the homeless Enabling churches to house
Review 2016-2017
‘I was a
stranger and you invited me in’
This year – thanks to your support
Thoughts from the Chair of Trustees
Gavin Howard seen dramatic change in the lives of broken people as Christians seek to put their faith and hope into action.
Welcome to our 2016-17 Annual Report. Whether you are a long term partner or just dropping by, we hope you find something in here that inspires and excites you. If this is the case and you’d like to get involved, please come and see us in Peterborough or at a regional centre near you. Gathering a group together to come to our conference is a great starting point. We live in an age of ‘fake news’ when we can’t truly rely on our news sources, so it is a privilege to be able to present stories of changed lives that actually happened. We know our partners and we know our tenants and, time and again, we have
We hope you find something in here that inspires and excites you 2
The more people who support our work, the more people we can help. Precious people like Susan, whose heartfelt and moving account of the love Hope Into Action showed her appears later.
We have seen dramatic change in the lives of broken people as Christians seek to put their faith and hope into action There are so many more people like Susan, who need you to put your hope into action for them. We hope this booklet will show you how; by exploring all the different ways you can get involved; as a franchise partner, as a church and as a life-changing giver. Finally we sum up Hope into Action, our outcomes of which we are proud, and our vision. People like Susan need you to get further involved in one shape or other and we hope this will guide you in how. Cover image shows one of our tenants winning an award from Merril Lanning, a special guest.
www.hopeintoaction.org.uk
WE OPENED
WE GAVE HOMES TO
6 homes
during the year. We ended the year operating in 10 towns/cities across the country.
WE REACHED
90 tenants
sleeping in our homes per night for the first time ever in March 2017.
The average length of stay in our homes was
Since our inception we have raised over
£8,000,000 in investment capital to be shared with the poor
155 women @hopeintoaction
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152 PEOPLE an increase of 15% from the previous year when we housed 132.
We opened our first ever house for Syrian refugees with St Andrew’s church in Woking. (By the end of the year we had five homes for refugees.)
266 DAYS
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WE PARTNER WITH CHURCHES each giving the homeless a home! During the year we trained over 80 church volunteers.
are turned away from refuges every week in this country. We now have 14 homes
for females and families.
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What is it like to
be a church partner and actually invite someone in?
‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.‘ (Hebrews 13;)
St Nic’s Church in Nottingham has been working with Hope into Action since 2014 and now support three homes: one for men and two for refugees. Alex Rainbow, Youth Worker, tells us what it is like: We’ve learnt a lot through supporting the houses; having the chance to really invest in a couple of people and do real quality work with them is incredibly beneficial. It’s enabled us to uncover and support them in deep problems in their lives that we would have otherwise never have known about and helping them in their areas of deep need is what has helped grow deep trusting, loving relationships.
Jesus said:
‘I was a stranger and you invited me in!’
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I think particularly with refugees, the system is complicated and it can feel tough to know how to help. We certainly couldn’t have done it without Hope into Action who have so much expertise, but in helping these two lads, understanding the problems they and in one case their family face, our team has also grown. In the other house, one of the team runs a football team and has seen one of the guys become involved in that, and that has been a real success story. It’s been such a simple way of bringing that person into community and I think that’s been a good lesson for our church. I think God has reminded us through the tenants that that person on the edge of society is made in the image of God; they possess all sorts of brilliant gifts that reflect their creator. Our hearts and attitudes have changed from realising that at a deeper level. We move from pity to respect. One of the lads in particular is incredibly generous; there was an issue with his flatmate’s benefit, and despite being without money himself, he used his benefit to prepare food for them both for a number of weeks and he was happy to do it. He’s effortlessly generous and caring; he often shows off the characteristics of Jesus more than we do. www.hopeintoaction.org.uk
Our church partners say: We’re continually inspired by their heart to help those who are desperate to find a home. Hope into Action offer practical support mixed with genuine care. This truly makes a massive difference to people whose ‘hope tank’ is running on empty.
Working as a volunteer mentor for Hope into Action has been one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my life. It is a privilege to live out my faith alongside the tenant I mentor, walking with him through his successes and failures. I have gained far more than I have given and, over the last three years, God has taught me much about his unconditional and never-ending love.
If your church wants to house the homeless, call us today on 01733 558301 or email on info@hopeintoaction.org.uk @hopeintoaction
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‘I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. I will not forsake them’ (Isaiah 42) in any way they can. People who will hold on to hope and faith for as long as is necessary, not just when it’s easy or convenient but when it would be so easy to give up; when it’s hard and dark.
What is it like to be
loved relentlessly? BY SUSAN*, A FORMER TENANT NFA - No Fixed Abode, that was how I lived my whole adult life. I spent my late teenage years bouncing around foster homes, hostels, and detox centres, until finally I resigned myself to the streets. Eventually I found myself in a rehab, and by the skin of my teeth I made it through six months. As I walked out those doors someone finally decided to take a chance on me. I was a recipe for relapse, accidental death, or suicide, and yet they took a chance. Hope Into Action housed me, a roof over my head, a fixed address for the first time since I was a girl. Less than a month later I sat opposite my empowerment worker in a tiny cafe and took a deep breath before getting honest and telling her that I had, yet again, breached the terms of my agreement. She told me that she would have to evict me - something I was more than used to. As I walked out of that cafe to try and find somewhere I could 6
sleep that night I was certain it was the end of my experience with Hope Into Action, and that after I moved my things out I’d never see my empowerment worker again. I was wrong, in reality it was the beginning of my relationship with HiA, and what happened over the following two years showed me what HiA is all about. I spent the next two years back in my old life, using heavy drugs, prostituting myself, bouncing around hostels, and overdosing several times. Everyone had given up on me again, and any hope I once had was crushed. My empowerment worker would text me regularly, would meet me for a coffee, or give me a hug when she bumped into me in the city. In the midst of my mess, chaos, and despair she held on to hope and faith for me. When I couldn’t see past my next bag of heroin, she saw a bright future for me and regularly told me about it. She loved me relentlessly, never gave up hope, and I know prayed persistently. When God felt so far away, so judgemental, so punishing; she was hope-with-skin-on to me. She loved me in a way I couldn’t feel from an invisible God. It took two long years www.hopeintoaction.org.uk
until she finally received a text from me “I can’t do this anymore, I need to get clean, and I need something different, I think I need God.” A year later I stood at the front of the annual HiA conference sharing some of my story, the rest of the day was spent interacting with the various people who had attended, hearing their hearts and their stories. As the conference came to an end I looked around the room, and felt overwhelmed with love and gratitude. I finally understood, the love my empowerment worker had showed me wasn’t just what she was about, it was what HiA was about. An organisation and churches made up of people who genuinely love and care for people like me, for the people whom society generally rejects. A group of people who want to walk alongside some of the messiest people and love them
To me, HiA is a charity which takes chances on the people no one else will. An organisation who even when they have to make tough choices, never give up. A network of staff and churches who want to walk alongside people through the swampy mess, and not simply welcome them on the banks of acceptability. A group of people who try to personify the heart of God, who become Jesus-with-skin-on to those who can’t find or trust the invisible God. I am privileged, proud, and forever grateful to be connected to such a group of people; for them taking a chance on me and always holding on to hope even when I could not.
A network of staff and churches who want to walk alongside people through the swampy mess, and not simply welcome them on the banks of acceptability.
If you want to see more people like Susan helped, we need your giving. Please give to us today. *The name, identity and photo in this article have been changed. @hopeintoaction
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What is it like to
be a refugee?
‘Be a safe place for those on the run from the killing fields.’ (Isaiah 16)
This year we have given homes to people who fled violence, conflict and war from other parts of the world including: Sudan & Darfur, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Syria, Iran.
The majority have been Muslim but we have also housed Christian converts who have fled persecution. Sometimes we have put Christians and Muslims together in a shared house.
Before the family moved in, we invited the investors to come and see the house completely furnished. They were very moved to see the empty house that they’d signed over to us just three weeks previously, turned into a ‘beautiful home’ (their words).
It was a fantastic experience to see investors, churches and people in need coming together. I’ve found it a real privilege to play a part in God’s plan for these precious people.
Here Richard Meikle, our Nottingham Coordinator, describes the joy of being able to welcome a refugee family into their new home; Nottingham’s sixth Hope Into Action house.
The supporting church befrienders have done an outstanding job in helping us furnish the property and have been really generous in finishing it off; even putting teddies on the children’s beds.
50% of those released from trafficking situations are homeless within one year. Do pray for us and our partner churches as we seek to provide refuge, love and support to this vital area of need.
The family moved in and were genuinely overwhelmed with their new home. At least three of us including the tenants, were moved to tears. With their consent, the befrienders prayed a blessing over the family and this new chapter in their lives.
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In the coming year, we are also planning on giving refuge and homes to destitute asylum seekers and victims of trafficking into this country.
www.hopeintoaction.org.uk
@hopeintoaction
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What’s it like to be a
Hope into Action partner? Here, Matt Lambert tells of his calling to run a Hope into Action partnership in the Black Country. In 2011, my wife Rachel and I moved to Wolverhampton. We ran a home group, mainly for people struggling with life-controlling issues; hosting about 12 people each week in our home. It quickly became clear that one of the biggest issues they faced was a lack of stable accommodation. Through 2012, under our church, Grace Church Wolverhampton (GCW), we grew increasingly convinced that we should find a way to provide a home for some of these individuals. We could also see the potential of multiple churches supporting multiple houses and thought ‘somebody must be doing this’. In October 2012, I got talking to the Hope Into Action team at the Jubilee+ conference in Bedford and knew I’d found what we’d been seeking. Shortly after, Ed Walker and I began discussing the possibility of a Hope Into Action partnership in the Black Country. I successfully 10
interviewed, signed a five-year franchising contract and immediately faced my first challenge; to identify the investment required to purchase the first house. Fortunately for me, someone close to me felt prompted to invest in that first house in partnership with GCW and the adventure began.
I knew I was doing what God wanted me to do and it was thrilling – even if, at times, utterly exhausting. Being a criminal defence lawyer paid the bills, but it wasn’t my passion. I spent the first two years running my two careers in tandem; lawyer by day, one-man-HiABC multi-tasker by night. After setting up HiABC, I continued to secure funding and honed my DIY skills refurbishing our first property. I eventually quit my legal work in June 2015. We had no other staff until September 2015, when I had to reveal at the Empowerment www.hopeintoaction.org.uk
Officer’s interview that I wasn’t sure how we’d be able to pay her. In October 2015, HiABC almost ran out of money. After much praying and a big step of faith personally, God provided; we were pledged over £70,000 over the next three years. We have seen so many lives touched and now we can say the churches of Wolverhampton are doing something meaningful and holistic for the homeless in our city.
I’m really glad I didn’t give up even when it looked like HiABC didn’t have a future. God had everything in hand.
Would you like to see churches giving the homeless a home in your town or city? Do you sense this is something you could get up and running? If so, get in touch on
01733 558301 or info@hopeintoaction.org.uk @hopeintoaction
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Focus on our Conference
Hope Into Action’s
3rd Annual Conference
Jonathan Aitken gave an inspiring (often hilarious) Keynote Speech, saying:
We had an amazing third annual conference on the 31st March with around 250 delegates from all over the country – a record! It was a day of informative talks, interactive seminars, networking, inspirational testimonies and tenant awards. Here is a selection of images from the day, and excerpts from keynote speeches given by prison reformer Jonathan Aitken and Steve Clifford (General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance).
Ed Walker shared our ethos: We want mutuality in our relationships because we see every tenant as equal; precious, with innate and undiminishable worth, talents, strength and gifts. We reflect that by trying to; welcome rather than judge; listen to rather than speak at; focus on strengths rather than needs or risks; give responsibility, choice and power rather than support, charity and hand-outs.
The State doesn’t do this kind of thing well, because it’s so personal. Governments can do the ‘machinery’ bit, but they don’t have the ‘hearts’; they don’t do the listening and love. Lots of prisoners have no role model, no father figure, no support; they haven’t had any experience of love.” Anne Read delivering her seminar on human trafficking.
The way out of homelessness is actually through relationships. What home can offer is family. What family can offer is relationships. And when you put that together with the local church, I would suggest it’s a dynamic of heaven that is at work there. Steven Clifford General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance
Annual Conference 2018
Steve Clifford (General Director of the Evangelical Alliance) and Rev Di Tidball (President of the Baptist Union and Hope Into Action Ambassador) presented the Tenant Awards.
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“One of the biggest concerns of any prisoner is ‘What am I going to do when I get out of here? Where am I going to live when I’m released?’ I know how difficult the problem is. I know how scary it is. Hope Into Action is fulfilling a great need.
www.hopeintoaction.org.uk
We would love you to join us at our next conference:
16 March 2018
Put the date in the diary now and don’t miss out!
@hopeintoaction
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‘Speak out on behalf of the voiceless and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.’
(Proverbs 31)
‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate and rich in love.’
(Psalm 45)
What is it like to
grow up in relational poverty? ‘We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.’ Mother Teresa
Hello. I am a tenant with Hope into Action. I’m quite a private person and prefer to remain anonymous. I would like to say how blessed I feel to have become friends with Hope into Action and how much I appreciate their help and support. I am very grateful to the local churches and investors for having a roof over my head. Poverty plays a massive role in the breakdown of our society. Not only does it tie peoples’ hands financially, but also psychologically. My mother was a single parent. Her mother was a single parent to eight, who had to flee from domestic violence and life was difficult for my Gran and for my mum and her brothers and sisters. Everything was a struggle which left everyone feeling hopeless
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and devoid of love and the little things many people take for granted like being able to pay bills and rent and having food every day as well as feeling part of a loving family or community. My mother suffered with mental illness, depression and low self-esteem.
On leaving care I became homeless and ended up in a couple of abusive relationships as I was vulnerable and needy. I struggled to make friends and hold down jobs as I had low self-confidence and very little support or guidance.
I had to go into foster care which was extremely difficult for me and I experienced trauma, violence and terrible things that no child should have to witness or experience. I spent most of my childhood and teenage years feeling disheartened, frightened, lonely, inadequate and hopeless.
On meeting Hope into Action and receiving their help and support I have managed to turn my life of misery and abuse, around to a more positive and happy one.
A life of poverty has a huge and detrimental effect of individuals and it simply isn’t fair.
www.hopeintoaction.org.uk
Poverty and suffering does exist in our society now and all around us. Hope into Action are integral for our society because they hear the unheard and help the forgotten.
@hopeintoaction
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One thing I have noticed from the people who come to Hope into Action for help is that they have tremendous courage. It takes courage to come from a broken family. It takes courage to face constant adversity and it takes courage to ask for help because everything is an uphill struggle.
Thank you to all our tenants who bravely share their stories 15
Our mission and vision
Our outcomes in numbers We are delighted with our outcomes. Well done to staff and church volunteers; but mostly well done to all our tenants whose courage, tenacity and determination inspires us once again.
What we want and how we achieve it
Area of holistic change
.
%
87%
In total we gave a home to 152 people last year. 13 of them were children. Of the 139 adults, 18 were evicted. Our average length of stay is 266 days. Of those that moved on: 16% went to a friend, 31% to private rental, 21% to social housing, 6% to a relative and 26% to ‘other’.
89%
89% of those who had previously been in custody abstained from crime. We housed 36 people who had previously been in custody, of which 4 returned to custody. Many of our other 133 tenants would be at risk of crime and only 1 of those went into custody. 1 of our tenants was removed from the police ‘prolific offenders’ list.
81%
81% of those with previous drug/alcohol misuse improved their intake. 57 (41%) of our tenants had a previous relationship with drugs/alcohol, of those 11 have worsened. This year we have also had to cope with new drugs on the market which has added a challenge.
Improved social relations with their family
82%
82% have improved family relations, 114 out of our 139 adults. We have focused on this much more this year as we feel it is vital to a sense of well being.
Volunteering, education or training
47%
47% are involved in volunteering, education and training. 65 of our tenants volunteered.
23%
23% have gained employment. 32 of our tenants have managed to get a job. Among our tenants, we found that single male refugees are the most likely to get work.
Maintaining tenancy
Abstaining from crime
Reducing alcohol or drug intake
Gained employment
Financial management
This year we have focused a lot more on financial management. 92% have a bank account, 71% are paying water bills regularly (46% by Standing Order) and 85% are either addressing arrears they have, or are free of rent debts.
* 1) Maintaining tenancy 2) abstaining from crime 3) reducing alcohol and drug intake 4) improving social relations 6) volunteering, education or training 7) financial management
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www.hopeintoaction.org.uk 21
@hopeintoaction
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A huge thank you to those who raised money for
Hope into Action
Big Sleep Ins and Big Sleep Outs In the past year, schools, youth groups and many cubs and scouts have raised money for us via sleeping out.
Two of our members couldn’t make it on Friday but sent us a picture on our secret Facebook page of them buying a homeless guy they’d met on Saturday some water, cookies and cheese crackers.
Here is what one leader said:
I’m so proud of them all.
Friday night saw 10 of our youngsters and three leaders camp out homeless style outside Tesco. Phew, it was tough.
We have raised just over £100.
I was frightened, felt very vulnerable and a bit freaked out by it all, if I’m honest. The youngsters took it in their stride, stripped of all electronic devices, using only bedding they had gathered from friends and family who were kind enough to donate it, but all spoke of the experience as something they wouldn’t want to do again and had a new found empathy with genuine homeless people.
Youth Worker, Newton, from Emmanuel Church, wrote this about his event: Even though the whole idea started slowly it saw 12 young people getting involved and we were able to raise £807.80. We continue to celebrate the work of Hope into Action and we believe that getting young people involved helps them understand that reaching the most vulnerable remains a key Christian responsibility.
We hope you have been encouraged reading about our work to enable churches across the country to house the homeless and engage holistically with the vulnerable. To sustain the quality of the work we do, to see more people like Susan flourish, to support and encourage more refugees and help desperate, impoverished people flourish, we need your support.
To arrange a sleep out/in contact us on: 01733 558301 or info@hopeintoaction.org.uk
If you would like to book Ed or anyone else to speak and inspire your church then call on 01733 558301 or e-mail: info@hopeintoaction.org.uk 18
Susan and people like her need your help….now
www.hopeintoaction.org.uk
There are thousands of others out there like Susan and without your help they won’t have the chance of our support.
We urgently need your help to sustain our current work and support future growth. We receive no money from Government and rely on the regular gifts of individuals and churches who believe in our work.
Please make a one-off donation or set up a direct debit for a regular gift towards our work. Please fill in and return a giving form or click the donate now button on our website.
@hopeintoaction
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We model a unique combination of using investment capital, mainly the savings / wealth of Christians, to buy homes for the homeless. Our first home targeted men coming out of prison and stuck in hostels. We now have homes for women fleeing domestic violence, refugees, street homeless, former prostitutes, those in recovery from alcohol or drug misuse, mothers with children, former victims of trafficking. Each home is in partnership with a church. Each church provides love, prayer, community, non-judgemental support, acceptance and practical help to the tenants (people, formerly homeless in some way, of all genders, sexualities, ethnicities and faiths). HIA helped save my life, not only housing me when I needed it, but their continued support after I left. They have loved me at my worst and fought for me continually and encouraged me endlessly.
numerous awards for our model and the quality of work.
We believe if someone has a safe, secure home, coupled with loving, non-judgemental healthy relationships – they are more likely to make positive, hope-filled choices.
Thank you
to every person who has made this happen.
There remain over
200,000
vulnerable adults involved in or at risk of homelessness. We depend on your donations to keep our
HOPE ACTION 46 homes into
August 2010.
We have won
open. With your support we are aiming for 60 this year. We see a time when it is normal for churches to lovingly provide the homeless with a home.
Hope into Action, 26 North Street, Peterborough PE1 2RA E: info@hopeintoaction.org.uk T: 00 44 (0)1733 558301 W: hopeintoaction.org.uk Twitter: @hopeintoaction Facebook: www.facebook.com/hopeintoaction Registered in England and Wales No. 7309173. Registered charity No. 1137686
HO AC
H HOPE ACTION A into
Hope into Action began in
the homeless Enabling churches to house