, especially COVID recovery, the cost-of-living crisis and Brexit, all play a part in any attempts to end street homelessness. Our Chief Executive, Bill Tidnam, discusses what is needed to put an end to street homelessness.

“The last three years have seen a reduction in rough sleeping, and an improvement in the way that central and local government have worked together with organisations like Thames Reach towards the goal of ending rough sleeping.  We have also seen an increased recognition that the work of other areas, notably health and criminal justice services, are part of the problem and therefore need to be part of the solution.

Protecting recent progress

“Significantly, this has been unpinned by a Treasury settlement that has set funding plans for a three-year period, which started in April this year.  This is a relatively short time, but it has allowed us to plan and develop services that are beginning to make a real difference.  We still have a very long way to go, but we are going in the right direction.  Our first ask is that the new government protect this progress and recommit to this dedicated spending and the ambition of ending street homelessness, without which we will lose the progress that we have made.

Addressing benefit issues

“Our second ask is that the government looks again at benefits. In London, the combination of a benefits cap and local housing allowance limits mean that much of London is unaffordable to single people who are on low incomes and reliant on benefits for support, or who are not in work.  This means that people spend longer than they should in temporary accommodation and hostels, and that they are unable to find accommodation in areas that they know and where they can find work, contributing to labour shortages in industries like hospitality and construction.

Non-UK nationals

“Finally, it remains the case that around half the people sleeping on the streets of London are non-UK nationals.  We welcome the increased flexibility shown by the Home Office in working with this group, for example the relaxation of deadlines around settled status.  However, the options available to our outreach teams working with non-UK nationals are far more limited, and as a result many may remain on the streets.  Without a flexible and compassionate approach that focuses on getting people off the streets, our aspirations to end rough sleeping will remain out of reach.”

At the end of August, the Waterloo Project will close after over 35 years as a Thames Reach hostel. The project was an innovation in provisions for people sleeping rough when it opened in the 1980s, and Thames Reach have been able to learn a great deal about the kind of support that needs to be given to make an individual’s move away from homelessness sustainable. Having worked at the project for several years, its lead worker, Lorraine, discusses its legacy.

“My name is Lorraine, I have been working at The Waterloo Project for several years as a relief worker and since January 2021 as a lead worker. I started at Thames Reach as a volunteer in 2013 and have since worked at multiple services within Thames Reach.

Psychologically-informed environment

“The Waterloo Project is a psychologically-informed environment (PIE) hostel, it has been running for over 35 years in the same building, and was the first hostel to trial and implement the PIE approach. It has been very successful as a psychologically-informed environment and as a hostel. In short PIE means we work with our residents in a holistic way, including having reflective practice for staff, to understand our residents’ backgroundand journey to better enable us to support them. The communal spaces are open and inviting for people to feel comfortable to engage with staff and psychologists, who work in the building, in various activities and to talk in.

“We work with people who have been rough sleeping in, and have a connection to, Lambeth who have complex support needs. We support them to access services for substance misuse, mental and physical health, financial support, sexual health and to motivate and encourage them to do more meaningful things with their time, to sustain positive changes they are making such as activities in the community like gardening, music, volunteering or courses. We also often have to engage residents with specialist services such as; social services, eating disorder services, domestic violence and specialist women’s services.

“We are working with residents to move on to accommodation with less support or independent living accommodation. We have referred people into supported accommodation, council housing, housing first, shared housing in the mental health pathway – with more appropriate support and into clearing house.

Teamwork

“One aspect that makes the Waterloo Project special in my opinion is the team. This shows through the engagement of the residents and the positive things they say, often being that TWP has been the first place they have felt safe and supported, and could see their lives changing because they have moved here. The project has been a place of hope and connection, full of stories and characters.

“The building itself is unique, with a beautiful garden, light welcoming kitchen, and upstairs lounge. So many visitors to the project would comment on how special the place felt and how focused and supportive the team were.”

Lorraine and the rest of the team share their best memories of the project:

“Food! one year we celebrated a resident’s 60th birthday by having a BBQ for everyone. Even though the cooking and prepping for it was stressful it was worth it, there was a good turn out and residents enjoyed the food and socialised well with everyone. The birthday resident was really happy we did this for him and still talks about it to this day.”

“One year having a Christmas tree donated to the project and residents getting involved with decorating it, listening to Christmas songs, singing, and chatting about Christmas and the New Year, with positive thoughts.”

“Baking cakes with residents, and other residents coming down and chatting and all getting along and laughing because one of the batches went terribly wrong!”

“Food and playing Jenga, so many hours of Jenga!”

“Reflective practice sessions where we’ve thought differently as a team about a resident that was really challenging, then as a team learning to see things differently.”

“Cooking the meals and facing personal challenges in cooking a Saturday fry up and Sunday roast dinner for 19 people and receiving comments from residents about how good it was and that they enjoyed the meals”

Monica had been living with her partner, who was terminally ill. He sadly passed away in 2019 and she was made homeless shortly after the funeral, being evicted because her partner was the registered tenant of the property. After this traumatic experience, she was sofa-surfing with different friends as well as having periods of sleeping rough in the local area; she moved around so as not to stay in the same place and become more vulnerable.

She was referred to Deptford Reach by Lewisham council, to offer support with obtaining private rented accommodation. This was made more difficult by the delay in receiving the confirmation of Monica’s leave to remain status, so at this time she had no access to benefits. Monica has difficulty reading and writing, so support was needed to obtain the right paperwork and help Monica through the stressful process.

Signposting to the right healthcare is a significant part of Monica’s recovery journey. She has some ongoing health conditions, with arthritis in her arm and knee causing chronic pain, as well as lower back pain and high blood pressure. “Deptford Reach saved my life,” Monica says, “they are good people, and they do a lot for people.” She was offered counselling to help her with the trauma that came from being evicted and sleeping rough, and has since been referred to her GP for longer-term support with this. While she awaited news from the Home Office regarding her leave to remain application, she started part-time work, before being put on furlough when the pandemic hit. Her immigration status was confirmed at the start of 2021, and she is now eligible for some benefits.

As she approaches retirement age, Monica finally feels that she can enjoy other activities, as well as learn new skills, now that her settled status is finalised. The support she gets from Deptford Reach is part of the floating support service, which means her support worker will visit her at home to address her needs, which are mostly around sustaining her accommodation. Monica is now looking to take an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) course to help with her language skills and gain more confidence. She can now look to the future as she is finally comfortable with the setup of her own accommodation, and the ongoing support that she has for her mental and physical health.

Chloe’s journey towards recovery is about much more than resolving her homelessness. Five years ago, she was in a relationship which began to go wrong when her partner was taking all her money to buy drugs. One day, after being surrounded by them for some time, she tried what her partner had been buying, and found herself facing addiction within a toxic relationship environment, which included domestic violence. This escalated to a situation whereby Chloe lost her one-bedroom flat as she couldn’t keep up with rent; she also didn’t want to go back to the flat, as it was the address her partner knew, and she was trying to escape him.

This left Chloe between sofa-surfing and sleeping rough during the early stages of the pandemic, until she realised she needed help, so approached Greenwich council. “I’m very stubborn, I won’t go asking for help until I really have to. I hid my situation from my family for a long time.” That was when she was allocated Francis, who works for Thames Reach’s Greenwich Navigators team, as her support worker.

Chloe speaks about the support she has been getting from Francis, who has been working with her for the past eight months. “He’s been great. Without him I’d be nowhere.”  She says that she is able to ask for support with different things as she navigates her recovery, whether that is signposting for housing, food banks or any other issue she has questions about.

She is now in supported housing, sharing with three women in a house that she clearly loves; she remarks how clean and suitable it is for her as she is on a good trajectory away from drugs and homelessness, as well as receiving the right help for her mental health. Chloe says that she wants to sort out all her different issues, but she knows that it can only be done one step at a time, and being in stable accommodation is the foundation she needs.

Chloe is looking forward to doing things that help her mental health, as she currently avoids groups due to her past. She likes the idea of cooking classes, and has a talent for hair. She does the hair of the women she shares accommodation with, and in the future will look to getting qualified and pursuing it as a career.

“I’m not waking up every morning and thinking of drink; if there weren’t hope with Thames Reach, with Francis, and the way he speaks with me and listens to me, I would have just left it, and I would have suffered. I would probably still be out there now.

“Sometimes I wake up happy, other days I wake up sad and I don’t know why, but it happens to everyone. Like yesterday, I woke up sad, but I looked around and thought, ‘I’m here now’, and trust me, I’m not going back.”

Michelle is 59 years old, and has been visiting Deptford Reach and using its services since 2012. Ten years ago, she was staying with a friend at their flat, but was evicted and made homeless when the friend passed away. Losing her friend and becoming homeless at the same time was an incredibly traumatic experience for Michelle. This trauma is something she still receives support for, thanks to staff at Deptford Reach and neighbouring partner organisation the 999 Club; she says, “it has been so important to get that level of support.”

Helping her through this difficult time as she recovered from street homelessness, Deptford Reach supported Michelle to apply and enrol into college. She is currently studying hairdressing level 3, having completed level 1 and 2, and is preparing for an interview at an academy to study level 3 barbering. She is passionate about hairdressing, and it is something she is very skilled in.

“I’ve been through a lot of trauma and having Deptford Reach there has been really good; they supported me to access counselling, and they’ve supported me into wellbeing groups such as yoga and women’s group. It’s important to have access to these things when you’re going through trauma. Deptford Reach is important to have in this area, there are so many people here, a real range of ages, young and old.”

At the women’s group at Deptford, she recently did a presentation on hairdressing to help improve her confidence in a supportive environment. The space offers advice and guidance and can signpost to education courses. “If you’re worried about something, they can show you where to go to speak with a nurse, see a dentist or get food vouchers.” This was helpful when Michelle’s benefits were sanctioned, however Deptford Reach helped reinstate her benefits and register with a GP practice.

Michelle is now in a shared flat due to support from Deptford Reach; she likes the close transport links and says that it is good to have a base close to local amenities and within the community; she can get to Deptford Reach, college and her place of work easily. She says that if there is an issue with her housing, she can get in touch with the team at Deptford Reach.  This was the case when she had an issue with a tenant in a previous accommodation; Deptford Reach contacted and mediated with the landlord, who agreed to move Michelle into another accommodation where she felt safe. They have been continuing to provide support with her tenancy, until she feels confident to manage by herself.

Michelle is currently waiting to hear back after a recent interview for a part-time hairdressing role, and is looking forward to a bright future in a career she enjoys.

Sebastian is currently a resident at Thames Reach’s Peer Landlord housing project in Clapton Common, in partnership with Hackney council. He has been staying there for three months, and as a short-term accommodation solution, Sebastian is utilising the project as a stepping-stone before moving into his own flat. He is already making plans for moving on, to become more independent.

Sebastian started sleeping rough in January 2021, after injuring his ankle in December 2020 and being unable to work in his construction job. After losing his job, he was unable to pay his rent, and so was made homeless. During his time on the streets, he was sleeping in a car park in Stamford Hill with some other people; an outreach worker in the Hackney SORT (Street Outreach Team) came to talk to them and offer support, initially resulting in a room in a local hotel.

After this initial placement, Sebastian was then supported and moved to a hotel in Dalston, followed by a move into a hotel at Finsbury Park, where he was supported by Single Homeless Project, allowing him to then move into Thames Reach’s Peer Landlord project.

Obtaining settled status has been a huge factor in helping Sebastian out of homelessness. His status was confirmed two months ago, after a long delay due to a backlog from the pandemic. “When I was waiting for the results, I was really worried,” he says, “I have no family left in Poland, so if I was deported, I would have no one and nothing there for me. I’ve been living in the UK for eighteen years.”

Now that he has gained settled status, he is looking forward to moving on. The first thing he wants to do is get back into work, in the maintenance and construction industries, as he has plenty of experience, skills and qualifications to do so. He says he used to work on high-profile projects, and is looking forward to doing the same again, now that his injury has healed. Sebastian says again how helpful Corinna has been, both in terms of helping him with his paperwork and recovery journey, but also as a friendly face in the project. “Every time I see her around the house, we have a little chat about how I’m doing and what I’m doing,” and says that the support has helped him gain confidence for the next chapter of his life. 

Kathleen found herself experiencing financial difficulties in a challenging time in her life, after a relationship breakdown and cancer diagnosis, before finding herself street homeless in late 2019. She was supported by a street outreach team after being homeless for three months, being placed into temporary accommodation in March 2020 before finally settling in private rented accommodation in June the same year.

Once she had moved into her new accommodation, Kathleen was facing several barriers to her recovery from homelessness, including grieving the loss of both her parents and sister within a twelve-month period. She was also trying to come to terms with traumatic experiences of her time sleeping rough, and was still recovering from her cancer diagnosis.

A few months into 2021, Kathleen told her support worker that she ready to start dealing with her grief by engaging with a counselling service. A referral was made through Thames Reach’s Hard to Reach Fund and after being placed on a waiting list, Kathleen was contacted and an assessment was completed in September 2021. She was happy to engage with the service due to the 1-to-1 approach, as opposed to the group options that had been offered through the NHS.

Soon after this, Kathleen was experiencing severe pain in different parts of her body; after seeking medical attention, she was diagnosed with a new stage-4 cancer diagnosis, and after returning from hospital she would experience sleepless nights with the relentless pain. Again, her support worker was able to access the Hard to Reach Fund to purchase a mattress topper to support her body as much as possible. Kathleen was greatly relieved and was able to get a good night’s sleep and rest as a result; she was so pleased, in fact, that she lovingly nicknamed the topper Eddie.

Most recently, Kathleen’s mobile phone stopped working properly. This left her without access to the internet and unable to make outgoing calls. Due to her medical condition, she was made vulnerable by not being able to contact her support worker, hospital transport, care worker or nurse. After learning about this issue, it was decided that Thames Reach’s Hard to Reach Fund would be used to purchase a basic smartphone. Doing so enabled Kathleen to access her benefits journal and have access to her support network, allowing her to retain some form of independence and security.

Kathleen regularly expresses how grateful she is for the mattress topper, mobile phone and the support accessing counselling; they are purchases that are small in isolation but have made a huge difference in improving Kathleen’s quality of life and aiding her recovery from street homelessness. She has told her support worker that being able to sleep properly has had a positive impact on her mental wellbeing, allowing her to better face the challenges she is going through.

If you have enjoyed the Banquet, Mark Holford, the WCIT Deputy Master, asks you to give generously to the Thames Reach Hard to Reach Fund, which will provide vital support to the people we work with this Christmas.

Clicking the Donate button below will take you to our Big Give page  where every pound you give will be doubled. We have a target of £11,250 which will be doubled to £22,500 (as of Friday we have raised £5,000). We expect this to help 100 to 150 people. This donation page will remain open until Tuesday.

Donate

Here are some examples of the good your donation will do:

£350 – Could furnish a flat for somebody moving into their own place for the first time in many years

£100 – Could buy someone a bike to cycle to a new job

£40 – Could buy a smart phone for someone, helping them to stay in touch with loved ones and access support, a crucial lifeline during the pandemic

£15 – Could cover the travel costs of someone accessing emergency accommodation

Donate today and help provide vital support to the people we work with this Christmas.

Thanks so much for your support.

Happy Christmas from Thames Reach.

Ivo, from South London, pictured above, is just one of the people who’s been helped by the Hard to Reach Fund, to read about how we helped him recover from long term mental health difficulties, click here.

Since moving into his own flat, Ivo has seen a huge improvement in his mental health, taking real steps forward on his path to recovery.

He first moved into his new flat in January through Brokerage and Resettlement in Lambeth (BRiL), a collaborative project between Lambeth council and Thames Reach, which aims to provide people living in supported or residential accommodation with a flat of their own.

People who have struggled with long-term mental health problems can sometimes end up staying in residential homes or supported housing longer than they need to, often because there are no suitable alternatives. BRiL is addressing this by purchasing properties on the open market and then letting them to formerly homeless people at an affordable rate.

Ivo, originally from Brazil, has lived in the UK for 35 years, and worked at the Savoy Hotel for 20 years, eventually becoming head butler. Around 2011, he began to struggle with his mental health. He eventually became very ill and had to move into supported accommodation. He spent a number of years receiving support and treatment, which, over time, gradually lead to an improve­ment in his mental health; however, he reached a point where this environment began to hold him back and prevent him from making a full recovery.

‘I’ve always lived by myself before, so I started to find it difficult having so many strangers around me all the time, people checking up on me, having no independence, it felt very constricting and I felt like I wasn’t able to get better,’ Ivo says.

BRiL were able to help Ivo make those final steps in an environment better suited to him, moving him in to his new flat, which is his indefinitely, and helping to furnish it. A support worker also initially helped Ivo with his meals, setting up an internet connection, and organising bills.

‘I really like it here, I like the flat, the location is perfect for me, I can walk everywhere I need to go, I’ve lived in Streatham for years before so know the area. Every day, I exercise by walking to Brixton and back, which is really helping me.’

Ivo is also currently volunteering two days a week at a local charity shop, and has enrolled on a volunteer peer mentorship course in order to help others who are in a similar situation to where he used to be. He also spends a lot of time reading, particularly biographies.

‘I’m feeling really well now, 50% better. Living with strangers was difficult on top of feeling unwell at the time. I need space and quiet in order to feel mentally well and this flat has really helped me with that so much.’

To find out more about the support Ivo received when settling into his new home, read about our Big Give Christmas Challenge.