2017 May-Aug Streetwise

STREET WISE May – August 2017

Breaking through shame & silence / Expansion into vital trauma support for victims Brought in from the cold / Report from the Bristol Churches Winter Shelter project

THE SUPPORTER MAGAZINE OF CRISIS CENTRE MINISTRIES

“For the first time, I’ve had permission to share the things that have traumatised me.”

Contents / 1 Thank you Spring of Hope / 2 Brought in from the cold / 4 Breaking through the shame & silence / 6 Client story – Lucy / 8 Eat well spend less / 10 Volunteer story – John / 12 Finance & fundraising / 14 Staff highlight – Trudy Mead / 15 Upcoming challenge events / 16 How to help those who are rough sleeping /

Editorial

About us

2017 began with the launch of a new church shelter initiative supported by a wide range of churches, trusts and Bristol City Council. The report of this pilot scheme on page 2 gives an insight of how it all came about, its impact and its future.

We are a Christian charity that has been working in Bristol for over 30 years, dedicated to helping the most vulnerable and marginalised in society achieve healthy and independent lives.

CCM has always recognised that supporting people towards a life off the streets is about more than just basic provision of food, clothing and shelter. Our LIFE Recovery project is expanding to offer trauma support to those suffering from disturbing pasts.

In our article ‘Breaking Through Shame & Silence’ on page 4, read about why we believe that this expansion is vital and how we need your help to make it a reality. The inspiring story of ‘Lucy’ shares the heartwarming impact of the potential of such a service. The ‘Eat Well Spend Less’ article on page 8 also shares about a new cooking initiative that aims to help clients break the cycle of poverty.

Without the help of dedicated volunteers, we could not provide the breadth of services to the vulnerable and homeless. On page 10, duty manager John shares his volunteering story with us. We also bring you a special Sleep Out report in the Finance & Fundraising section.

We hope that you enjoy this packed edition of inspirational and encouraging stories behind our work.

Yan Lau Fundraising & Communications Manager

Our mission is to empower personal change through offering food, shelter, hope and support through our four main projects – the Wild Goose drop-in centre, the LIFE Recovery project, the East Bristol Foodbank and the Spring of Hope women’s night shelter.

Contact Us 32 Stapleton Road, Easton, Bristol, BS5 0QY T. 0117 330 1230 admin@crisis-centre.org.uk www.crisis-centre.org.uk Company No. 2214814 Registered Charity No. 298528

Thank you Spring of Hope We received this letter of thanks from a service user and we wanted to share the impact of your support...

With our help, Lauren is re-training, has moved into her own home and has reconnected with her family.

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Brought in from the cold

Earlier this year, a new four week pilot brought together Bristol’s churches to provide a winter night shelter for Bristol’s homeless community. CCM’s CEO Jonathan Lee was instrumental in shaping this new initiative, which was supported by Housing Justice, a national Christian charity.

Right from the beginning, the project was well received by the city’s churches, Bristol City Council, donors and volunteers. Seven different churches came forward to host a night each for 12 guests. 200 volunteers from churches across Bristol provided the manpower. The funding for the project came from churches, trusts and Bristol City Council.

By Richard Chilvers, Bristol Churches Winter Night Shelter Coordinator

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Gareth Mercer, St Mungo’s Shelter Coordinator said: “I think it’s really positive that churches and faith groups in Bristol are coming together to help rough sleepers. The churches involved provided vital shelter off the streets at the coldest time of the year.” CEO Jonathan Lee says “The pilot worked really well and had a positive impact on guests and volunteers alike.

The hope is that for winter 17/18 that the church shelter will open for longer and offer more people a safe stepping stone off the streets.”

Volunteer training was held covering causes and consequences of homelessness, safeguarding and boundaries. The latter was emphasized as sometimes our kindness can raise expectations without being able to meet them in the long term.

When the project opened we were really excited to welcome our first guests. We got off to a slightly slow start which was appreciated by the venues as it gave them a chance to work out how their venue was going to run.

Guests were assessed and referred to the project by the St Mungo’s outreach team. They were hugely appreciative of all the hard work put in by the volunteers. Each night the guests were offered a meal and then given some time to relax before going to bed. In the morning the guests were given a light breakfast and a map to guide them to the following night’s shelter. The pilot achieved an average of 70% occupancy during the trial.

“It’s like being in a dream.”

Bristol Churches Winter Night Shelter Guest

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Over the last few years the LIFE Recovery project has grown to include The LIFE skills course, and the Life Recovery Groups (church based support groups for people in recovery). Both provide a space where participants are supported in their recovery in developing life skills and emotional resilience. Participants become part of a safe and healthy community and have the opportunity to grow in their spiritual life. Between both services, we work with approximately 60 people in recovery.

Working alongside and listening to many individuals, we have found that many issues – addiction, mental health problems and anti-social behaviours often have a much deeper root of pain caused by abuse and neglect. Research indicates that at least 2 out of every 3 people in addiction have experienced trauma in their childhood.

In many cases, seemingly ‘dysfunctional’ behaviour has been the only way the victim has found to survive in the circumstances they grew up in. Traumatic events and circumstances like sexual abuse, violence in the home, neglect or absent care givers are impressed on ‘emotional memory’.

This can cause people to struggle with flashbacks, anger management, sleep, anxiety, dissociation, numbed emotions, eating disorders, relationship problems and destructive behaviours.

shame and stigma already attached to these unspeakable events. Being given permission to share is incredibly powerful for participants.

We believe in transformation from the inside out. The provision of a trauma support group is a safe space where clients are listened to, believed, not judged and finally given the opportunity to express how it feels. There is very little provision for trauma support in Bristol, and the support that exists is hard to access and often has long waiting lists.

The process of providing support began in April 2015 when my colleague Sophy (LIFE Recovery Deputy Manager) and I embarked on an 8 month training programme for helping people work through trauma, particularly childhood trauma. Since then we have continued to be part of an ongoing training group. In Feb 2017, we launched a pilot 8 week trauma support group for 6 service users here at CCM, with support from an experienced group facilitator.

Allowing people to explore their emotions of what has happened to them in a safe setting can help make sense of confusing and terrifying memories that have been supressed.

Often victims are threatened to not reveal what was happening, told that it’s their fault or that no one would believe them, or just simply to forget about it and move on. This adds to the

Results from the pilot group showed aided emotional well-being, reduction in the risk of relapse by building emotional resilience, healthier personal relationships, and reduced depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and dependence on medication.

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Breaking Through Shame & Silence

By Stuart Leitch, LIFE Recovery Managerr

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Client story

“For the first time in 20+ years I’ve had permission to share the things that have traumatised me.”

Lucy was part of the pilot trauma support group and this is her story.

learnt are all the unexpressed [emotions]: fear, sadness, anxiety, stress that had been locked into my body in order to survive.

At times I lost all connection and sense of who I was. I could spend days hiding under a blanket in the corner of my room as this emotional and mental turmoil took over.

I had lost all sense that I would ever do anything more than just survive.

I joined the LRG trauma support group [to gain support] for ongoing trauma symptoms that hold me back from fully being myself and living a full life. I can honestly say this has been the best decision I’ve made on my recovery journey.

Having been through a lot of trauma throughout my life I found myself stuck, experiencing flashbacks, nightmares and times of extreme emotional distress and panic. A lot of the time I feel detached from my body, like I’m not really there but somewhere else. I had tried different therapeutic support in the past, but never regained much of myself through these.

Having a faith in Jesus helped me through a process of forgiving people in each trauma, but I was still left with the emotions and physical pain being trapped in the body.

Having tried different therapies and church courses in the past I wasn’t sure what to expect from going [to this group], but went along, hopeful once more that I may find some breakthrough. For the first time in 20+ years I’ve had permission to share the things that have traumatised me. Also there is a power in a group where others not only relate to your experience but become part of the restoration process. Restoring trust in others in a safe, meaningful way feels massively significant in the process of reclaiming my life.

Up until this point in my life I haven’t had a safe environment to work through what my younger, broken self couldn’t process. [I’ve experienced] things like violent encounters of a person swinging an axe around, being suffocated, knives being pulled and used as a threat, being pinned down. These memories brought up all the emotions with them as well as the physical pain. When all the significant relationships in life have been abusive, frightening and damaging – feeling safe to build new relationships becomes nearly impossible. Day-to-day life was plagued with symptoms that I’ve

From each session I come away with a better understanding of myself… each week uncovers more memories that were too frightening and painful to process as my younger, broken self. As they come up, there is hope that each memory, each fragment of the emotional turmoil may be put in its rightful place. After years of trauma the best part of me has been ‘squashed down’ – kept safe – but disconnected – this group made me realise the fun, life-loving me has not gone forever.

That’s given me hope!

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LUCY

(Not her real name)

Project Appeal This expansion is dependent on funding and requires ÂŁ12,000 to run for one year.

The LIFE Recovery project is expanding to include trauma focused client work. This will provide six 8-week trauma support courses each year for 6–8 participants on each course. The expansion will also support ongoing assessment with each participant as well as ongoing connection with their support network.

If you would like to contribute to the vital growth of this service, you can donate online at www.crisis-centre.org.uk/ donateliferecovery or complete the donation form at the back of this newsletter.

Please mark clearly for LIFE Recovery.

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Eat well.

Spend less.

By Sally Hunter, East Bristol Foodbank Deputy Manager

We partner with The Trussell Trust in running the East Bristol Foodbank to provide a minimum of three days’ emergency support to people experiencing crisis in Bristol. The Trust recognises that stopping hunger is about more than food, and is developing a range of new services to help people break the cycle of poverty. A new initiative is the Eat Well Spend Less course to help people on low incomes eat well and also tackle issues such as food safety, budgeting, nutrition and shopping habits.

This past winter the Foodbank taught a pilot course to the CCM women’s support group connected to the women’s night shelter project.

Each week Foodbank volunteers Mary, Ann and Janet and I taught a savoury recipe and a sweet recipe. We also lead discussions and activities based on that week’s theme.

The recipes included basic meals such as a simple tomato sauce to add to pasta or rice and more complicated ones such as homemade burgers. We also cooked desserts such as apple crumble and cookies. Each week the participants received a step-bystep guide for each session. These listed the recipe instruction, the cost of all ingredients to aid budgeting as well as lesson cards.

After the group finished cooking they would all eat together and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment at having created meals they wouldn’t usually have attempted.

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“They enjoyed seeing how the participants grew in confidence and how they opened up about some of the challenges in their lives.”

The volunteers had various positive things to say about being involved. They enjoyed seeing how the participants grew in confidence and how they opened up about some of the challenges in their lives. The participants also gave us lots of positive feedback: ■■ One person was really wary of knives when she started the course, but by the final week she was happily cutting up onions.

■■ Another came in one week and told us she had been experimenting with the omelette recipe from the previous week and had found all sorts of things she could add.

■■ Another said that the course had given them greater confidence ■■ Another said that she was now saving approximately £10 a week on her food budget.

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Volunteer story

John 10

I first heard about the Wild Goose drop-in centre years ago in the parish church small group which my wife Julia and I attended. We wanted as a group to be involved in a practical and useful way in Bristol. Chris who was leading the group spoke to Anni Davey (then Chair of the Trustees) who arranged for us to spend an evening in the Goose. That was the old tiny cramped cafe in City Road back then.

We agreed to an evening shift once a month. All we had to do was to turn up and be useful, that was quite challenging enough. After a while the duty manager had changed several times and then there was no one to take over. I, with trepidation agreed to do so when asked. The current Goose is a much better place in so many ways.

“All we had to do was to turn up and be useful, that was quite challenging enough.�

As a duty manager, one has responsibility for the evening and safety for both volunteers and those who come through the door. The two teams where I am DM work well and get on together.

I cannot remember how long ago I started, but it was in the old Goose. This year I am 70 and getting creaky in the joints so I have decided to step down. I am involved in a number of other things but they are less physically demanding, and not so late. I get great satisfaction from volunteering at the Goose. I am happy to have been useful and helpful. I am also grateful for the Crisis Centre to be set up the way they are to enable my Christian giving. I have met very interesting people in my time. This is an essential service to people in awful situations. It’s a place for them to come off the streets, out of the cold, to get some hot food and to get support.

There is quite a lot to do before we open, when everything is ready we dedicate the evening to the Lord and pray for a peaceful evening. I like to spend time greeting those who come in, usually a big rush at 8pm, and then walk through the kitchen to see if everyone is ok. When things calm down there is sometimes the opportunity to listen and chat with those who come in. However there are always lots of things to get sorted.

At the end of the evening there is all the tidying and cleaning.

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Finance & fundraising out will never be a complete homelessness experience, it gives a sense of how tough it is to have nowhere to call home. With the police helicopter flying above us, streetlights shining into our eyes and the threat of more rain, sleeping out is a pretty exhausting experience.

We were all very grateful to wake up in the morning and go home to a shower and some dry clothes.

Special Sleep Out Report 2017 The Sleep Out took place on the 24th February and was a great success! In total, there were around 165 participants from various homelessness organisations across the city including The Julian Trust and Big Issue.

We are really proud of our group of 35 brave participants.

This year was really exciting for us as many other groups and individuals took on challenges to support the Sleep Out. LIFE Course student Matt joined us for the Sleep Out and shared his amazing story of overcoming homelessness and addiction. He really wanted to sleep out to give back to the

The night was not too cold, but unfortunately we did have some rain at the start of the evening which meant that most of us had wet sleeping bags. This was even more of an eye opener to the reality of what it’s like to be on the streets. Although the sleep

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SOS campaign The Safer Off the Streets campaign which supports four shelter programs in Bristol run by St. Mungo’s, The Julian Trust, Caring in Bristol and ourselves has raised nearly £40,000. This is an incredible achievement, but the need is still very great with over 74 people sleeping on Bristol streets every night.

By supporting this campaign, you will be donating vital funds to help run these shelters.

To donate please go to www.fundsurfer.com/SOSBristol

services that helped him through dark times and was thrilled to raise over £200! A group of ten year olds held a sleep out in their garden playhouse and raised over £800! We attended a pyjama night held by Pendennis Good News Church youth group and CCM staff even came into work in their pyjamas for the day to raise awareness. It was fantastic to have so much support for the event this year!

Financial status 2016/7 Third quarter year to date (April–December) figures: Actual Expenditure: £348,957 Actual Income: £365,898 Surplus/deficit: £16,941

Our annual report for the last financial year can now be viewed online at www.crisis-centre.org.uk/annualreport

Our participants collectively raised around £20,061 (not including gift aid). This is an incredible amount and we are very grateful to each and every one of our participants and their sponsors for this fabulous fundraising.

The number of people sleeping rough in Bristol has been recorded at 74 during this year’s annual count. This is a threefold increase in recent years and does not include those living in temporary accommodation. Thanks to this fundraising, we are able to welcome more people in from the streets and to help them break free from homelessness.

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Staff highlight

Trudy Mead

Spring of Hope Women’s Night Shelter Support Worker

What has been the highlight of the job so far?

Trudy joined the team in November 2016.

We sat down with her to get to know her a bit better…

I think one highlight so far is seeing the positive difference a safe and peaceful night’s sleep can make to some of the ladies who come to us from such desperate situations.

And, of course, working with Val!!

What were you doing before you joined CCM? Before I joined CCM I was at home caring for a family member. Prior to that I was a teaching assistant.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

What made you apply for the role?

I enjoy playing guitar in the church music group, I sew and I’ve got myself some canvasses to paint on. I haven’t painted for a few years so it’s going to be interesting.

I was encouraged by Christian friends and family to apply. I was already volunteering and was so encouraged by the work here.

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Upcoming challenge events Supporting and helping homeless people is often a long-term process with real costs involved. Here at CCM, it requires a monthly cost of ÂŁ43,500 to run our services for those in need. The Crisis Centre receives no government or statutory funding and we are 100% dependent on voluntary donations and need your support. Could you help us fundraise by joining a sponsored sporty challenge? Whether it is running, swimming, cycling or other form of physical challenge your fundraising will mean that vulnerable people can access the practical help they need. Here are some upcoming challenge events in 2017 to choose from:

Bristol 10k Sun 7 May 2017

greatrun.org/great-bristol-10k

Bristol Harbourside Triathlon Sun 11 June 2017 www.tribristol.org/race-general-info/

Bristol Nightrider Sat 1 July 2017 nightrider.org.uk/bristol

Great Weston Ride Sun 16 July 2017 greatwestonride.com/home

Bristol Half Marathon Sun 17 Sep 2017

greatrun.org/great-bristol-half-marathon Please visit our website www.crisis-centre.org.uk/fundraise to set up an online fundraising page, download a sponsorship or gift aid form or contact admin@crisis-centre.org.uk to have these sent to you.

Sporty challenges might not be your thing, why not organise a bake sale or film night instead?

Our fundraising guide at www.crisis-centre.org.uk/fundraise will give you more fundraising ideas and advice on how to get started.

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How to help those who are rough sleeping

999 Signpost individuals to the Compass Centre Contact details are 1 Jamaica Street.

BS2 8JP (just off the Bear pit),

Notify Streetlink of a rough sleeper

T 0117 9440581.

You can do so via their website www.streetlink.org.uk which will ask you about the location and description of the rough sleeper. Streetlink helps connect anyone sleeping rough to local services.

Assessment times for rough sleepers at the Compass Centre are on Mondays and Tuesdays at 1:15pm and Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 9:15am This is a first come, first served basis so an individual would need to turn up on time to be assessed.

Call 999 if you feel the person needs emergency medical help

The Compass Centre is Bristol’s Homelessness assessment centre for rough sleepers and homeless people. They also have an outreach team that often goes out at night to find rough sleepers.

There are many services and agencies which help homeless and vulnerable people, but the above is a good starting point to help those who are rough sleeping.

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Five

reasons why you should donate today 1 2 3 4 5

The average age of death for a homeless man is 47, the average age of death for a homeless woman is 43 (a).

Up to 70% of homeless people have mental health issues (b).

The pressures of the economic downturn, lack of affordable housing and housing benefit cuts mean more people are facing homelessness.

37% of homeless people have no qualifications whatsoever.

The experience of homelessness itself deskills and isolates (c).

Each homeless person carries an annual cost to the state of £26,000, which includes the cost of benefits, hostel accommodation and care of children (d). a. Crisis (2012) Homelessness Kills b. St. Mungo’s (2009) Down and Out c. Crisis (2013) Homelessness Briefing d. New Economics Foundation research (2008)

Make a monthly gift and provide the following every month:

£10 £30 £40 could provide eight hot meals for a homeless person.

could provide for one family’s emergency food for three days.

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could provide for a bed, shelter and a hot meal for a vulnerable woman.

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Thank you for your support

MA17

Get involved

Pray

Donate

Volunteer

Fundraise

Pray for the developments in our work, for the clients, volunteers, trustees and staff of the Crisis Centre.

Your contributions help us to provide free hot meals, practical & emotional support and a safe, nurturing environment for homeless and vulnerable people.

You can set up a donation online via our website or fill out and return the attached giving form.

Come and be a part of our life-impacting work. We are a small charity and there is always more that can be done. We need volunteers across the whole organisation from back office admin to front line support of clients.

Call Steve Smith, our volunteer coordinator on 0117 405 7112 and we will find a role for your skills.

Host an event, take part in a challenge event or nominate us as your preferred charity at your work, church or community group.

Follow us facebook.com/crisiscentreministries @crisiscentre Subscribe to our fortnightly e-bulletin at www.crisis-centre.org.uk