CRISIS CENTRE MINISTRIES
IMPACT REPORT
| 2018 19
Who we are 35 years ago, Crisis Centre Ministries was just a small group of Christians going out to offer help to those sleeping rough on the streets of Bristol. On one such occasion, a local parish priest went with them. A homeless man, seeing the vicar, asked a challenging question: “What does the church do for someone like me?” Ever since then, we’ve been working with the Church in Bristol to be an answer to that question. Through four projects, we offer food, shelter, support and love to some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our community.
What we do
Wild Goose Drop-in Centre Life Recovery
East Bristol Foodbank Providing emergency food parcels, advicecost and parcels,budgeting debt and utility debt support to peoplehelp living support and financial to in poverty, through three people in need, through four community outlets in community outlets in East East Bristol. Bristol.
Wild Goose Drop-in Life Recovery Centre
Teaching life skills, creating A hot meal, fresh a mutual support andlaundry, nurturing shower, support and advice. the faith of people recovering Offered to all, without from addiction and abuse. conditions or criteria.
A drop-in Teaching lifecentre skills,without creating conditions or criteria. A hotthe mutual support and nurturing meal, fresh laundry, a shower, faith of people in recovery. support and advice, offered to all.
Spring of of Hope Hope Spring
Bristol’s only women-only Bristol’s only women-only night night shelter. A safe, warm shelter. A safe, warm bed for bed and daytime support for women fleeing homelessness, women fleeing homelessness, domestic abuse and other domestic abuse, sex work challenging situations. and human trafficking.
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"It’s been nothing short of an unprecedented time for the whole of society, yet within that we have moved forward."
The year past not look as good as the previous one. More complex problems, particularly those related to mental health, require more time and greater patience and therefore don’t produce as many ‘measurable’ outcomes where boxes can be easily ticked.
With such a busy year behind us, in terms of the many facets of this work and the ever increasing need for our services, it can be difficult to pin point where real progress has been made. It’s been nothing short of an unprecedented time for the whole of society, yet within that we have moved forward.
Being a person-centred and responsive charity where we accept those seeking our help and support before anything, a significant outcome is that we continue to be here for those who need us most. Not as a functional provider of services but as community and surrogate family where hope can be restored.
For us, success comes in a number of forms: the joy that some of the people we work with have maintained their recovery journey and some have moved on into more long-term accommodation; the prevailing reality that our volunteers enable our projects to function; the fact that we spent less money than we received; having a Board of Trustees who demonstrate a deep concern for what this charity is all about, its governance and where we are going in the future.
This time last year we launched our somewhat ambitious Development Plan. Well, we’ve made a start. Various initiatives have begun to take shape, new approaches are being tested out, the development targets are part of team conversations and actions. We continue in that vein with a growing momentum as the charity enters its 36th year.
In this, our second Impact Report, you’ll read about the successes; the outputs and positive outcomes for our beneficiaries. Unlike a commercial business (which targets year-on-year growth) this last year might
Jonathan Lee, Chief Executive 3
EAST BRISTOL FOODBANK
Providing emergency food parcels, debt and utility cost support and financial help to people in need, through three community outlets in East Bristol.
Andy, Foodbank Manager, reflects on the past year: nappies every week. So we’ve increased our capacity to help people in new ways, both in terms of food and beyond. It’s more familyfriendly and more woman-friendly.
We’ve seen something like an 800-person increase coming to the foodbank. I think we’ve also seen more people coming in who are coming from probation services, and more people coming in with mental health struggles.
Eat Well Spend Less, our cookery course, has gone extremely well. We had 26 people through the course in total, with each person getting a set of pots and pans, a cookery book and a certificate. And I think they generally really enjoyed the group. Some people wanted to stay on and do advanced cooking, because they didn’t want to leave! People coming in from mental health and probation services have got a lot out of it – it’s been therapeutic as well as practical, as they’ve mixed with people in a relaxed and enjoyable way, and got on quite well!
We’ve moved into a new warehouse! It needed some work but we had some amazing volunteers working very hard, getting everything into plastic boxes and making sure the warehouse was clean. We’re storing more food – this is the first summer where I’ve felt that we’ve got enough food for everybody. We’re also storing more of the things we like to give out regularly. We’ve been giving out toiletries and feminine hygiene products as a normal, everyday thing. People are getting toilet roll every week, and people are getting 4
In 2018 | 19
152
5,103 people fed*
supported through More Than Food
49 budgets
*2,001
established for struggling people
of which were children
116
26
people 77
reduced energy bills
hardworking volunteers from the local community and beyond
people taught how to cook healthily and cheaply
“It is such a good service, not only the food which has really helped us out twice now, but also the advice and support. It’s brilliant that it is out there to help people.” K, client at East Bristol Foodbank 5
LIFE RECOVERY Teaching life skills, creating mutual support and nurturing the faith of people in recovery.
Ant, Life Recovery Deputy Manager which is all the course material, but with pointers for the leader, so as you’re going through the course there are reminders about what you’re trying to bring out of the group. Anybody can run a LIFE Course – community groups, charities, churches, and foodbanks.
“Over the last nine months what I’ve been doing is taking all the different material that the team have been using for LIFE Course sessions and consolidating it into a much more user-friendly package. It’s now all in one place, and everyone gets all the sessions in the same booklet.
I think the high point this year was with one of the guys that we had come along to the LIFE course, who’d struggled to do any group, because of his history and trauma. He couldn’t do a 12-step programme, he couldn’t do fellowships; he really struggled. This course, he said, was the first course he ever felt he could actually do. He saw it through to the end, he stayed off Class A drugs, he reduced his Class B drug taking, he re-established contact with one of his children and began to build a father relationship with them. He got involved in volunteering and he said that it changed his life. That, for me, is what it’s all about.”
I’ve been developing a session on how we begin a course well, starting everyone together in the same place, and then how we draw it together and end it. We’ve also been building in specific goal-setting as we go along, so that when people finish the course they go on to a meaningful occupation, volunteering, education, maybe another recovery class, maybe employment if they’re ready. Alongside that, I’ve been developing training notes, so other people can run the life course. That’s included developing a leader’s pack,
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In 2018 | 19
"I began to feel safe enough to talk rather than hide." Steve, Life Recovery Group member
The LIFE Recovery team have helped people with the following:
Managing recovery relapses
Drugs and alcohol addiction Providing advocacy at Job Centre and doctor appointments
Childhood trauma
Explore Spirituality as key part of recovery 7
Family and partner relationships; establishing healthy boundaries
Bristol’s only women-only night shelter. A safe, warm bed for women fleeing homelessness or domestic abuse.
SPRING OF HOPE
Val Thompson, Spring of Hope Manager “At Spring of Hope, we’ve always been able to say how much the homeless women encourage us, which they still do. But what has shaken us is this year seeing more and more complex women, and with that seeing vulnerable women preying on other vulnerable women. It’s been really challenging, both for us as a staff team, and for a lot of our volunteers too. Recovery is really difficult. We’ll see women move on, but when it doesn’t work out for them, they come back with an even greater addiction. And their mental health problems have escalated as well. You can’t put it down to one thing, but I’d say trauma is a massive problem for homeless women in this city. From every age group – early twenties right through to sixties. We were launched for complex women; for when women with really complex needs weren’t able to access professional services. We were launched so we could walk alongside those women, so we could advocate for them. We were launched for the women that other agencies weren’t set up to deal with. Having Alice (Spring of Hope Deputy Manager) has been amazing. She’s got skills that Trudy (Spring of Hope Support Worker) and I haven’t got, especially to do with strategy. It’s allowed us to do things we couldn’t do before – like go on holiday! Alice coming on board has enabled us to start developing the already unique service that Spring of Hope offers. We’re focussing on daytime provision and improving what we offer at night. It’s been really joyful seeing women moving on. Sometimes women who’ve moved on come back to our My Time group on a Friday, and share their journey. I think that has been really hopeful. We also took our guests on our first weekend away this year, and that was amazing! Even though the year’s been hard, we know that God has been in the centre of it.” 8
In 2018 | 19
64
homeless and vulnerable women placed into medium or long term supported accommodation, including: 4 women moving into a dry house
12
emergency beds offered
6 nights a week 52 weeks a year
4 women going to rehab 4 women being found a place at a women’s refuge 12 into private rental 13 into supported housing 11 found a place in a women only hostel
1 new full-time member of staff, coordinating invaluable day-time support for guests
22
dedicated volunteers
117
new women taken in at Spring of Hope
1,948 emergency bed nights taken up by vulnerable women 396 items of clothing given out 1,344 loads of guests’ laundry washed and dried 2,424 showers taken
“I entered Spring of Hope, where I found peace and help and a safe bed to keep me off those streets at night.” “You caring when no one else did has truly made the difference to let me move on.” Guest at Spring of Hope
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Andy and Esther, Deputy Managers of The Wild Goose, reflect on the past year: When you looked at his CV, it was incredible, he’s been in this field for years. He ended his presentation with a verse about Jesus coming to set the captives free, so there’s the faith side too. He wants to pass on hope to other people.
“Quite soon into the year, Jonnie (former Wild Goose Manager) left, and we had three months without a manager. Those months were quite challenging, but also exciting, because with change comes new opportunities. When it came to finding a new manager, we were quite clear on what sort of person we needed. So when Mick came in for an interview, we thought, ‘He’s the one!’
We also had Amelia (former Wild Goose Assistant) with us for a time, which was brilliant. It highlighted the need for us to have a fifth member of the team, and also the need for us to improve some of our policies.
As part of the process, he had to do a day in the Goose, and his way with the guests left a big impression on me. He was down-to-earth, grounded. He met people where they were, rather than talking down to them.
Now we’re streamlined, more efficient, and we’ve got policies covering almost every situation!”
THE WILD GOOSE DROP-IN CENTRE A hot meal, fresh laundry, a shower, support and advice. Offered to all, without conditions or criteria. Portrait photos: Ken Abbott “We were recently at a conference, and what really hit home for me were the testimonies of people who’ve been homeless. One person said, ‘The ones who helped me were the dropins, because they go above and beyond.’
could come and have a cup of tea and a chat, and that was where she got her support from. It’s just walking alongside people, like sitting with them when they try and call the benefits office. Not doing things for people, but being with them in stressful and frustrating situations, saying, ‘I am with you in this.’”
That was really encouraging. She said she liked the personal touch – she liked that you 10
In 2018 | 19 197
400
computer and phone sessions
people fed each week
500
Up to meals served a day
food bags given out
514
sessions of listening support
121 loads of
164
laundry done
193
268
69
sleeping bags given out
toiletries given out
showers taken
“A very heartfelt thanks for all that you loving people do for us. It’s not only life-saving, but literally life-changing.” A guest at the Wild Goose, who asked not to be named 11
VOLUNTEERING
Each of our four projects relies heavily on the hard work and dedication of our brilliant volunteers. Quite simply, we couldn’t operate without them. In 2018/19 in the Wild Goose alone, volunteers gave around 14,000 hours. At the National Living Wage, that works out at around £125,000! Whether you volunteered in a project or behind the scenes, with your church, on your own or with your business or school, we want to say a huge thank you. You make it all possible.
Photos: Ken Abbott 12
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Financial summary Total income: £982,000 Total expenditure: £930,000 Surplus: £52,000
Income Businesses & Organisations – 5% Churches – 6% Individuals – 32% Trusts & Foundations – 19% Other Income – 4% Gifts in kind – 34%
Expenditure Wild Goose – £417k (44.8%) LIFE Recovery – £106k (11.4%) Spring of Hope –£160k (17.2%) East Bristol Foodbank – £170k (18.28%) Fundraising – £77k (8.28%)
Thank you to all who have donated money this past year, whether that's been a one off or regular giving. Thanks especially goes to those who gave so generously to our specific appeals for the Spring of Hope Deputy Manager role and Sprucing the Goose! * All figures rounded to nearest 1000. * Gifts in kind are received from a number of sources, including individuals, churches and businesses. They include items like mugs, sleeping bags, cleaning products, cooking oil, clothing and much much more.
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Looking ahead have been truly blessed as a charity – and much more importantly, the many hundreds of service users that we work with have also been blessed.
Over this past year CCM has continued to work across the city in partnership and collaboration with others – churches, other charities and public sector bodies. In the last 2–3 years the level of partnership working has increased markedly, and I’m hugely encouraged by this trend. Interestingly Bristol City Council has introduced what is referred to as the ‘One City Approach’, seeking to bring all sectors to the table in addressing some of the key challenges that the City faces.
My belief is that, going forward, as the city continues to see the benefit of collaborating and partnering within and across the various sectors of society this city will be blessed – and the Christian community has a key role to play in this process, as we openhandedly seek to share God’s heart of love for this city we call home. At CCM we are excited about the future, and the opportunity to share the journey alongside others, seeking to honour God in all that we do in serving Him. We hope that you will want to be part of this journey too.
Another word for ‘collaboration and partnership working’ is unity. Scripture reflects very positively on the importance of unity. David, in Psalm 133, establishes this truth with great eloquence, noting that there is a direct relationship between unity and blessing. We
Andy Street, Chair of Trustees 15
What your support means to our guests: “After five weeks at Spring of Hope, I moved into supported housing for women where I live now.”
“You caring when no one else did has truly made the difference to let me move on.”
It’s amazing to know that people are holding you in their thoughts, and their prayers.”
“You’re like a little family that supports our little family.”
“God, through Stuart, has given me tools to manage things, to turn myself mentally around.”
“I entered Spring of Hope, where I found peace and help and a safe bed to keep me off those streets at night.”
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Getting involved Everyone can make a difference to the homeless and vulnerable people in our community. If you’re not already part of the work that we do, here are some ways to get involved:
Volunteer
Donate
If you’d like to give your time to serving vulnerable and marginalised people, you can volunteer at one of our projects. There are a range of volunteer roles available across the organisation, suitable for differing gifts and availabilities. Contact Steve Smith, our Volunteer Coordinator, if you’d like to find out more: 0117 405 7112.
With the number of homeless people increasing in Bristol, your donations are appreciated now more than ever. They help provide hot meals, shelter, love and hope to our city’s most destitute. To find out more about donating, visit our website or call us on: 0117 405 7113.
Pray
Fundraise
As a Christian charity, prayer is integral to all that we do. If you’d like to join the group of volunteers that prays regularly for the work that we do and the people who we work with, you can sign up for our prayer email newsletter via our website.
If you’d like to raise money for homeless people in Bristol, we’d love to work with you. Whether you’re thinking about hosting an event or taking part in a challenge, visit our website to find out more about fundraising with us. 17
Defining and developing
“SOMEONE LIKE ME”
HOMELESS
HUNGRY LIVING IN POVERTY
IN ADDICTION
ISOLATED STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY
POOR MENTAL HEALTH
ABUSE VICTIM UNEMPLOYED EX-OFFENDER MIGRANT REFUGEE
ASYLUM SEEKER
VULNERABLE LOSS OF HOPE, TRUST, LOVE LOOKING FOR HELP AND CHANGE
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ACCEPTANCE
This year saw the release of our Development Plan, which drew together our four projects under one journey. This journey, taken in some form by all of our guests, begins with a radical acceptance of who that person is, and of where they are in their life. From that point, our staff and volunteers are able to form relationships and meet the practical needs necessary to make personal change possible.
Provision
Food, Practical
Lives
Needs met >
Encounter
Kindness, Hope, Truth, Love, Jesus
walk alongside people in order to restore hope in their lives.
The Plan also set out our aims for the next four years, focusing on three main themes: housing, engagement and creating opportunities for spiritual engagement. Other targets involved better equipping the church to help people experiencing homelessness and mental health problems.
The process of choosing a new name has included much prayer, consultation with charity members, and a review of the whole organisation by a brand expert, who helped us choose a name that reflects our aspirations for our clients and ourselves.
As part of defining who we are as a charity, we also felt it necessary to change our name. This is a big change, especially for a charity of our age – so we didn’t take the decision lightly. But we thought it was important, particularly for the people that use our projects, to reflect that we no longer simply deal with people’s crises. We recognised that while we may meet people in crisis, a larger part of our work is being able to
Therefore, it is with great excitement that as of 1st January 2020, we will be known as inHope. Turn overleaf to see our new charity logo and the new project logos.
Housing Life skills
Learning, Self-confidence
Community, Move-on
Shelter
Safe environment, Safe relationships
s> Relationships being transformed formed > Personal change Engagement
Listening, Accompanying, Signposting
Employability Volunteering, Readiness, Sustaining 19 13
CRISIS CENTRE MINISTRIES 32 Stapleton Road Easton, Bristol BS5 0QY
0117 330 1230 admin@crisis-centre.org.uk Find out more: www.crisis-centre.org.uk facebook.com/crisiscentreministries @crisiscentre Registered Charity No.: 298528 Charitable Company No.: 2214814