What do outreach workers do?

Our outreach workers help people who are homeless to get off the streets. They are out every night of the year, helping people find accommodation, access healthcare, and other services they might need, such as benefit advice. 

Getting a roof over someone’s head is just the first step

Homelessness is a systemic and political failure. We find people who have fallen out of a broken system and we’re trying to put them back in. 

Once a person becomes homeless, they can become trapped and it’s difficult to escape as they need support to help navigate the system. 

At Thames Reach, we focus on the person as an individual – not just a sleeping bag in a doorway. Getting a roof over someone’s head is just the first step; our job is to help people feel human again and get them back into the system. In order to do that, we have to build trust with an individual and that can take time. 

Our support is tailored to the individual. For one person that might mean helping them fill in forms, for another it might mean going with them to an appointment. 

Giving hope and a roadmap to a way out

As well as practical advice and support, we give hope to the people we support. Many people who have been homeless feel hopeless. Our job is to give them a credible roadmap to feeling hopeful again. Something as simple as taking someone to have a haircut can help make them feel human again, and hopeful that their situation can improve.  

We never give up

Once we have made contact with an individual, we stay in touch with them until they are no longer rough sleeping. We often get told about people sleeping rough in certain locations, as if no one knows about them or is doing anything, but we do know nearly all of these people and are doing something about it. Not everyone feels ready to stop rough sleeping. It takes time for them to build trust with us, especially if they’ve been failed by systems or institutions in the past. 

Volunteer for us

Our volunteers work alongside our outreach workers to help find and engage people sleeping rough. If you are interested in volunteering for us and can commit to at least one night a month, then get in touch for more information.

Find out more about volunteering