The Crypt isn’t just the paid staff, the volunteers, or the residents, its one big family
Welcome to the Family “There are a lot of services that the crypt offers but all of that is meaningless without the person behind it giving love, it is really the person giving support more than the support itself.�
Contents History of St Georges Crypt
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Who we are Today
4
The Care Centre
5-6
Nurture Catering
7-8
Retail
9 - 10
Growing Rooms and Regent House
11 - 12 13
Fundraising 14 Our Volunteers 15 Future Plans
Written by Olivia Quick Illustrated by Elly Bazigos
The History of St Georges Crypt St Georges Crypt was founded in 1930 by Reverend Don Robins. He saw signs of The Depression in his community: enforced idleness, hunger, hardship and despair. At the time The Crypt was full of vaults and coffins, and the floor was deep with dust. Don saw the opportunity to help those who were struggling. Don and a few brave members of the congregation opened up the Crypt and cleaned and cleared it as much as possible. The first £3 raised was spent on canvas to cover the coffins and holes in the walls. Churchgoers brought milk, sugar and cocoa. As soon as it opened, men poured in. An appeal by Don brought in more food and clothing as the numbers grew and grew.
“Where there was poverty, suffering, loneliness or failure he saw a person, not an abstract social problem, and he believed in offering dignity and hope in practical ways.” We try to continue this vision every day at the Crypt. 3
Who We Are Today? Positioned in the heart of Leeds, St George’s Crypt provides award winning 24/7 emergency accommodation for men and women who are homeless or rough sleeping. We now have approximately 50 members of staff and over 150 volunteers, whose kindness and hard work make our service possible. St George’s Crypt is always adapting to the needs of our service users. We have long carried the title ‘more than a bed’, shown in the variety and breadth of support we offer.
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ÂIn The Care Centre we have 15 individual bedrooms and 3 hub rooms hosting up to 10 people each.
We aim to lay a foundation for change and independence.
Individuals also visit us for social interaction and to take part in some of the great activities and services we provide.
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The Care Centre Great George Street,Leeds, LS1 3BR. Tel: 0113 245 9061 At lunchtime we open up our services to the general public, so anyone in need can access the Crypt for food, drinks, showers, clean clothes and support. On average we feed 80 people a day, reaching above 100 per day in winter months. Each week we have opticians, physiotherapists, art classes, boxercise classes, leg ulcer clinics, and many other activities focussed on improving the mental and physical health of our residents. Our objectives are to improve health, well-being and life skills and to help our people engage directly with services in the city, to break the cycle of homelessness and dependency. We keep people alive. We give them hope that change is achievable.
“You hoped for me when I didn’t hope for myself”.
Nurture Catering
Nurture is the food and catering arm of St George’s Crypt. It provides a platform of training and engagement for offenders, service users, and anyone who has difficulty in moving their lives forward. The main objective of Nurture is to establish a safe and trusting environment in which to develop life skills, self-esteem and confidence. We achieve this through a structured catering diploma recording progress and outcomes. Nurture caters for our residents and members of the public in our Assisi Cafe 7 days a week. Our training team provide outside catering for corporate events, weddings and all other social gatherings. Outside catering provides the funding required to provide 100 meals a day at the Assisi cafe. 7
By increasing self-confidence, communication skills and self-esteem, our clients are more equipped to handle budgeting, healthy eating and negotiating their way through the tenancy process to move onto safe and affordable accommodation and independent living. Why not support us by getting a cuppa! Armley CafĂŠ. 40 Town St, Leeds LS12 3AA.
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Retail Shops The retail sites provide both fundraising and training opportunities, and the money raised goes directly to help our residents and service users. Each retail site is run by a fantastic team of volunteers. All of our shops are open Monday to Saturday 9am till 4.30pm and are fantastic places to get involved with. The sites provide employment and training opportunities for vulnerable and marginalised adults, providing them with skills and increasing self-esteem.
Preloved of Armley 40/46 Town Street, Armley LS12 3AA. 0113 279 7732 Our Armley shop is also home to our popular cafĂŠ run by our Nurture division. We also operate a food bank, and have 4 flats upstairs.
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Preloved Roundhay Shop
Preloved of Pudsey
57 Street Lane, Roundhay, LS8 1AP. 0113 268 8065
27 Church Lane, Pudsey LS28 7LD. 0113 257 6965
The Roundhay shop is our newest shop, joining our wonderful community in 2018.
Pudsey shop was our second venture into charity retail.
Armley
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Growing Rooms & Regent House
Regent House Regent House is a home for alcohol dependent men. The 24/7 staff support the residents to reduce their alcohol intake. A tailored support plan enables the residents to move to appropriate tenancies and become self-sufficient. Regent House works in close partnership with various agencies across Leeds to deliver the support required for these individuals. Without our service, many of our residents would be turned away by other places due to their addiction. But working closely with the amazing team at Regent House means that these individuals have a safe place to live, with potential for limitless development and healing. Our old home at Regent Terrace is currently being rebuilt into 14 self-contained flats. The self-reliance in their own flat, with the onsite member of staff will help the residents to cope with life in their own tenancy once they are ready to move on.
Growing Rooms Growing Rooms started in our male only abstinent hostel Faith Lodge, where residents address their addiction issues and engage in our recovery programme We found that offering a recovery programme with a bed would attract clients who really wanted to make changes to their lives. Here we offer support to individuals who may otherwise have nowhere to live. This programme includes volunteering 2 days a week with the Crypt at a range of sites, offering training in many different areas, preparing individuals for life after the programme 12
Fundraising Fundraising is vital for the survival of the Crypt and is also a fantastic way to volunteer. The fundraising team offer a range of volunteering opportunities such as: Murder Mystery Dinner, Leeds 10k, Fayres and Collections and Bag Packs. Even people with busy schedules can help for few hours at any event with no ongoing commitment. Many of our volunteers organise their own fundraising events, so why not get creative and run your own? Please speak to Arja or Verity if you would like to get involved!
The Crypt could not function without the fantastic volunteers who support it. Right are some of the awards our volunteers have achieved during their time with us.
Our Volunteers Exemplary Smile Makers October 2017 Irene Houson and Molly Johnson were nominated together for the 100 Smiles campaign, for their work with the Crypt. They were chosen as two of the final 100, and one of the five exemplary nominations, dubbed The Happy Makers. Irene and Molly support at the tea and coffee bar every week and have been volunteering with us for over 5 years.
Diane and Charlie Creek were recognised due to their ongoing support at fundraising events, as well as running the Toy Appeal over Christmas. ensuring that children received a present when the family could not afford them. Chris Sylvester volunteers as a boxercise instructor at the Crypt main site after finding that this activity supported him through his own recovery.
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Future Plans The support the Crypt offers is always changing, adapting to the needs of our residents and service users, below shows the current/planned builds going on throughout the Crypt.
Regent House
Previously Regent Terrace, this site will support 14 male individuals who have ongoing alcohol addictions. A proposed new build residential development comprising of 14 apartments with staff facilities, an office and a training room. Images show the scheme
Hedley Chase This build has been developed for individuals moving on from the Crypt into independent living with support available if required. A proposed new build residential development comprising of 23 apartments with associated communal facilities, an office, training room, and a private enterprise workshop. 15