Tag: homelessness

Step out for Fresh Start

Take strides for homelessness in Fresh Start charity fundraiser

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Brush off your walking boots and take strides to raise money to help people who have been homeless in Edinburgh settle into their new homes.

Fresh Start, the Ferry Road Drive-based charity supporting people to make a home their own after a period of homelessness, is holding its annual sponsored walk on May 30.

The charity hopes to raise more than last year’s total – £7,200 – when its band of fundraisers walk eight miles through some of the most picturesque parts of Edinburgh.

And there is still time to dust off your walking boots and sign up to take part in the fundraiser.

The walk will start from the Jubilee Gardens in Stockbridge at 10am and finish at the charity’s base at Harrison Place where lunch will be served for the hungry walkers. On the way, participants will take in the sights of the Water of Leith, Union Canal and Harrison Park.

Keith Robertson, Fresh Start’s Managing Director, said: “Each year we manage to smash our previous years fundraising target and we hope that 2014’s sponsored walk will be no different. You don’t need to be an expert walker and you can take your time on what will hopefully be a lovely sunny day.”

He added: “All the money raised will help us to continue our vital work in supporting families and individuals who have been homeless to make their new house into a home.”

Fresh Start supports people in their new homes after a period of homelessness. The charity provides goods through its Starter Packs, which include basics to survive (bedding, curtains, crockery, etc). and practical support through its ‘Hit Squad’ service, where volunteers help people to decorate their new houses, tackling vulnerability and isolation.

Most recently, Fresh Start opened the doors to its ‘Food Station’ which is tackling health inequalities by giving access to refurbished cookers, running cooking classes, and distributing food packs and budgeting advice.

To register for the walk, call Fresh Start on 0131 476 7741 or email reception@freshstartweb.co.uk

Volunteering opportunities at Fresh Start

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A local resettlement charity is looking for enthusiastic people to join its band of volunteers. Ferry Road Drive-based Fresh Start, which helps people previously homeless make a home for themselves, urgently needs people to join its Hit Squad and Gardening teams.

Keith Robertson, Managing Director at Fresh Start (pictured above with volunteer Caroline) said: “You don’t need to be an expert gardener or decorator – we are just looking for people with some basic skills who can work as part of a team and support vulnerable people to get back on their feet.”

Hit Squads work alongside new tenants to help them decorate their new house. Volunteers help prepare the rooms for decorating including cleaning, sanding, lining walls and painting the whole room. Last year 120 clients received support to decorate their new home through the Hit Squad service.

But while Hit Squads work alongside new tenants to help them decorate their new house, it is more than just a decorating service. Not only does it improve a client’s living space but also teaches new skills to help them establish and maintain a home and it also benefits people through positive social contact, helping to combat vulnerability and isolation

The charity is also looking for people to volunteer in its allotment where food grown such as vegetables, herbs and potatoes will be used in cookery classes at Fresh Start’s Food Station.

The Food Station service aims to tackle health inequalities amongst people who have been homeless by giving access to refurbished cookers, cooking classes, food packs and budgeting advice.

Keith Robertson added: “Both these projects are fundamental to Fresh Start’s work helping to combat vulnerability and isolation often experienced during periods of homelessness. Hit Squads support people to learn new skills that will enable them to maintain their home, while our cookery classes and gardening projects help people to learn basic cooking skills as well as enjoy being outdoors in the garden.”

To find out more about volunteering:

visit http://bit.ly/freshstartvolunteer

call Fresh Start on 0131 476 7741

or email enquiries@freshstartweb.org.uk

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Let’s hear it for the girls!

Fresh Start honours volunteers’ community spirit

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHundreds of Edinburgh’s homeless households have been helped settle into their new homes thanks to generosity of local schoolchildren – who were recently honoured for their community spirit.

St George’s Lower School for Girls received a Community Volunteer Award from Edinburgh’s West pilton-based homelessness resettlement charity Fresh Start for its support in helping previously homeless families make a house a home.

Children from the school have collected items to go in Fresh Start’s Starter Packs for the last few years, providing invaluable support for the charity, which survives on donations to be able to make up the packs.

Every year, Fresh Start makes up and distributes around 9,000 packs, which provide the basics for new households to survive.

Keith Robertson, Managing Director, said: “The support of St George’s Lower School has meant hundreds of new households in Edinburgh have been able to make a house a home. These packs provide basics like bedding to keep warm at night, curtains to close the world out, crockery to eat dinner on. Without the kind of community spirit show by St George’s Lower School, we would struggle to continue to be able to provide the support we do.”

Head of Lower School Marjorie Hall said: “It’s been an honour to help provide goods for the packs – all the school children who have taken part have learnt a lot. They make houses to provide the goods in, which helps them to make the connection between being homeless and getting a house. It’s an important life lesson for them – that homelessness can happen to anyone.”

The school’s award was one of a number of awards, given out at the charity’s annual Volunteer Awards on Friday (November 8).

Every year Fresh Start volunteers, staff and directors nominate volunteers to get an award – Starter Pack Volunteer, Hit Squad Volunteer, Church Representative Volunteer, Community Volunteer and Corporate Volunteer.

Other award winners were:

  • Evelyn Scott from Colinton, who received an award for being an outstanding Starter Pack volunteer.
  • Tony Shephard from Abbeyhill, who received an award for being an outstanding Hit Squad volunteer. These volunteers help to decorate homes of Fresh Start clients.
  • Jack Simpson from Craiglockhart, who received an award for his work as a Church Representative.
  • The award for Corporate Volunteers went to Lloyds Banking Group.

Keith Robertson added: “At Fresh Start we depend on the support of our volunteers and the donations that come in, which is why we take a moment each year to honour those who help us so much.”

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Shelter urges ten year plan to tackle homelessness

A new 10-year action plan to address homelessness prevention and crisis services must be put in place if Scotland wants to remain a world leader on the issue, according to Shelter Scotland.

The housing charity believes that an action plan will help Scotland to maintain focus and deliver the ongoing commitment made through the country’s landmark 2012 homelessness legislation – which gave every unintentionally homeless person the right to settled accommodation.

Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, said: “We now need to build a homelessness service that has the person at its heart and enables homeless people to make choices that are right for them”.

The call for a 10-year action plan comes ahead of Shelter Scotland’s annual conference: ‘Housing, homelessness, advice and prevention’, which will see experts focus on the impact of bad housing on health inequalities in Scotland, and other key priorities for the sector.

The charity believes the 10-year action plan must respond to current and future challenges for housing and homelessness advice services and set out the key objectives at national and local level.  It should be built with the aim of delivering person-centred services which allow flexibility and choice, and lead to sustainable housing outcomes forall service users.

Last year there were 39,827 homelessness applications in Scotland with 10,471 families and individuals in temporary accommodation.

Graeme Brown said: “Scotland has the most progressive homelessness legislation in the world, but that doesn’t mean that homelessness has gone away.  It still exists in all its various forms.  Meeting the 2012 commitment was an important landmark but we now need to look forward to the next ten years to ensure that progress continues and we don’t take any backward steps.

“We now need to work in partnership and build a homelessness service that has the person at its heart and enables homeless people to make choices that are right for them. This is about people, not processes.”

He concluded: “We expect the coming years to be extremely challenging as a result of welfare reforms and the introduction of Universal Credit – which is set to bring even more disruption to people’s lives.  While we hope there isn’t a rise in homelessness, we must be prepared for the challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead.  A ten-year action plan would be the best place to start.”DSCF8696

Fresh Start gets down to business

Joyce Clark
Joyce Clark

Resettlement charity Fresh Start has welcomed it’s first ever Business Manager as the charity goes through a period of growth. Joyce Clark takes up the newly created role with the Pilton-based charity, which works to help people make a home for themselves.

Ms Clark comes from a business and marketing background, with her most recent role in the third sector at Sacro, the national community justice voluntary organisation.

The new Business Manager role was created to help the charity grow as demand for its services continues to rise. Fresh Start’s board of directors decided at the start of the recession to promote a programme of expansion which has helped them to meet some of that demand – but the charity is still unable to help all those who need it.

Fresh Start provides a range of services: a Starter Pack service to help people with the basics needed to set up a new home; a Hit Squad service to help people decorate their new home and provide social support; and a training and employability service for people who have been homeless through its social enterprise in PAT Testing.

Keith Robertson, Fresh Start’s Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to welcome Joyce to Fresh Start in this newly created role as we expand and grow. Fresh Start has already come far from its roots, based in one of the member’s garages, helping just a handful of people in Pilton. But we are growing faster than ever before and we’re delighted Joyce is starting to help steer the ship in the right direction.”

Business Manager Joyce Clark said: “Fresh Start is a place where real tangible results can be seen in helping people to turn their lives around, thanks to the right kinds of support. I’m delighted to work with such a committed organisation and team – and look forward to helping the charity continue to support people to have a fresh start in life and develop ways of meeting the growing demand.”

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Happy birthday to North Edinburgh’s ‘strong women’!

Rowan Alba's Helen Carlin and Sue Evans
Rowan Alba’s Helen Carlin and Sue Evans

Rowan Alba’s Stramullion Service celebrates ten years at West Pilton Park

Rowan Alba chief executive Helen Carlin and project manager Sue Evans were joined by staff, supporters and service users past and present at a reception to celebrate the tenth birthday of the organisation’s homeless women’s unit in North Edinburgh last Friday. Local MP Mark Lazarowicz was among the guests who gathered to mark the important milestone at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre.

Rowan Alba’s Stramullion Service in West Pilton was established in 2003 in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council to  provide secure short-term supported accommodation for up to ten women and their children in individual flats. Stramullion works with women aged 16+, with and without children, who are homeless – this includes young people who are in transition (for example, leaving care), women whose families have broken down, and those involved in offending, or alcohol or drug misuse.

Stramullion staff provide advice and support to enable each woman to build the personal skills and resources they need – equipping them to move on from homelessness in a positive and healthy way. Each personal support plan depends on individual circumstances and need, and just some of the core services which many Stramullion clients need include:

  • Welfare and benefits advice
  • Budget and debt management
  • Life skills training and home management
  • Tenancy maintenance support
  • Resettlement and social activities
  • Advice, information and support to access local community services
  • Referral to specialist social work, health and counselling services
  • Help with applications and grants
  • Move on support when the time comes to move in to their own home
  • A follow-up service after re-settlement.

The Stramullion (an old Scots word for ‘strong woman’) service believes that accommodation, support, education and employment provide women with the best route off the streets and out of the misery caused by homelessness.

Speaking at the anniversary event, Rowan Alba CEO Helen Carlin said: “I’m really delighted to be celebrating ten years in partnership with City of Edinburgh Council and all our supporters. I’m especially pleased  to see so many current and past service users turning out to celebrate with us.”

Stramullion project manager Sue Evans, who has been at West Pilton since day one, added: “This is a very special day for us and it’s great to see so many people here. It’s really brilliant!”

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Top marks for Dunedin’s Harbour hostel

Staff at the only hostel in the Capital run by a social landlord have been praised following a recent care services inspection. Leith’s Dunedin Harbour Hostel has been awarded ‘very good’ grades after an inspection by the Care Inspectorate.

Managed by Dunedin Canmore Housing Group, the hostel – the only hostel service delivered by a Housing Association in Edinburgh – scored highly for the quality of care and support it provides to homeless people. Dunedin Harbour Hostel provides short term support of up to 12 weeks. The service also provides medium term support, up to six months, in self contained flats within the hostel accommodation. At the time of our inspection 35 people were using the service.

Staff have various areas of expertise, including mental health, drugs, alcohol and counselling. The team provides housing advice, emotional and practical support and help with independent living skills. And they work closely with each person to identify and work towards their personal goals, promote healthy lifestyles and build skills for work.

The report said the Parliament Street-based hostel service has been creative in helping people access support, working with a range of services to build relationships with people in the hostel that can continue after their stay.

Dunedin Canmore’s Sheltered Housing Division also scored ‘very good’ in the inspection. The Sheltered Housing Division provides a housing support service to around 340 tenants living in nine sheltered housing complexes across Edinburgh. Tenants have self contained flats and each complex has a communal lounge, kitchen and laundry facilities.

The report said, “The sheltered housing managers we met were enthusiastic about their role and committed to supporting tenants to live as independently as possible. Sheltered housing tenants were happy with the support they received from their sheltered housing manager. They were viewed as friendly, approachable and helpful and the “extra” help they gave was very much appreciated.”

Housing Manager Rhona McAdam said: “I am delighted with the Very Good Grade from the Care Inspectorate. This reflects the hard work of all the staff in the service and their commitment to providing an excellent service to the tenants in sheltered housing. I am very pleased by the many positive comments which the tenants made about their sheltered managers to the Care Inspector. Our Care Inspector also offered us some useful suggestions on how we might further improve our service, which we are currently implementing.”

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Dunedin Canmore kicks off Changing Lives campaign

A local housing association has launched a new campaign to help young people and homeless adults in Edinburgh break the cycle of unemployment and poverty – through sport.  Dunedin Canmore Housing Association and Street Soccer Scotland have joined forces in a bid to give hundreds of youngsters and excluded adults the confidence to move into employment or education through the Changing Lives campaign.

The Edinburgh-based social landlord says Changing Lives will help build the self confidence and motivation of youngsters, as well as homeless adults, by plugging existing gaps in employability services.

Kicking off the campaign, Dunedin announced it will be major sponsor of the Scottish Homeless World Cup Team. Dunedin will provide a £10,000 boost to support the team, trained and managed by Street Soccer Scotland, as they head to the prestigious annual tournament in Mexico this August.

Changing Lives is already delivering a raft of community projects, including personal development courses and healthy living events for communities around Edinburgh offering advice on mental health, sexual health, housing, employment and training.

Under the partnership Dunedin will provide specialist accredited training as part of Street Soccer Scotland personal development and training programmes – and plans to open up volunteering, training and job opportunities to people coming through Street Soccer Scotland programmes.

Gavin Edmonds, Community and Business Initiatives Officer at Dunedin Canmore said, “We are proud to launch the Changing Lives campaign with Street Soccer Scotland and excited to kick it off with our sponsorship of the Homeless World Cup team again this year. Ultimately the goal of all the projects we do as part of Changing Lives is to give people the self esteem and life skills to help them to make a better life.”

David Duke, Chief Executive of Street Soccer Scotland said, “At Street Soccer Scotland our motto is positive change through football. By working with Dunedin we will be able to have a bigger impact and change lives of more people. And thanks to their sponsorship we will be able to secure training for the Homeless World Cup team as they head to Mexico.”

Dunedin Canmore and Street Soccer Scotland are also bidding for funding to set up programmes throughout Edinburgh as part of Football Works which will be aimed at young people aged 14 – 19 who are deemed to be going into a negative destination when leaving school.

Changing Lives – a lifechanger for Peter

Peter Dante (pictured above) is 41 and lives in Leith.

He gets support from employability worker at Dunedin Canmore and says this has helped him to turn his life around. He has background in crime, addiction and homelessness.

Peter became team captain for the Salvation Army hostels tournament and went on to organise a mini tournament for hostels teams in Edinburgh in 2012. And last year he started volunteering at Street Soccer Scotland and went into rehabilitation. Now he is now doing a Street Soccer Plus programme, delivered as part of the Changing Lives partnership between Dunedin Canmore employability support and Street Soccer Scotland.

Peter is doing an HNC in Working in Communities at Jewel and Esk Valley College, coaching young people at Bathgate Academy, voluntary work with adult literacy project Glory and Dismay and has started an employment trial with the Marriot Hotel. Peter has also reconnected with his son and started rebuilding his relationship.