Annual Review 2021-2022

Welcome from our Chair of Trustees, Gavin Howard

Behind Every Statistic is a Person

Your support for the work of Hope into Action makes a real difference, demonstrating

love for the poor and marginalised.

Thank you for your support in enabling us and our church partners on this mission.

hope you are encouraged by the impact below:

Welcome to our annual review and my last piece as chair of trustees. Bear with me, initially at least this is about charity governance!

I am proud to tell you that Hope into Action is well governed. We pray and work hard to make sure that the trustees and team nurture a strong Christian organisation. One of the principles of good governance is transparency. Are we clear in our decision making? Are the trustees contactable and connected to the charity or off in their own world, losing the heart of what God has called us to do?

This is kingdom work, and we want to continue to equip the church in the country to serve beautifully in this way. Founder Ed Walker, recently awarded an MBE for his charitable work with Hope into Action (see the back page), is moving into an ambassador role for us, speaking and writing about how life changing this work can be. However, as good governance dictates, I am now handing on to the wonderful Dianne Tidball, Former Regional Leader and President of the Baptist Union to oversee the board.

Time to say thank you to you all, whether Empowerment Worker, Friendship and Support Group Member, investor, staff and volunteer. HiA is a heck of an organisation and we can all allow ourselves a small glow of pride that we are a part of it.

Thank you, Jesus!

With love,

Outcome 2021-22 [2020-21] Description

Adults: 256; Children: 96

Demographics 352 [315]

Maintaining Tenancy 92% [95%]

Abstaining from Crime 90% [94%]

Drug and Alcohol Intake has not increased 89% [88%]

Improved or maintained their Social Relationships 91% [84%]

Meaningful Use of Time: Volunteering, Training and Education 41% [42%]

Meaningful Use of Time: Employment 35% [30%]

Improving Financial Management 88%

Physical and Mental Health 88%* [88%]

57% classed themselves as White British. As of 31st March 2022, 20.4% of our houses housed at least one refugee, and 30.5% of our tenants were refugees, mostly families.

13% of tenants considered themselves to have a disability.

325 tenants, including children, from 352 remained in Hope into Action properties and/or moved on well.

63 tenants have previously served a custodial sentence. Of those, 90% did not reoffend.

Of the 6 tenants who did reoffend, we rehoused 4. Of the remaining 2 we continued to support 1 while she was in prison.

111 tenants have (had) an abusive relationship with drugs and/or alcohol. 89% of those have not become more dependent, have reduced their dependency or became sober. 53% (59) became sober or maintained their sobriety!!

6 people lost their accommodation because of their drug / alcohol use.

140 of our tenants felt that they had improved their social relationships; 92 tenants felt that they had maintained positive relationships.

The number of adult tenants in education, training or volunteering was 106

90 adult tenants in employment of all kinds (zero hours, full and part time contracts).

4% of adult tenants were unable to work.

197, 77% of tenants did not have rent arrears;

15, 6% of tenants were actively managing debt.

46% of tenants paid their personal charge by standing order.

42% of tenants indicated that they had physical or mental health needs at start of year or point of referral. 88% of these maintained or improved this during the year.

There were no deaths, and 5 babies born to tenants!

22% of our tenants engage in some form of faith practice. This may include (for example) worshipping at a mosque.

Engaging with Faith and Spirituality beyond that provided by F&S 22%* [29%]

16% of tenants attended church more than once a month. 39% of tenants asked for or accepted prayer.

6 tenants were baptised or made some kind of commitment to the Christian faith (same as the last 2 years)

Hope into Action

2022 Conference and Tenant Awards

It was a cause of considerable rejoicing that the annual Hope into Action conference was able to take place in March 2022, after a covid-induced absence in the previous two years. The conference coincided with the 100th Hope into Action house opening. And what an emotional event it was as nearly four hundred people converged on the Kingsgate Centre, Peterborough from all over the country.

Churches, trustees, investors, friends, supporters, Hope into Action staff, invited speakers, those interested in fighting homelessness and most importantly our tenants made the day one to remember. Stories of Hope underpinned every aspect of that day from the introductory address from Philip North, Bishop of Burnley on ‘The Poor make the Party’ to the highlight of the annual tenant awards. Attendees went away inspired, invigorated and teary eyed when tenant after tenant was acclaimed for their

remarkable achievements and progress made since moving into a Hope into Action home.

During the day attendees were able to choose from sixteen breakout sessions led by inspirational speakers with direct experience of working with the homeless or being homeless themselves, and of course in many cases both. Highlights included talks from Tania Bright CEO of Homes for Good on care leavers and homelessness, Natalie Williams, co-author of Invisible Divides and CEO of Jubilee+ on how to create a welcoming church for the poor, and a keynote address by Hope into Action’s Head of Network, Kate Doran-Smith on ‘Why the church is needed more than ever to fight homelessness’.

Hearing the stories of tenants overcoming huge personal challenges with the support of churches, friendship and support groups and empowerment workers was incredibly moving and evidence of God being at work.

In the words of one of the attendees:

2022 Hope into Action Tenant Awards

Award Categories:

• Retaining tenancy

• Avoiding offending behaviour

• Alcohol and substance recovery

• Improving physical health

Improving mental health

Meaningful use of time

Improvement of social relationships

Education, employment or training

Improving finances

Encouraging move on

• Andy Lanning Special Award

This award is in honour of Andy Lanning, an inspirational prison chaplain who had an amazing gift to minister into the lives of prisoners. This award celebrates qualities that Andy stood for: resilience, forgiveness, strength and hope.

I returned from the conference convinced more than ever that this is God’s work and where I should put my efforts.

Campaign for 50 Churches to run 50 homes for the homeless

Partnering with the next Faith Filled 50

OUR LOCATIONS

into Action has houses

country,

these located

Peterborough

Norwich

Nottingham

Cambridge

Isle of Wight

Oundle

This country is recovering from a pandemic, is in the midst a cost of living crisis, layered onto a housing crisis, in economic turmoil with services cut and safety nets broken.

The pandemic revealed that when the Government gave the homeless (over 9000) dignified spaces such as a hotel room, the homeless engaged better with stronger outcomes. Yet, since the pandemic this provision has dropped away – revealing that we, as a society, are happy to live with the scourge of homelessness on our streets. The homeless deserve better than the streets or crammed accommodation.

The church can stand apart. We can provide a home - all facets of a home - better than anyone else. We have the financial and spiritual power. We have the Biblical mandate. We can be prophetic.

We are calling on churches across the country to partner with us in a proven model of churches supporting loving homes that make a real difference in people’s lives. We currently partner with 100 churches supporting over 350 tenants and believe a faith filled fifty can make significant inroads into homelessness across the country.

Lincoln

Rowlands Castle

Andover

Bristol

Wellingborough

Oakham

Ashford

Bicester

Ipswich

Reading

Wolverhampton

Eastbourne

Mid-sussex

Coventry

Portsmouth

can

Southampton

Northumberland

Bournemouth

Great Yarmouth

Wymondham

Crawley

West Bromwich

Bath Foxhill

Beverley

Christchurch

Poole

Bromley

Canterbury

Corby

Sheringham

Bury St Edmunds

Dover

Epsom

Newark

Rochester

Vision: ‘Every church lovingly making a home for the homeless.’

CHURCHES MAKING A DIFFERENCE

City Life Church, Southampton

One of the needs amongst all of these projects was housing for those who had none, whether refugees, or overcoming addiction, or women fleeing abuse, and Dan was ‘keen to tie some of those things back into church, so they weren’t like a separate project. The model for Hope into Action ensures that volunteers are church, not Hope into Action volunteers. Quite different to how the other projects work’.

Dan believes it is a model which works:

The vision of Hope into Action is every church lovingly making a home for the homeless. Around a hundred churches have already embraced this calling, with around 30 more in the process of opening homes, and so we celebrate here the work of one of those.

City Life Church, Southampton is part of the Pioneer network with a city-wide focus. They have always been keen to respond to the needs of the city, including working with those who are vulnerable. They felt led to house the homeless in the city and visited Hope into Action and according to City Life’s Dan Pooley they were ‘struck by the values and ethos of HiA and how similar they are to us as a church. I felt quite a connection –wouldn’t it be great if we could have Hope into Action start up in Southampton, so we started exploring that process.’

We came up for an assessment day in 2018 and we took on the franchise in early 2019 and opened our first house in September 2020. It’s been great to see volunteers getting involved and drawing alongside people. We’ve now got four houses and a fifth coming. The fourth was in partnership with another church but the first three were with City Life.’

The houses provide security to single homeless men from the streets, refugees, and one for people recovering from addiction in partnership with New Community Church. City Life Church is active in many different areas working with the marginalized and runs several projects.

‘We got involved with Hope into Action because of the level of support that’s on offer; the network, the training that’s involved. Whenever anyone is asked, who has any involvement with Hope into Action, they say it feels like being part of a family and it does feel very supportive. If there are any issues you can just pick up the phone. There’s no kind of judgment. We all make mistakeseveryone finds it hard. It is a difficult clientele we are working with, there will be lots of challenges and if they’re not, we are probably not helping the right people so it’s that level of understanding. It makes it easier for a church to get involved knowing that you have that level of support and having done that ourselves, we are hoping it makes it even easier for other Southampton churches to get on board.

Often churches think it’s too difficult. That they haven’t got the skills to deal with people with addiction, but the way Hope into Action is set up, you don’t have to, you just have to love people and provide community – and that’s something churches are well equipped to do. For many in our homes the issues they face are rooted in a lack of love somewhere – broken relationships, abuse in the past, loss or trauma. We’ve got a God of love who infuses us with His love and so we are experts in this. We are not just offering a sticking plaster to symptoms we are offering a solution to root causes ... churches have something specific to bring to the table and make a real lasting difference in people’s lives’.

If you would like your church to partner with Hope into Action, please go to www.hopeintoaction.org.uk

It’s been great to see volunteers getting involved and drawing alongside people. We’ve now got four houses and a fifth coming.

PARTNER TOWNS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Oakham

get involved in this project? The response of each of them was a resounding yes!

Adrian remembers that: “A lot of explaining had to be done and then the initial call was for investors to come forward and say I’m interested in this. I knew it took a long time because we didn’t open our first house until September 2020. To my mind that was a good thing, because it meant that people had time to think about it, talk it through with each other and then gradually say, yes, I’m going to commit to this. It meant that everyone who was involved was committed and the churches themselves made the decisions. 100% commitment behind it”.

When asked whether this is something Churches Together could have undertaken on their own Adrian considered that:

Four years ago, the porch of the parish church in Oakham was the sleeping place for a poor wanderer with nowhere else to go. Rather than simply accept this situation and the growing problem of homelessness, minister, Iain Osborne was inspired to do something practical: to provide a home for the homeless in Oakham and the surrounding area and the search for something do-able was started.

Adrian Arnold, Chair of the HiA Oakham franchise recalls that Iain looked “around at various charities and was taken by what Hope into Action were doing – the whole appeal from church members, through to investors and people getting involved. Iain

and a couple of others went to the Hope into Action conference in 2018 and came back motivated and inspired to respond to the Lord’s call for some kind of action in Oakham”.

Gaining the support of other churches –including Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, and Roman Catholics – Churches Together in Oakham. Iain put his original proposal together in January 2019 and then the church congregations in each of the churches was asked: do you want to

“We would have been hard pressed to have come up with a model which is as effective as the Hope into Action one. We have been greatly encouraged by the support

we have had from Hope into Action. We have good people we are working with but also from the management team as well. Ed has personally been an inspiration. He has visited more than once, he’s visited the house and met the tenants. That works extremely well. It’s a model that works and we have been very well supported. Hope into Action are always there for us”.

The model of Churches Working Together in Oakham has enabled the original house and now tenants in a second house to be well supported. Hope into Action believes in every church lovingly making a home for the homeless. More simply, one home, per church, per community. The church in Oakham demonstrates what can be achieved through working together and demonstrating practical love and compassion for the homeless.

Whoever has bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor

We would have been hard pressed to have come up with a model which is as effective as the Hope into Action one.

If you would like to know more about how your church can provide shelter to the poor wanderer do please get in touch at www.hopeintoaction.org.uk/Listing/Category/get-involvedwith-church

It’s a model that works and we have been very well supported. they are always there for us.

Investing in a home

for the homeless

be given

Bill and Gwen* had long been troubled by the sight of homeless people on the streets of their hometown and wondered what they could practically do to help.

Eight years ago, similar thoughts were occupying the mind of other Christians in the town. One of whom had come across the work of Hope into Action and felt that there would be an opportunity to help the homeless in their area using the model developed by Hope into Action of investing in a property, housing two or three tenants supported by churches willing to offer love, friendship and support to tenants until they are able to successfully move on. Bill and Gwen’s parish church joined forces with the local Methodist church to work together on homelessness in their area. Bill and Gwen were among twelve people each of whom were able to invest £10,000 to purchase a house (do you remember the

days when it was still possible to buy one for £120,000?). The house became home initially to two homeless men, who successfully moved on after two or three years and others moved in.

The appeal of Hope into Action for Bill and Gwen was the support provided to the tenants through empowerment workers (see pages 16 and 17) and the friendship and support groups from the church. The tenants who have been through their house have multiple and complex needs and the love and

care shown to them provides a stability and confidence to enable them to better cope with all that life holds in store and successfully move on to their own accommodation.

While rough sleepers are often the most visible sign of homelessness in the country, Bill and Gwen are aware that there and many other less visible aspects of homelessness, equally in need of help and support. They were fortunate in being able to have sufficient resources to buy a house outright on their own and lease the house to Hope into Action for five years with a refugee family being among the first tenants in the new home.

Having part-purchased one property and purchased a second property, Bill and Gwen are enthusiastic in their support for the work with tenants being carried out in the properties they continue to own. The process has been relatively painless with rents collected and the properties overseen by Hope into Action with them receiving a six-monthly update on the homes. At the end of the five-year lease, they have the option to sell the property or continue with their relationship with Hope into Action and continue enabling their homes to transform people’s lives.

The generosity and prayerful consideration of people like Bill and Gwen has helped transform the lives of hundreds of otherwise homeless people. If you would like to join them and hundreds of others like them

investing in a property with Hope into Action,

What can I do?

Rough sleeping is the most visible sign that as a nation we have a serious homelessness problem. And yet the poor wanderer curled up in a doorway is just the visible manifestation of around a quarter of a million fellow human beings experiencing homelessness at the present time.

Sofa surfers, those seeking to escape addiction or leaving the sex industry, human trafficking, domestic violence, refugees,

prisoners on release with nowhere to go, marital breakdown, families who have struggled to pay the rent and those on the receiving end of no-fault evictions all swell the numbers.

At Hope into Action we have seen, time and time again, that by providing a good home where tenants are supported by a loving group of friends and supporters from a church and an empowerment worker lives are changed for the better.

The success of the Hope into Action model of housing the homeless in a partnership with local churches is attributable to people like you. People who care about the homeless and want to make a difference.

There are many ways you can get involved and contribute to make life better for the poor wanderer of Isaiah 58:7.

• First and foremost, you can pray for the homeless and the work of Hope into Action through subscribing to our mailing list

• You can make a one-off donation to support the work or become a hope giver by making a regular donation–knowing that you are giving directly to support our work with individual tenants.

• You can become a friend and supporter of our tenants, being trained to mentor and befriend and share God’s love with them.

• You can encourage your church to partner with Hope into Action and support a house for the homeless.

• If you have money to invest in a property outright, individually or collectively (from just £5000).

• You can find imaginative ways to fundraise through sponsorship and we would love to help you with that.

At Hope into Action we have seen, time and time again, that by providing a good home where tenants are supported by a loving group of friends and supporters from a church and an empowerment worker lives are changed for the better.

• You can even leave a legacy in your will so that your care for the homeless will continue long into the future.

• You could come and work with Hope into Action through applying for jobs as and when they are advertised on our website

If you would like to get involved with the work of Hope into Action, please contact us through the website at www.hopeintoaction.org.uk

I can’t believe how my life has changed; I finally feel like I can make plans for the future.

A day in the Life of an

Empowerment Worker

Is there a typical day as an EW?

Phillip Edmundson (Nottingham)

Phill is a relatively new empowerment worker (EW) starting in January 2022 and yet no stranger to the work of Hope into Action through being a minister in a Hope into Action partner church. Having heard from the Lord that it was time to lay down full time ministry in the church, an opening for an empowerment worker became available with Hope into Action Nottingham.

Phill recalls that: ‘I knew the team, I had seen it work, I knew what it was about and because I believe in Hope into Action and what they do, I thought I would be a good fit for them and they for me. I have always had a strong work ethic and so I was pretty realistic about what to expect. I wanted to be an EW because of the variety of people that Hope into Action help and how varied the role is on a daily basis. I want to help and empower my tenants.’

I knew the team, I had seen it work, I knew what it was about and because I believe in Hope into Action and what they do, I thought I would be a good fit for them and they for me.

Phill prefers to talk about a typical pattern to the day, rather than a typical day because every day brings fresh challenges. ‘We start with team prayers and discuss anything that is coming up in the day ahead. I have an hour or so in the office to do some admin and get things written up. Most of my tenants are not always available first thing in the morning, so normally at about 11 o’clock I get out to start seeing people until three – four in the afternoon. There is always a good chance of the unexpected happening, so I learnt early on not to fill my diary because you need to leave room for things that crop up and because everything takes twice as long as you think.’

Currently Phill is working with 14 people, in five houses – this includes a mother and baby house, young men and homes for refugees with tenants from Iran, Afghanistan, El Salvador, Eritrea, and the United Kingdom. He works closely with the churches responsible for the homes although as he explains: ‘each one is slightly different; I’ve got one church with multiple houses, and they all work differently in unique contexts.’ He is also in regular contact with the friendship and support groups attached to each house. One friendship and support group like to arrange meals and BBQs, even hosting a post covid lockdown Christmas meal over Easter, which works well for the tenants in that house.

Typical tasks during the day will include helping tenants to budget, fill out application forms and provide access to specialist services particularly those who work to overcome addictions, access employment or provide education. Another important part of Phill’s role is knowing where tenants can get such support, by working with other agencies. Working with tenants for whom English is not their first language or where it is not spoken at all, presents challenges

which are overcome through the use of Google Translate and by a good working relationship with one of Hope into Action Nottingham’s partner churches who teach language classes and put on services for Farsi and Spanish speakers as part of their outreach.

The EW role has many challenges and successes, but it is the heart of what Hope into Action is all about, helping to turn around the lives of homeless people through the loving support of churches.

For Phill a real success was realizing that one of the refugee tenants he was about to house had been referred to Hope into Action by a previous tenant, now working at a hotel housing refugees. In the first year of working with Hope into Action, Phill feels he has been well supported and trained and that his team is ‘a really supportive environment and that’s a nice feeling – that’s been brilliant’. And so, Phill have you.

Each one is slightly different; I’ve got one church with multiple houses, and they all work differently in unique contexts

Trustees Meet the

Gavin Howard

I am currently chair of trustees and I love enabling the church to get stuck into social action. Rev’d Lucinda and I live in Cambridge with two teenage children, a spaniel and a labrador.

Dianne Tidball

Dianne Tidball is married to Derek and lives in Leicestershire; involved with many Baptist Churches and is a former Baptist President. She leads Refresh Women’s Conference UK and is excited to see Jesus transform lives.

Howard Kettel

Howard Kettel is married to Barbara and lives close to Cambridge, he has a background in real estate and now retired. He has been a Trustee of his Church and is a group leader and an active Parish Councillor campaigning to preserve the countryside of South Cambridgeshire.

Ranjini Mathew

Ranjini worked as a Project Manager, Consultant and Programme Lead for 18 years in Singapore and the UK. Ranjini joined as Trustee in January 2022. In addition to serving as Trustee, Ranjini leads the Hope into Action project in her church.

Meet the Head of Network Kate Doran-Smith

Diana Nash

Diana Nash lives near Peterborough with her husband Phil. As a social care professional, she has a passion for safeguarding and promoting excellent support of tenants.

Jennie Hunte

I have just joined the HIA board of trustees, having worked in partnership with the organisation for many years. I work full time supporting ex-offenders into accommodation. I am passionate to see Jesus’ make a difference to lives. I am married to Sean and we have 2 adult sons.

Ian Billage

Ian Billage is CTO of a software company in Peterborough. He is married to Nicky and has two daughters. He has been a supporter of Hope Into Action since its inception and attends Bretton Baptist Church.

Linda Huskinson

Linda leads ‘Cherished’; a Christian support group for women who have suffered all manner of abuse and is also a facilitator of the ‘Freedom Programme’ a nationally recognised course seeking to bring freedom to abuse survivors. Linda is happily married to Ricky.

My path crossed with HIA back in 2013 when the Norwich project was starting out. I became an EW and then led the team there until I stepped into this more national role in 2018.

As Head of Network I get the privilege to support and oversee not just our line managed support teams, but the growing number of Franchise Friends too. I often refer to my job as being a mission to make the ‘net-work’: bringing together the talents, skills and experiences from all the EWs, tenants and churches and creating a tightly knit net built on a foundation of relationship and trust. I think we can all agree that we are stronger together and our cumulative productivity is greater than the sum of the separate parts.

Loving and supporting tenants and seeing the Church rise up and respond to God’s call to ‘house the poor wanderer’ is the plumbline of all we do in the Network team. My day to day role varies massively (which is why I love my job!). One minute

I can be supervising location leads and the next planning our Annual Retreat or designing some new training. Being part of an organisation that embraces change and is committed to the notion that ‘better never stops’ means there’s never a dull moment!

Kate Doran-Smith

I think we can all agree that we are stronger together and our cumulative productivity is greater than the sum of the separate parts.

ED