New Hope Newsletter (May - Dec 2016)

A SPACE TO GROW READ HOW THE COMMUNITY MARKET GARDEN HELPED SAMIR

Homelessness is an incredibly damaging experience. Nearly everyone New Hope supports has extremely low self-esteem, often due to a difficult childhood but also because being homeless makes people feel ashamed, worthless and beyond all hope.

Of the people we work with, the majority have mental health needs and many have an addiction to alcohol or a problem with substance misuse.

Giving someone who is homeless a safe place to stay is essential to enable them to recover, but it isn’t enough. To enable someone to make a lasting recovery it is vital to give them opportunities to realise their potential. Our Community Market Garden provides a tranquil, nurturing environment where people are enabled to grow in confidence and skills while experiencing the garden’s many benefits to mental wellbeing.

We offer various workshops at the garden, including poetry reading and writing, percussion ‘jamming’ and bricklaying. For people with addictions, being busy at the garden 2

is an essential distraction, and for all who come, learning new skills shows them their own potential and enables breakthroughs in their mindset. Service users often arrive at the garden despairing of their situation and with no hope of life ever changing, yet through spending time in such a nurturing environment, they learn they can overcome problems and achieve their goals – they learn to have hope.

It costs £15.33 to support one person through one creative session. Please consider donating £15.33, or whatever you can afford, to enable more people to come to the garden and make a lasting recovery from homelessness.

If you would like to help, please visit newhope.org.uk/spacetogrow.

Thank you.

To learn more about the Community Market Garden and see it for yourself please join us at our next open day on Saturday 28th May from 10.30am to 3pm. We’ll have craft activities for children, live music, poetry readings, and the chance to take home various plants and other goods in exchange for a donation. Refreshments will be available, and you’ll have the opportunity to speak with our staff, volunteers and the people we work with. Come and see the difference your donation of £15.33 could make.

SAMIR’S STORY Samir was sleeping rough when he came to New Hope.

He was given a room at New Hope House and started coming to the Community Market Garden.

There he began to write poetry, learned drum rhythms and played drums with others, cared for the chickens and undertaken a range of gardening activities. He has also completed a bricklaying course, and is learning about various subjects by copying out passages from books, which he finds a relaxing as well as informative activity. He has now moved into one of our move-on accommodations, the Manse.

Last September, New Hope responded to the high number of people sleeping rough in Watford by trialling changes to the opening times at the Haven Support Centre.

Since then we have been offering support exclusively to people either: sleeping rough, staying in one of our emergency accommodations or sofa surfing (the latter by appointment only) between 9am and 11am, and continuing to provide a community lunch between 11am and 12.30pm. It has now been six months since we began these changes and, while the number of people sleeping rough has not increased, it remains alarmingly high.

We have therefore decided to launch a new service at the Haven, the Rough Sleeping Prevention Service, which will replace the current service and focus entirely on supporting those most in need – people sleeping rough, sofa surfing and at immediate risk of homelessness.

This new service will begin in August. It will run from Monday to Saturday and will be structured as follows: The day will begin with a hot breakfast for people sleeping rough, served until 10am.

The remainder of the day will consist of one-to-one appointments through which staff will support people through advice and referrals, including into accommodation.

New Hope is committed to preventing homelessness in Watford and the surrounding area. This includes supporting people who have been homeless and are now living in their own home. To continue supporting everyone in this position, we are investing in the Tenancy Sustainment Team by recruiting an additional member of staff for one year.

By making these changes, we are responding to the continuing high levels of rough sleeping in Watford and returning to our roots. When our founders, Janet and Sheila, first began New Hope’s work, they were moved to do so by those they saw sleeping rough on Watford’s streets.

Today, we have many more resources to help these people through our various services, partnerships with other incredible organisations and the amazing support of our community.

Together, we will prevent more people from becoming homeless and enable more lives to be transformed as they move forward on their journey of recovery.

Thank you for the part you play in this vital work.

Those eligible to access the service will receive a free takeaway lunch.

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The donations you leave to New Hope during your lifetime are invaluable.

They can mean the difference between rough sleeping and safe accommodation for someone who is homeless in Watford. But how can you help to protect future generations from becoming homeless?

A gift in your will to New Hope will help us to sustain and develop our many services and projects with those who are homeless in Watford.

We all would like to be remembered and feel that we have contributed something to the world, but you don’t need to be rich and famous to make an impact. Every financial gift to New Hope – however large or small – will help to prevent homelessness and transform lives.

We know that your first priority when making a will is to provide for your loved ones, but many people find

that once they have done this they can leave something to a cause they hold dear. In 2015, New Hope received several gifts which were left to us by supporters who had passed away.

We promise to handle all legacy donations effectively and wisely. We will ensure it will make a difference and will respect any wishes for the money to be spent in a specific area.

If you would like any more information about leaving a legacy to New Hope, please call us on 01923 227 132.

DWELLING PLACE ‘Moses then assembled the whole Israelite community… Let everyone whose heart so moves them bring gifts to the Eternal One… And let all among you who are skilled come and make all that the Eternal has commanded.’

(Exodus 35:1, 5 and 10).

In building God’s ‘house’ in the wilderness, it is very clear that every member of society was to be involved: all were to hear the message and intention of the housing project, and those moved

to action were to provide either the financial means or practical skills.

God, of course, needs no ‘house’ but the motivation for the project is: ‘Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8).’ The Hebrew for ‘sanctuary’ and ‘dwell among them’ is ambiguous. The former shares its root for the ‘Divine Presence’. The latter, ‘abide within them’.

So we might read these verses: Moses pronounced through every possible media, ‘Create a society worthy of God’s Presence, where each of you contributes financially, practically or materially, the means for God to dwell in their home.’

Whilst we might interpret ‘home’ spiritually as being within the individual, the intention of the passage is clear, the natural state is the right to have a physical home, a place of sanctuary that is at once a physical shelter and a holy space.

Why are my congregants and I passionate about the work of New Hope? Because it provides physical shelter and a holy space for humanity in Watford, and where humanity securely dwells, there you find God. Rabbi Aaron Goldstein Senior Rabbi at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue

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‘I had my own home, custody of my children and was working. Due to a disastrous move abroad I lost everything and ended up back in the UK with nothing. I moved around from temporary hostels/night shelters not knowing where to turn.

‘I tried every option available to me in an attempt to gain temporary accommodation, but, due to being a single male, I wasn’t classed as vulnerable.

‘I lived in a tent and a shed for several months. Through a friend of a friend I was able to stay in someone’s flat; however, it turned out the tenant was a drug user and I was unsafe. I didn’t know which way to turn and felt I had gotten nowhere. I went to the Haven Support Centre and was offered a room at the Night Shelter. When I was homeless I drank to cope, but I wanted to set my limit to zero when I moved in. I stayed there for just over a month before moving into New Hope House.

‘I am extremely grateful for being given a chance at New Hope House.

I have got my self-respect back. I have stayed dry from alcohol for a year. I have started to think about my future. Thanks to New Hope I have

accessed an NVQ course in mental health awareness and completed it successfully.

‘New Hope has helped me get support from Herts Young Homeless and Supporting Herts. They have both been helpful in giving me benefits advice, housing options and general support. They also referred me to Spectrum (a drug and alcohol service) which helped me keep my feet on the ground by listening to other people’s stories. They offered me general support as well.

‘Before I came to New Hope, I was at my wits end and couldn’t see any way forward until I was offered the Night Shelter bed. They were the only people who seemed to offer help, and it is with the support I have received that I have gotten to the positive position I am in now.'

‘I feel a lot more optimistic about the future. I would like to get back to fulltime employment and live independently, again.’

Why do people come to the service?

People come to Transition because they’re sleeping rough or about to sleep rough – either because they’re sofa surfing or at risk of homelessness.

They usually haven’t used our services before. Unlike most homelessness accommodation, we’re able to support people who don't have a 'local connection', but are currently in the Watford area, and people who can’t claim housing benefit, including those who are working.

How do you help people overcome their problems?

The most obvious thing we do is give people a safe place to stay but we do help people in other ways, as well. We have a reconnection fund which helps people return to the area where they have a ‘local connection’ or support network like their family. We also support people in saving money for a private rental deposit, refer people to other support agencies (such as Spectrum – a drug and alcohol service

– and the local Community Mental Health Team), help people with benefit claims and reconsiderations, and support people in keeping or finding employment. We aim to offer practical quick turnaround solutions wherever we can so we can help as many people as possible. That’s a really important part of Transition.

What do you do in a typical day?

Between 7am and 9am we induct those who came to Transition the previous night, and meet with all six people staying in Transition to see how they’re getting on. The rest of the day is spent completing paperwork, making referrals, conducting more formal one-to-one assessments with service users, making phone calls, attending meetings with service users and putting action plans together to enable people to move on quickly.

What are the best parts of your job?

I love the opportunity to think outside the box and always be up-to-date

£23.29 WILL PAY FOR ONE PERSON TO HAVE A BED AND SUPPORT FOR ONE NIGHT IN NEW HOPE’S TRANSITION SERVICE. YOU CAN DONATE AT NEWHOPE.ORG.UK/DONATE AND SPECIFY THAT IT’S FOR THE TRANSITION SERVICE.

with the latest legislation changes to benefit entitlement. Those moments when you offer someone an option they probably would never have thought was possible are amazing.

And obviously seeing someone you’ve been working with move into more permanent accommodation and regain their independence. That’s always great!

What are the more challenging parts of your job?

It’s really tough when you’re trying to help someone who can’t claim benefits because the options for them are so limited. And keeping the turnover high (so we can support more people) is a real challenge, as well, especially when you’re working with people in such difficult circumstances. And then there’s dealing with the emotional side of the work. It’s obviously really hard, and often quite traumatic, for someone when they’ve just become homeless.

Working with people going through that, every day, can be a challenge.

What is your favourite memory of working at Transition?

I remember this one girl, Alex, who was 18 years old and came to us after being kicked out of her home by her dad. Staying at the Transition Service meant she had a base; she could continue with her college course and start a part-time job. We worked with Herts Young Homeless and within a few weeks she was offered a housing association property with targeted support for 16-25 years olds. It was obviously a really difficult time for her but we were able to help her through that – and she also received support from the other service users.

Employment is one of the most effective routes out of homelessness but for many finding a job is incredibly difficult, with numerous barriers to overcome.

This is why New Hope has launched the HopeCollege website – an online one-stop shop to support service users in finding out more about qualifications, training, local volunteering opportunities, workshops and activities.

Have a look at hopecollege.org.uk to see for yourself!

This tool is used during keyworking so our service users can be supported in exploring their options, but it can also be used by service users on their own. It’s designed specifically with their needs in mind to make available opportunities more accessible to them, from therapeutic workshops and activities to courses which lead to formal qualifications recognised and desired by employers.

Bob Milligan, project worker in our Tenancy Sustainment Team (TST), said: ‘HopeCollege is really useful for TST because one of the hardest things for us to help with is building up a social support network, which is vital for when people move on from our support. Through HopeCollege people have found new volunteering opportunities we weren’t aware of – for example at the hospital and Watford Colosseum

– and volunteering is a great way for people to get involved in the community and meet new people.’

Here are a few examples of people we’ve supported through HopeCollege: Having completed a forklift qualification last year in prison, Gary has been enabled, through support in our accommodation, to get a job forklift driving. He has now completed his driving theory/hazard perception and is planning to take his practical test, shortly, with a view to owning a bus driving company.

Anoushka has been accessing a work placement with Seetec since 2015. She wants to get back into hospitality and catering and is really enjoying the placement.

Piotr is currently attending West Herts College studying English.

This was the result of joint working between Ascend, New Hope, Watford Jobcentre Plus, Seetec and West Herts College. Piotr is continuing the qualification to enable him to have better job prospects as English is his second language.

We’re grateful to West Herts College who funded the creation of this new tool.

As we continue to see an unprecedented number of people needing the support of New Hope’s services, we are so encouraged by wonderful people in our community who want to help us change the lives of individuals in this dire situation.

Here are a few examples:

We appealed to the local community at Christmas to donate sleeping bags for rough sleepers in Watford.

We didn’t expect such an incredible response and received over 100!

Watford Borough Council – In March, a team of people from Watford Borough Council repainted rooms in the Night Shelter. They donated all the materials and spent a day with us giving the rooms a much needed lick of paint.

St Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic School in Garston raised £928.55 for New Hope as part of a fundraising campaign. One of their events was a Christmas craft fayre at the school where they sold handmade crafts and tasty treats.

Harris and Hoole – As part of a crowd funding campaign called #coffeecrowd, the Watford branch of Harris and Hoole raised nearly £600 through a number of events in February and March 2016, including a charity gig at a local art centre.

Jane Lacey – Jane has taken part in various fundraising events in aid of New Hope over the years, and her effort this year was part of TrekFest, a 13-mile sponsored walk through the Peak District. Jane and a friend raised £715 from the walk – that’s £55 a mile!

Jenny Smith – On Christmas Day, Jenny swam across Weymouth Harbour and raised a whopping £2,000 for being so brave!

SAT 28TH MAY 2016 10.30AM - 3PM

64 RICKMANSWORTH ROAD, WATFORD, WD18 7JA

HOPEGARDEN.ORG.UK

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY We’ve got a number of events coming up over the next few months. For more information and updates, visit our website at newhope.org.uk.

24 SEPT

GARDEN OPEN DAY

26 SEPT

CONNECT EVENING

2 DEC

ST ALBANS SLEEPOUT

Sat 24th Sept, 10.30am - 3pm Community Market Garden Mon 26th Sept, 7.30pm St Mary's Church, Upper Room Fri 2nd Dec, 9pm - 7am St Albans Abbey

Join us for our connect evening to find out the latest New Hope news, hear from front-line staff and discover how you can help.

9 MAY

CONNECT EVENING

Mon 9th May, 7.30pm St Mary's Church, Upper Room

NEW HOPE 67 Queens Road, Watford, Herts, WD17 2QN

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New Hope (Watford New Hope Trust) is a registered charity (1080784) and a company limited by guarantee (03969063). Registered office: Cansdales, Bourbon Court, Nightingales Corner, Little Chalfont, Bucks, HP7 9QS.