Ending homelessness this Christmas
This winter more people than ever are facing the crisis of homelessness
Our teams are ending homelessness for people every day.
Naomi Webb, our Operations Manager for Homelessness Services explains how we are helping people out of crisis and into safe homes, giving them the vital practical and emotional support they need to rebuild their lives.
She talks about the small, but powerful, moments that change the course of someone’s recovery from homelessness.
We open our doors to those who are over 18 and who have reached a crisis point in their lives where life can be incredibly lonely and hope is rapidly disappearing. We are all two steps away from homelessness and this statement really hits home when Head Teachers, chefs, bank managers, veterans, trades men and people from all walks of life come in through our doors.
I just wanted to tell you about two people. The first I will refer to as Tim.
Tim was a senior professional in a flourishing organisation. The pressure of the work led to Tim relying on alcohol to manage his everyday stresses. Sadly his reliance on alcohol increased, and Tim lost his job, his family and his home within a six-month period.
He began sleeping on the streets and sadly he was attacked. He joined us from hospital, and when he walked through our doors he was a broken man. The trauma he felt meant that he could only cope by shutting himself away in his bedroom, the staff delivered food parcels to him and communicated through his door for several weeks.
During this time, a neighbouring resident noticed that Tim was really struggling and in need. They struck up a friendship, speaking through the wall. His neighbour had a birthday, which we were celebrating in the communal area. The door opened, and in walked Tim. He walked up to his neighbour, extended his hand, and introduced himself in person. That moment signified a huge turning point for Tim.
Since completing his recovery with us, Tim has moved on to a new job and home in northern England.
We also welcomed a young lady who was 18 years old. We’ve called her Claire.
Claire had suffered extensive abuse and rejection from her mother. Her only way of protecting herself from the dangers of the world was by hiding behind a hood and keeping her head down at all times. The staff worked hard to reassure Claire that she was safe and that she was seen for the person that she was. Claire continued to hide behind that hood. One morning we passed on the stairs, and as normal I said “hello” and expected her to mumble a reply and run down the stairs. But that didn’t happen. Claire stopped, took down her hood, looked at me and said “morning, how are you?” That moment spoke a thousand words.
The Alabaré team continued supporting Claire, and even helped her start to rebuild some of her family relationships. Eventually Claire was able to move in with her sister and went back to college.
Throughout our homelessness services, these moments are happening every day. They are not captured in reports or listed as KPIs for commissioners, but these moments signify through the respect, care and compassion of our staff, who have built a safe environment and enabled our residents to get to that moment, a moment where our residents want to fight to become survivors.
These are only two cases out of hundreds through our homelessness services who all have their own story. I would ask you all to reflect on how those moments which change the course of a person’s life, not only start with the individuals but touch many more lives as they move into their futures, be their children, their future generations, or the local community and friends that they will make and the impact that they will have using their trauma and turning it into strength.
Naomi Webb, Operations Manager for Alabaré Homelessness Services
* we have changed Tim’s and Claire’s name and used models to protect their identity.