Last week was Volunteers Week and we celebrated the wonderful people who give up their free time to help us. 

On an average day at the Whitechapel Centre the first volunteers will start at 7.15am, and the last volunteer shift will finish at around 10.30pm. An average of 19 different volunteers will be active on a single day, in as many as 17 different roles across all of our services, for an average of 49 hours a day, 7 days a week. From serving in our shop, staffing our switchboard, engaging with and providing support directly to service users, supporting fundraising and events, sorting and distributing donations, offering peer support, preparing and serving food, and providing administrative support. We can't thank our volunteers enough for the wonderful work they do!

If you too would like to feel the buzz of doing something worth while take look at the various roles we have on offer click here 

We are celebrating after making a successful bid for funding from Nationwide Building Society for our shared accommodation project. 

Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, has been looking to support charities dealing with the many issues around housing across the North West and North Midlands, and made £500,000 available to help make a difference across communities across the region.

Now the names of those charities that have secured the grants they applied for have been announced – and The Whitechapel Centre has been confirmed as one of those that has been successful.

The Whitechapel Centre empowers its service users to gain the necessary skills required to manage their future tenancies, and so sustain their independent living in local communities. This helps to stem the flow of those who cannot sustain their tenancies and return to homelessness - often repeatedly. The aim is to expand the current model with the addition of two new houses, increased support and add a mentoring element to enhance preparation for independence.

David Carter, Chief Executive at The Whitechapel Centre said: “We are very grateful to the Nationwide for their support. It will allow us to expand our services and support more people into safe, good quality accommodation and support them to make it a success.”

​Homelessness is a symptom and for us to end it, we have to look at the causes. Jane’s experience with us is very brief, but we hope that by addressing the cause, we have been able to end her homelessness for good.
 
Our outreach team first met Jane in December when she had abandoned her flat after being bullied by her neighbours. Jane, who is alcohol dependent, was incredibly angry and emotional as she felt no one was helping and she had had to sleep rough for a night.
 
Jane came with the team to the Whitechapel Centre and we were able to offer her a room in one of our shared properties immediately. While she was there we helped her to access services for her alcohol dependency. She was quickly assessed and she started receiving support.  Jane is now doing well, she is enjoying her own space which gives her the time to really focus on continuing her recovery. 

Jack’s family kept in touch with us and were very concerned for him. One day they called with the sad news that Jack’s brother had passed away and they wanted Jack to come home. Months of searching for Jack went by but again we could not locate him. In December Yasmin walked out of a shop on her day off and saw a man walking up to people begging for money. He was on crutches, underweight and looked quite frail. As Yasmin got closer she realised it was Jack. He was pleased to see her, giving her a big hug and getting quite emotional, admitting that he was sick of his lifestyle and that he wanted to change. Yasmin told him how worried everyone was and that his family we desperately trying to contact him. Jack agreed to go to the Whitechapel Centre with her where he had a shower and a change of clothes before making contact with his mum. She broke the news about his brother.  This news strengthened Jack’s resolve to make changes in his life. 

Jack asked if we could help him get home and later the same day, we took Jack to the train station, with a bag of clothes, food, toiletries and a book for the journey home. The next morning Yasmin received a tearful call from Jack’s mum. He had arrived safely and was at home with her and planning to access a rehab and start a new life with his family. Jacks’ mum said she was overwhelmed by the support she and Jack had received from the staff at the Whitechapel Centre and was so grateful Jack was home for Christmas.
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Jack’s story highlights how it can take many months of contact and conversations before someone feels ready to change their situation. Yasmin is part of our Street Lifestyles Outreach team which supports people away from street living. The team work in partnership with Addaction and provides specialist addiction and housing support. 

 
James was living in The Whitechapel's Yates Court, one of our specialist facility for families who find themselves homeless. Becoming homeless had been very unsettling for James and as a result he had become quieter and had developed trouble mixing and socialising with other children. His mum said he only really seemed happy when he sat by himself playing with Lego and that he was a really talented model maker.

In order try to help James settle in, and get to know the other children in the centre, our Children and Young Person Project Worker, Sue, organised a Lego Therapy session over the school holidays and invited all the children. But when the day arrived James stayed in his flat, too shy to join the twenty other children. 

Knowing that James just needed a little care and reassurance Sue went and spoke with James and explained everything that would happen and then promised that if he came along she’d look after him.
 
James was still wary but Sue paired him with a child who didn’t speak English. This really took the pressure off James, who was still shy about talking, and they had to work together and follow instructions using non-verbal communication and play. In the end they’d made a wonderful, fierce Lego monster and were very proud of themselves.