During winter, freezing cold temperatures make sleeping rough even more life-threatening. Whilst street homelessness is always dangerous and traumatic, there are extra statutory provisions called SWEP (Severe Weather Protocol), implemented when the ground temperature drops to zero degrees. This increases the temporary accommodation options that are available for our outreach teams to move people away from the streets, and prevent the dangers of sleeping outside in freezing temperatures. However, this will not solve the wider and ongoing causes of street homelessness. Tailored support is still required to understand, and address, the causes of an individual’s homelessness.

Our director of operations Catherine Parsons discusses this in detail:

“With COVID restrictions still in place, our commissioners have made changes to the emergency accommodation they are providing. Local authorities need to be assured that we are COVID-safe; they aren’t providing the same numbers of bed spaces, so as with all year round, prevention is key.

“Last year, several councils had bought up bed spaces in hotels, which was simpler then as tourism wasn’t happening at all. That will be happening to some extent again this year, but there are concerns about availability, as well as sustainability; for people with complex needs, helping them off the streets and into a B&B without support may not be suitable.

“There is funding in several boroughs to provide support once people have been moved into temporary accommodation, for example that’s what our Move-On team in Ealing are doing; it’s crucial that people aren’t left to go back to the streets once the temperatures rise again.

“The public health advice regarding bed spaces in these temporary locations is the same as last year, emphasising the use of lateral flow testing and housing people in ‘bubbles’. Testing is really important, and services are also encouraging and signposting to vaccinations.

“We encourage members of the public to make referrals of anyone they see sleeping rough to Streetlink, who contact our outreach teams directly and quickly. During SWEP we put out additional outreach shifts, so that anticipated increased demand can be met.

“Ultimately, we work in the same way that we do year-round. It’s extra awareness and funding from not only commissioners but the public (as they are more attuned to the dangers of rough sleeping when it is freezing cold) which ensures that we can do our best work helping people off the streets.”

Today, we are officially launching our Thames Reach Annual Review 2020-21, highlighting the impact of the work our organisation has been doing between April 2020 and March 2021. The new document, with introductions by Chair of the Board Stephen Howard and Chief Executive Bill Tidnam, goes into detail on how our various services have ben helping homeless and vulnerable people across London, and features case studies and interviews and with staff members, volunteers, and with the people using our services.

As well as features highlighting the work done by services such as STAR and Brokerage and Resettlement in Lambeth, the review also goes into detail on how our staff have adapted to meet the needs of the people we help through the height of the coronavirus pandemic, as we continued to provide essential services to vulnerable people, such as outreach work and running hostels. The document also covers the work we undertook as part of the Government’s Everyone In scheme, where we helped accommodate people sleeping rough in unused hotels during lockdowns.

For all this and more, take a look at the Thames Reach Annual Review 2020-21.

Francis was in hospital undergoing an oper­ation on an infected leg when the friend he’d been staying with told him he needed to find somewhere else to live.

On leaving hospital and returning to the flat, Fran­cis found that his friend had changed the locks and he was left sitting in the road on his crutches. This was during the summer of 2020, during the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, and Francis had nowhere else to go.

He initially spent some time moving between dif­ferent hostels before coming into contact with our PLACE team — Pan London Accommodation & Community Engagement — who work with people who have been staying in temporary accommoda­tion and have been referred to Thames Reach by a local authority. The team helps people to access private rented accommodation across London, and provides initial support once the client has moved in.

PLACE were able to help Francis find a flat of his own, as well as helping him to furnish it, sort out bills and administrative issues, and provide further support to get him back on his feet.

‘When I first moved in here I didn’t have a bed, furniture, a washing machine, nothing,’ he says. ‘They’ve helped me get all of these things, though. I’ve got my own home now, which I’ve never really had before. Now my children can come to see me, my son comes to stay with me on weekends. That didn’t happen when I was in hostels.’

While Francis is still troubled by his leg, he’s recovered enough to work part time now, and mentally is in the best place he’s been in for a long time. His goal now is to learn a new trade.

Thames Reach’s Employment and Skills team have just launched their new project Bounce Back, a service led by our in-house job broker.

This two-year project will see Lambeth residents aged between 18-30 who are not currently in employment or training get advice and offers for employment. The team are accepting applications on a rolling basis, as the project will be running until 2023.

Applicants will also receive a grant of up to £500 to support costs including food and travel.

Bounce Back is kindly supported by the Walcott Foundation.

Please contact Thames Reach’s job broker, Telixia, at telixia.inico@thamesreach.org.uk with any questions, or to apply.

Mathiu has been staying at the Clapton Common residential property for two months, and is already working with Corinna, the housing manager of Thames Reach’s Peer Landlord Scheme, to get his new flat and secure a successful move-on process. Mathiu had become homeless after a bad relationship breakdown which made him homeless. He then stayed with a friend for a year and a half, but she got into a new relationship, and her boyfriend wasn’t happy with Mathiu staying at the flat, so he had to move on.

Mathiu got in touch with Hackney council, who at the time could not help due to Mathiu’s status as having no recourse to public funds. He only had 30 days left to renew his immigration papers, which Hackney supported him with; they helped him make the new application and he was soon eligible for support. In April this year, the council temporarily accommodated him in a hotel for a week before he spent some time in a shelter in north London. Arrivals to the Clapton Common project are made through referrals by Hackney council.

Mathiu says the differences between living in a shelter and living at the Clapton Common residence are huge, including freedom of having your own space and to cook your own meals. At the shelter, he says, there were up to twelve people sharing one room. “I’ve had help here with employment and getting qualifications. I want to work in the rail industry, so Thames Reach have been really helpful in getting me towards that, such as enrolling me on the PTS course, which is the licence you need to work on the rail.”

“Corinna has also helped me apply for my housing benefit, which I didn’t know how to do. Without her, I don’t think I would have been able to do it myself.” Mathiu has two children so finding the most suitable accommodation has been important in helping resolve his homelessness. He has been getting the support he needs in finding his new home, while living at Clapton Common. He usually has his kids at weekends, and is looking forward to being able to have them round again.

He has been referred to services with migrant and refugee organisation Praxis to help with his immigration status. After being asked to leave his friend’s flat, he was sleeping in his car for over a month, during which time he lost his second job so wasn’t able to pay to renew his papers. Praxis are now in the process of helping him with his immigration status.

“Living here has really motivated me to be myself and to be better. Like I had never thought of being a personal trainer until I got my own space, and now I have people that I train on a weekly basis. Now I’m looking at getting my personal training licence as well as my rail qualification.”

Health inequalities are one of the main concerns for Thames Reach in our work to end street homelessness. We spoke with Yves, who manages our Robertson Street hostel in south London, on the work they are doing to ensure more people are getting access to the support they need.

Hi Yves, can you introduce us to your service?

Robertson Street is located in Lambeth, south London, and is what you would call a ‘first stage’ hostel, meaning we can get referrals from a range of sources through Lambeth’s Vulnerable Adults Pathway. We have a capacity for 42 residents and ideally each resident’s length of stay is between six months and two years.

What kind of support do residents have access to during that time?

We are an accommodation-based service to  people over 40, so provide access and signposting to support. We want to help residents to be able to move on to independent or semi-independent living following a stay here. We’re part of the Lambeth Vulnerable Adults Pathway, and accommodate residents with a range of different and complex needs. These support needs may have previously contributed to their homelessness or not being able to maintain tenancies or other forms of accommodation. Other hostels in the borough work with different age groups, which is why we specialise in over 40s. We do have a couple of people under 40 but this is because their complex physical, or other, needs cannot be met in other services.

What is your approach to addressing healthcare inequalities at Robertson Street?  

We strive to counteract inequalities and promote inclusion. Inequalities take several forms when we are working with people who have experienced street homelessness, as we must support people to bridge these inequalities, mostly in terms of healthcare. One of the things we do is work with the pathway manager and other external partnerships in order for people to move into needs-based accommodation. It is paramount that an individual can access the support they need. We have a nurse and GP clinic once a week at Robertson Street, as well as a prescribing clinic, and we have very good connections to community mental health services. We really make health a priority. Initial assessment work is carried out in-house when residents first move in, then we can signpost to physical, mental and other medical advice externally, meaning they can continue to get support in the community after they move on. We support residents to attend appointments, working with partnership agencies and Groundswell. This level of encouragement and support enables a smoother move-on into the community when the time is right.

What challenges has your hostel faced during the pandemic?

The main challenges were the move-on pathway becoming less mobile than usual. The repercussion for move-on being unavailable was that we couldn’t move people into the hostel either, so incoming and outgoing options were very limited. Community services that we always promote were facing closures and limited availability, such as day centres, mental health support, drug and alcohol services and other community-based resources, so we had to try our best to keep up momentum and motivation for move-on. While moving services online to Zoom is a good way of keeping people safe, many residents have found this difficult to engage with. We have been keeping residents motivated that their move-on will be happening eventually and kept preparation going. As a team we’ve accomplished this really well, and have been able to keep morale up. Aside from our normal work we had to implement extra cleaning on-site, but it made a big difference; we reduced risk of infection by sanitising the building twice every shift and educating residents about social distancing, risk management and maintaining safe practices.

What positive outcomes have emerged from overcoming these challenges?

We have a great team with good adaptability who can deal with and are supportive of a range of needs. There is a good balance between experienced members of staff and enthusiasm of people who have recently come to work in the sector. I’m proud that we’ve been able to provide a consistent and continual service throughout the pandemic, which reflects the project and Thames Reach as an organisation; we haven’t had to defer anything. Anything that wasn’t available in the community we brought in; our next step is now integrating residents and services back into the community.

Chris has been volunteering with Deptford Reach since it re-opened after lockdown, with a new purpose of supporting more people in an outreach capacity. Chris started volunteering after being recommended to Thames Reach’s TRaVEL (Thames Reach Volunteering and Employment for Life) programme, which helps people improve their confidence and interpersonal skills before entering volunteering or the workplace. He has been volunteering for just over two months, and has a front-of-house role on reception, meeting and greeting visitors to the building and helping with tasks such as ensuring people get to their doctor’s appointment. He finds the experience rewarding and a good way of being able to use the skills he had worked on during the TRaVEL programme.

“I found out about TRaVEL through my support worker, and the project first introduced me to Thames Reach’s work. I’ve been able to improve my communication skills, my confidence and my self-esteem, which I’ll need for heading into work.Chris is currently happy volunteering and working on his self-esteem and rebuilding his life after a period of street homelessness, and keen to give back to the sector that has helped him. “I like being able to give back to the service. Because of my past, when people come into the building, I can see potential in them. Maybe if they see me they might be inspired to improve their situation. I feel like I am in a position to inspire them, even in a subtle way.” When Chris is ready to get back into work, he is keen to work in the fields of homelessness, mental health or recovery, using his lived experience to help others.  He will be able to access the Thames Reach Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) service for support with job applications.

The recovery journey Chris is going through began from being street homeless for a year, before residing in a hostel for another year after his time sleeping rough, then rehab for seven months. He is now determined to focus on his recovery and improving his wellbeing, he says, to never go back to the way he was. He wants to use his lived experience to eventually find a job where he can help and influence people and be paid for it. Reflecting on how far he has come, Chris says “helping other people is part of my recovery”.

Chris is now enjoying taking up new hobbies which help him feel happy in himself. He is undergoing training in beekeeping locally in London, and enjoys being outdoors as much as possible. He also speaks enthusiastically about a project he is part of with St Mungo’s called Paws for Pause, which provides training for working with dogs and understanding their behaviours, aimed at people who have had mental health support needs. “It’s good for my wellbeing, I really enjoy it, plus it’s the opportunity to pick up some new skills. My life has changed big time and I’m very grateful for that.”

For volunteering opportunities, please email volunteers@thamesreach.org.uk. 

On 12 August, in partnership with Lewisham council, Deptford Reach hosted a health and wellbeing day for members of the community and users of Thames Reach services. The invite was extended throughout the organisation as part of our ongoing commitment to bridging the inequality gap created by street homelessness.

While Deptford Reach is known to be a day centre hosting various activities for its visitors, since the pandemic the team have been extending their reach to ensure those in the wider community know about their resources and means of support. This has included outreach at Lewisham food banks.

The day involved drop-in services including COVID vaccinations, nurse appointments for general health checks, CGL (drug and alcohol support); Hep C, Hep B, HIV and syphilis testing with results given on the day; STI testing; advice and demonstrations for lateral flow testing, including handing out test kits on outreach; and information and advice on infection control.

It was a successful and positive event, ensuring people felt welcome and safe in Deptford Reach’s building, at the heart of the community. There will be more similar events in the future as part of the service’s focus on more outreach work. In the meantime the team facilitate regular GP and nurse appointments in the building, as well as supporting people to register with GPs in the community.

Sive O’Regan, inclusion health clinicial nurse specialist, said: “Really happy with today’s turn out for our point-of-care blood borne virus testing at Deptford Reach. A really well organised health promotion event that we thoroughly enjoyed being a part of and look forward to the next.”

Jordan McTigue, lead manager at Deptford Reach, said: “It can be difficult for people with experience of street homelessness, as well as those at risk of street homelessness, to access health services, so this is such an important day to get people engaged and get them vaccinated and protected against COVID-19, as well as providing resources and information to prevent ill health where possible.”

In the period since the start of the pandemic, reporting on numbers of people sleeping rough has been varied, often not taking into account the various ways individuals can be, or can find themselves, homeless. While the most recent CHAIN statistics signal that there has been another increase in people being made street homeless, Thames Reach chief executive Bill Tidnam explains that understanding the issues faced by people experiencing homelessness requires more than numbers.

“The 3% rise in numbers of people seen sleeping rough compares with a rise of 21% the previous year. We need to remember that this covers the first quarter of 2020/21, where a record number of people were experiencing street homelessness as a result of the economic impact of the first lockdown. These figures also tell us that there was an increase in numbers of people sleeping rough with no support needs and more younger people, which seems to represent this same group who would not ordinarily have slept rough.

“Fortunately we have seen a significant rise in funding for services working with people sleeping rough. The resulting increase in outreach activity has meant that more people have been seen and recorded by outreach workers, making the data more reliable.

“We do have significant concerns for the future though; the European Union Support Scheme, with its deadline at the end of June, means that the 20% of people seen rough sleeping who are from Central and Eastern Europe now have even more limited options. This also includes people who have been housed in temporary accommodation and hotels as a result of the pandemic, projects which now face closure.

“A lift in eviction bans has not resulted in an immediate increase in people sleeping rough, but the impact of this will take time to show, as will the end of increased Universal Credit payments in the autumn.

“The availability of short-term accommodation through the ‘Everyone In’ initiative has been welcome, but it does not remove the need for the sort of specialist, high-support-need settings that will help people come off the streets and rebuild their lives.  Our outreach teams desperately need access to emergency accommodation that is immediately available, where need can be quickly assessed and suitable options can be identified for the individual.

“There are many reasons why people become homeless, and the accommodation available when people are helped off the street must cater to their needs and provide the right environment to gain stability and establish long-term options. The street is not the best place to achieve this.”

Can you tell us about the projects you manage?
Clarence Avenue is an eight-bed project, all self-contained studio flats with en-suite bathrooms and kitchens. We are one of the hostels under Lambeth council’s Vulnerable Adults Pathway to help people come off the streets. We work with residents to help them get to where they need to be. When they first arrive, they will be assessed to see how independent they are and what they might need help with.

At Clarence Avenue, staff provide support for a wide range of issues that residents may arrive with, as well as helping with daily tasks such as budgeting and shopping. Once they are ready, residents will be referred to Clearing House, which is a form of social housing on a two year tenancy, and will be assigned a support worker from the TST (Tenancy Sustainment Team), making sure their support needs are covered. In Clarence Avenue there is always a member of staff available at reception to answer any urgent queries and monitor people entering and exiting the building. The clients there make appointments to see their support worker, which helps to prepare them for more independent living and engaging with services in the community.

I also manage Acre Lane, which is Thames Reach’s newest hostel. Between January and March, it was acting as a cold weather shelter. If outreach workers found someone sleeping rough in Lambeth they could bring them here to be accommodated while we found out more about them . The building is currently being refitted and redecorated;. Part of that refit is having one studio downstairs which is more isolated, which is reserved for a vulnerable person who may benefit from living closer to staff areas.

How does the Lambeth Vulnerable Adults Pathway work?
Lambeth council work hard to ensure all people rough sleeping are made an offer of accommodation. Several Thames Reach hostels are commissioned by Lambeth, so Robertson Street, The Waterloo Project, Lambeth High Street, Martha Jones House, and now Acre Lane and Clarence Avenue. The council commission projects such as ours within their Vulnerable Adults Pathway, including supported housing, and people can move between them as required, with the end goal of moving out of supported accommodation and maintaining their own tenancy. Street homelessness is often complex and not straightforward to resolve, so we work with people to address their support needs.

What positive outcomes have you seen so far?
Trying to test people’s abilities to live independently has its challenges but residents having more freedom at Acre Lane has been working well. We run cooking classes once a week on each floor; some of our residents have not had to cook for themselves in a long time, so building up these skills is going to make a huge difference. While we provide support based on their needs, we also need to make sure we’re covering the everyday tasks and skills that residents will need to have in place in order to live well independently, so for example we can go to the shops with them if they need it, as well as signposting to external services, to help them engage more with the wider communities.

When Acre Lane was the cold weather shelter, we housed a lot of people in a very short space of time, which was really impressive.. Once people were housed, we were able to focus  on longer-term solutions, and again this was focused on the support needs of the individual. The team of staff have done really well, and worked so hard to help people move on in difficult circumstances. The project was set up very quickly over the winter months and everyone has had to be very adaptable and flexible, it’s been a strong team effort.