Education, training & enablement

Who can use this service?
Activity sessions are for anyone who is rough sleeping or vulnerably housed.

Opening Hours
Sessions run every weekday. See our Current Timetable.
Current users of our other services can simply turn up on the day.  If you have not currently receiving support from The Whitechapel Centre contact our Centre Manager and she will ensure someone is there to greet you on your first day and allocate you a Learning and Enablement Worker, if appropriate.
Educational Activities

At the Enablement Centre, we offer a wide range of fun educational activities, delivered by our own trainers as well as our partners, including Crisis Skylight, Collective Encounters and The Social Partnership. All of the sessions are designed to be informative, fun and inspiring, and to build up confidence and skills. Whether someone is homeless, living in a hostel or other temporary accommodation, or on one of our floating support projects, all are welcome to come along and take part.
Our programme changes monthly, but some of our regular activities include the following.

Managing Conflict: Join tutor Carole Benn for this lively discussion group, looking at the conflicts people encounter in their day to day lives and developing skills to enable people to manage situations calmly and get the best outcomes from everyday encounters with others. Carole also looks at the wider issues of global conflict going on in the world today.

Gardening: A joint venture with Kensington Fields Community Centre to help build a sustainable garden and allotment for Whitechapel Centre and Kensington residents.

Hope Club: Employment, education and training advice for individuals with a history of drug/ alcohol use, delivered by The Social Partnership.

IT: This class, delivered by Crisis Skylight is open to people of all abilities. As benefit claims and choice based housing allocation all now being done online, IT access and skills are essential for all homeless individuals. Whether you would like to set up an email address, learn how to use Facebook or other social media, use Propertypool Plus or apply for benefits, these skills are a must.  

Art and Crafts: A weekly session delivered by Crisis Skylight, covering many subjects and mediums including ceramics, painting, drawing, film making, and art history, to name just some of the topics.

Whitechapel Homeless Football League: Players of all abilities are welcome to join the team for football practice each week at The Pitz. There are opportunities for all to compete in Homeless Football League games and other tournaments, or feel free to come along and cheer on our players. 

The MOVE Project

The MOVE Project supports people who would like to volunteer for us but who are not quite ready to start volunteer training. The Whitechapel Centre values the skills and life experiences that people who have experienced homelessness can bring to our organisation and this project provides a stepping stone towards volunteering. 

Who can use this service?
Anyone who is homeless or vulnerably housed.

Opening Hours
Every Tuesday at 1pm

Venue
All activities are based at the centre.
Every 3 months we run our ‘Pre-vol’ classes – a series of fun activities to give former or current service users the confidence and skills to join us as a fully fledged volunteer. When someone is ready to make the move into volunteering they can have a chat with our MOVE Manager about the next steps.
"My name is Christian, I'm a refugee in the UK and I volunteer at The Whitechapel Centre.
As a new person in Liverpool, I had many problems that new people can in a new country - I couldn't speak or write English, I didn’t have somewhere to stay and I didn’t have any money to spend on it. The Whitechapel Centre supported me to have all those things.

I have now got work at a supermarket and am applying to go to university next year. I decided to give back what I receive and support other people who need help to become as independent as I am now. All the staff are very friendly and continue to help me to improve my English and my confidence in the job. It's a very big family where there is a lot of respect and a good ambiance to work in. I always enjoy all moments I spend in the centre."