Social media, online support and traditional giving all help BHT deliver services to our clients

Earlier today, as Sussex ground to a halt because of overnight snow, I tweeted about the Amazon wish list for First Base Day Centre.  The most surprising item on the wish list is for sun protection lotion, probably the thing furthest from most people’s thoughts as they slipped and slid into work this morning.

The serious point, of course, is that homeless people are at far greater risk of getting skin cancer than the rest of the population given their exposure to the elements.

The wish list, which can be found here, has a load more items that are very relevant during periods of severe cold.  I spent a few minutes this morning looking at what has already been bought by our supporters from the wish list in the last few weeks:

• 21 fleece jackets
• 4 pairs of thermal long johns
• 7 thermal vests
• 54 pairs of thermal socks
• 2 sleeping bags
• 5 waterproof jackets
• 21 toothbrushes
• 12 tubes of toothpaste
• as well as a whole range of other one off items essential for the work of First Based Day Centre.

Thank you to all those who have helped people keep dry, warm and clean.

I also this morning read a report, published in Digital Donor Review, that showed that only 5% of charitable donations are made through sites such as Facebook and Twitter, even though 30% of respondents said they were inspired to give by social media.

The First Base wish list shows that people like giving in different ways.  At BHT we are fortunate to have some extremely generous benefactors who support our work year on year, those who leave a bequest to BHT in their Wills, and those who support us on the ad hoc basis, although many do so on a regular basis in response to appeals, not least at Christmas time.

BHT is extremely fortunate to have secured a large number of contracts from national and local government, and we are successful in bidding of charitable funds, such as those from the Big Lottery.  However, it is the support of ordinary men and women that makes a real difference in the work we tend to.

From the list above, there are many items that we take for granted.  But for somebody sleeping on the streets of our towns and cities, having dry and warm clothes is important as is their ability to wash their face and clean their teeth.

Bullingdon Club Bullies dehumanise homeless man by burning £50 in front of him

This afternoon I was writing a no doubt worthy item for this blog on BHT’s preparation for the digital inclusion challenges relating to the introduction of Universal Credit when I saw the tweets by Aideen Jones, the Chief Executive of Southdown Housing Association, regarding members of the Bullingdon Club who allegedly burnt a £50 note in front of someone begging on the streets of Oxford. (26/02/13: Please note I have removed a link to the original article on another blog which has itself been removed).

Aideen is right to point out that £50 could have bought 40 pairs of thermal socks for homeless people.

Of course people will make a connection between this obscene flaunting of wealth by a group of rich boys. The Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Mayor of London, all were members of the Bullingdon Club during their misspent youth, but I imagine Messrs Cameron, Osborne and Johnson will today share the outrage felt by most reasonably minded individuals over this incident.

The thing that upsets me most about this incident is what it says about how homeless men and women are dehumanised by society. If the allegation is true, these Bullingdon Bullies are merely an extreme example, and are the rightful targets for the contempt of decent people. But this dehumanisation goes much wider, from the groups of lads who think it is funny to give someone sleeping rough a kicking on a Saturday night, or a drunken reveller relieving himself on someone sleeping in a doorway, or the security guard who pours a bucket of cold water over someone sleeping in a car park.

More extreme examples lead to the violent death of homeless people through assault or setting fire to a sleeping bag when the individual is asleep in it. Dropping a paving slab on the head of someone asleep on the beach or in a park is likely to do serious damage.

Yet this happens. What we need to do is to put an end to homelessness. A grand objective, but one that should be seen as historically important as the abolition of slavery or the ending of apartheid. This week, Homeless Link will be launching a manifesto aimed at seeing the end of homelessness in the UK by 2023. My colleague, Nikki Homewood, will be at the launch of this manifesto in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

But individually we can do something. In response to Aideen’s tweet, I will buy £50 of thermal underwear for homeless men and women who use First Base Day Centre. You, too, can help, either by buying something from Amazon using the First Base wish list on this link or for those of you who don’t wish to use Amazon, donations can be made direct to First Base through our Just Giving page.

But there is one other thing we can do. We can stop using the term ‘the homeless’, a phrase that dehumanises people. They are men and women, they are someone’s son or daughter, husband or wide, brother or sister, father or mother. They have names. They have hopes and aspirations, feelings and fears. I always try to refer to “homeless men and women”.

In South Africa, where I grew up under apartheid, the white rulers referred to “the blacks” who had second class status, and whose lives were valued less than those of white people. The murder of a black man and woman rarely attracted media attention, more rarely warranted a police enquiry. In the white community, black people had become dehumanised. Hopefully in Britain in 2013 we won’t allow the same to happen to homeless men and women.

Appeal for warm clothing and thermals

At First Base, our day centre for homeless people in Brighton, we have recently had a huge number of new clients and are run out of a number of really improtant items necessary for basic survival:

• fleeces
• thermal vests
• thermal socks/new socks
• mens boxers
• sleeping bags

We’re appealing for donations of useful items for people who really need it. You can buy us something on Amazon using the wish list on this link and it will be delivered straight to us. We are particularly looking for warm clothing and thermals due to the cold weather.

If you would like further information, please phone 01273 326844.

And, finally, please help share this list if you can by email, Facebook and Twitter.

Should hospitals be doing more to help homeless men and women before discharge?

I recently quoted some research from Leicester that homeless men and women are six times more likely to attend at A&E than the ‘housed’ population, four times more likely that they will be admitted, and are likely to stay twice as long.

Today on the radio I heard that the cost to the NHS of treating a homeless person is five times that of the housed population.

In a previous post I reflected on the medical interventions at First Base Day Centre, and how they prevented the need for A&E presentations and hospital admissions.  The savings to the NHS must be far greater than the cost of running the whole of the service at First Base which has a deficit each year of between £50,000 and £100,000.

Today Homeless Link published an excellent guide for hospital staff and managers “From Hospital to Home: Steps for hospital staff – identify need and take action”.

Homeless Link says “When someone who is homeless is admitted to hospital, their stay will often last longer, and become more complex and costly for the NHS, than your other patients.

“When they leave, more than 70% will be discharged straight back onto the streets, further damaging their health and all but guaranteeing their readmission.

“Housing is key to a ‘safe discharge’ from hospital, as well as to reducing the ongoing burden on your service. There are steps you can take to help.”

Here is the Homeless Link guidance:

On admission, identify homeless patients and those living in homelessness services:

• Ask if people have accommodation, whether they can return and if they risk losing it
• Contact the patient’s support services – this can prevent them losing their accommodation

If a housing need is identified, know how to respond and who to refer them to

• Find out who to notify within the hospital and externally – is there a named contact?
• Know how to make a referral to the local Housing Options team
• Ask for training on the assessment and referral of homeless people
• Keep an up-to-date contact list of local agencies such as hostels, outreach and drug and alcohol services on each ward.

If homeless people discharge themselves:

• Alert local services
• Record the self-discharge and the reason

Ensure patients can access ongoing care

• Complete a social needs assessment
• Notify the GP and relevant agencies about follow up treatment
• Provide a copy of the discharge plan and medication

Help people return to their accommodation

• Let the housing agency know when the patient is returning to ensure they can get in
• Avoid out of hours discharge
• Help the patient get home – they may need travel expenses

I wonder if there is a champion in local hospitals ensuring that these good practice guidelines are being implemented?

Real Life Stories: David’s Story

This is the third in a series of posts that record the experiences of clients of BHT.

“David was made redundant after being employed by the same company for years. He was unable to find employment and couldn’t keep up with rent payments for his private rented accommodation.

“Having never been in this situation before, he was not aware of claiming benefits and he exhausted his redundancy pay. Within the space of four months David found himself street homeless. He was sleeping rough, usually in the tunnels underneath Brighton Pier or empty phone boxes or the shelter at Brighton bus station.

“He was very vulnerable and was subjected to assault, robbery and hate crimes. This had a dramatic effect on both his physical and mental health and he was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety.

“David was referred to the Accommodation for Work project by First Base. He attended weekly one to one sessions with his project worker and they developed an Employment Plan. The project supported him to complete two part time I.T courses. David decided to do these courses to open himself up to a wider job market, increasing his chances of securing employment.

“The project referred David to Business Action on Homelessness, and he completed a two week work placement. The management of the company was so impressed by his hard work, ability to learn quickly, and positive attitude, that he was offered a full time permanent job straight after the placement. David continues to work there full time.

“He saved up enough money for a deposit and first month’s rent and he has secured his own private rented tenancy.

“In a year, David went from rough sleeping, suffering from anxiety, and feeling very far away from his old life to having a new career, getting his confidence back, and feeling positive about the future.”

The health of homeless men and women

Homeless men and women are six times more likely to attend at A&E than the ‘housed’ population, four times more likely to be admitted into hospital, and likely to remain in hospital twice as long.

On Thursday I spent the day (the second of five) as part of a panel listening to annual presentations from different services within BHT.  Having just heard the above statistics about A&E and hospital admissions, I was really impressed (as always) by the work of First Base Day Centre.  Since the completion of the refurbishment of its home, St Stephens Hall in Montpelier Place, Brighton, and the provision of a fully functioning medical suite, we have facilitated 1,323 appointments to visiting health care professionals:

• 312 with the Sexual Health Service
• 301 with St John Ambulance
• 227 with the GP Nurse
• 283 with the oral hygienist
• 20 with the podiatrist.

In addition, 451 different people joined in Big Lottery funded (Reaching Communities) Healthy Lifestyles activities on one or more occasions.

With so much of the work at First Base, the benefit to the wider public purse vastly exceeds the cost of the entire First Base service.  The impact on lives and the reduction in A&E attendances and hospital admissions is enormous.

Brighton and Hove is a better place because of First Base and the dedication of its amazing staff team.

A day of contrasts: poverty and affluence, a moving account of a child’s disability, and sexist ‘jokes’

Today has been one of contrasts. This morning there was a gathering of representatives from homelessness charities from Brighton & Hove and West Sussex (Worthing Churches Homelessness Project, Central Sussex YMCA, Stone Pillow from Chichester, and BHT).

We met at the offices of CSYMCA before visits to BHT’s Phase 1 Project and First Base Day Centre, lunch courtesy of our social enterprise Dine!, and then two visits to CSYMCA services. The conversation was passionate and enthusiastic, about how we can relieve the most acute forms of poverty and how a little investment can make a huge difference in changing lives.

We spoke about the need to challenge the causes of inequality, injustice and exclusion. I shared my favourite quote from the Latin American priest, Dom Helder Camara, who said: “When I feed the hungry they call me a saint, when I ask why they are hungry, they call me a communist”.

I had to absent myself at lunchtime as I had been invited to the launch of the cricketer Matt Prior’s benefit year. It was held at the Grand Hotel and there was certainly nobody going hungry there. I had been given complimentary tickets for the event for my daughter, Clare, and me. We have known Matt since he first moved to England with his mum, Terri, and were their next-door-neighbour for several years. We are all very fond of Matt and everyone who knows him will take delight from his success.

I love just about everything to do with cricket, and today’s event was characterised by very good company, delicious food, and a chance to meet England all rounder Stuart Broad.

However, the contrast between the morning discussions and the conspicuous wealth of some of the people in the opulent surroundings of the Grand Hotel made me feel very uncomfortable. The tens of thousands of Pounds raised would keep many homelessness services operating for a year. For many of those bidding a thousand here, several thousands there, poverty and hardship could not have been further from their minds.

A consolation, however, is Matt Prior’s obvious commitment to Chestnut Tree House and I am delighted that there will be a particular focus on this charity during his benefit year. Chestnut Tree House is the only children’s hospice in Sussex and cares for children and young adults from 0-19 years of age with progressive life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses from all over the county. It is a truly wonderful charity and one worth supporting.

The representative from Chestnut Tree House received a well-deserved standing ovation for her moving account of the life of her daughter, Alice, and the truly wonderful support provided by Chestnut Tree House. But there was something contradictory in that the ‘comedian’ who had been hired thought it was ok to tell a ‘joke’ about pedophilia and another about rape. I saw many people looking very uncomfortable. It is time cricket and other sports cleaned up their acts, making sexism in sport as unacceptable as racism.

So today has been one of contradictory emotions. While I did enjoy the lunch, I left with conflicting emotions when I would have preferred to focus exclusively on Matt Prior, his cricketing achievements and the impressive man he has become. And I am left wondering how we can live in a society with such displays of affluence yet Sussex charities, including Chestnut Tree House, face constant battles for survival.

Rough sleeping in Brighton and Hove is a human tragedy for each person without a home

Each year a count is undertaken of the number of people sleeping rough in Brighton and Hove. The results of the most recent count were released yesterday. The number has increased from 14 last year to 37 this year.

For many years there has been a debate about the accuracy of such counts. It can be, at best, a snapshot on a particular day and includes just those who the ‘counter’s have found. I would suspect that the number is somewhere between that number and 50.

So what is happening on our streets? Well, first, there is better joint working between organisations than at any point in my 26 years at BHT. Staff at Brighton and Hove City Council, CRI and BHT, amongst others, should be applauded for what they are doing to tackle this issue. Without this work the numbers would be much higher.

The numbers are probably higher than the 37 counted, but not that much higher. In a recent 2 week period at our Rough Sleepers sessions at First Base, we saw 19 men and women who had no previous experience of sleeping rough. We were able to help many of them and in some cases helped them to relocate back to areas from which they had come, believing there would be more opportunities for housing and jobs along the south coast.

Council leader Bill Randall (who has over 40 years experience as a journalist and housing campaigner before he became a councillor) has said, “Up until recently we have been very successful in helping people to access accommodation in the private rented sector. But with rents increasing sharply this option is becoming unaffordable for many people on low incomes, and the forthcoming changes to housing benefit are likely to make things worse rather than better in this respect.

“What I find it really galling in this context is the number of empty properties around the city. Our empty property team does a fantastic job, but it’s often an uphill battle because their hands are tied by legislation that is weighted too heavily in favour of property owners.”

I think he is absolutely right in his analysis. But I would add another factor which, if correct and when combined with the shortage of homes and the impact of housing benefit changes, could create a ‘perfect storm’ that would see a massive increase in people sleeping on the streets of Brighton and Hove. That is the impact of the Olympic Games and rumours that homeless people will be given travel passes to anywhere in the country, including the south coast, to get them off the streets of the capital.

If the figure goes above 100, possibly well above 100, it will not be the fault of the local authority nor those of us who work day in, day out, to help people off the streets. And it is important that fingers are not pointed at the City Council in this respect. Almost alone in the country, Brighton and Hove City Council (in a decision supported by councillors of all parties) protected the Supporting People programme which works with the most vulnerable men and women in the City, including those who we are helping off the street.

37 people on the street is too many. One would be too many. However, I am confident that everything is being done to help entrenched rough sleepers off the street, and those new to rough sleeping don’t have to face a second night out.

I close with another quote from Bill Randall, “Homelessness is a human tragedy that affects the most vulnerable in our society”. It is a human tragedy for each and every person who sleeps on our streets and I fear that the numbers will increase significantly over the next year.

Taking tough decisions

(This is the text of my ‘Bottom Line’ column that appeared in the Brighton Argus on 16th August 2011).

In my working life I am involved in two very different organisations which share a common objective: the provision of specialist services for those in the greatest need. But in spite of the common objective, there are fundamental differences in expectations of my role in the two organisations

One is the charity, Brighton Housing Trust (BHT). The name itself is misleading. We don’t just operate in Brighton (and Hove), but also in Eastbourne, Hastings, St. Leonards and other districts in East Sussex. We do a lot more than housing, including legal advice and representation, mental health services, services for those with alcohol and other drug addiction, work and learning activities, etc.

The other organisation is BHT Enterprises Ltd., a profit making company, operated on a commercial basis. BHT IT Solutions and BHT Design are just two of the businesses within the company. The profits generated by BHT Enterprises are gift aided to the charity, BHT, to support its charitable work, for example, at First Base Day Centre.

First Base provides services to some of the most vulnerable men and women in Brighton and Hove. For example, we provide early morning sessions for those who have slept out. We ensure that the causes of their homelessness are addressed, and help them to secure and maintain accommodation.

The Centre operates at a loss of about £100,000 per annum, but because of the high “Mission-fit”, the charity chooses to support the work of First Base from our own funds and donations we receive from many very generous supporters.

Being a charity doesn’t stop us making difficult decisions, such as changing terms and conditions of employment for staff three or so years ago. And we have recently had to make a very difficult decision in BHT Enterprises.

It is not a charity and takes a commercial view on its activities. One of its business streams, the highly respected Blue Rocket PR, staffed by four very talented PR specialists, has in recent times struggled in the challenging economic environment in which it operates.

BHT Enterprises Ltd. has no room for sentiment, for considerations such as “Mission-fit”. With my fellow Directors we felt that the outlook for Blue Rocket PR was not positive, in spite of the expertise of its staff, and we have made the decision to shut the business.

Of course on a personal level I am sad to lose Blue Rocket PR from our wider ‘family’, but as a commercial enterprise we could not wait to see if its prospects would improve nor could we subsidise its business activities from charitable funds.

It takes different mindsets to run charitable and commercial organisations. But in each, tough decisions have to be made if we are to remain true to our purpose.

The successes of the year past and a major challenge ahead

As we reach the midway point of the year, I have been reflecting on how BHT is doing in what are very testing times. My conclusion is that, overall, BHT is doing well, with excellent services continuing to be provided to clients. We have achieved financial stability, and BHT’s reputation continues to be very positive. There is just one area of serious concern, the future funding of our Legal Services.

A year ago I had ten areas of concern yet, one by one, the challenges facing us have been addressed. The highlights of the year so far include:

our supported housing services, particularly in Brighton and Hove, where the scale of the funding cuts have been limited to just 4.5% over 4 years;

• The women’s counselling service, Threshold, whose future looked bleak until we secured £393,000 from the Big Lottery Fund through its Reaching Communities programme;
• Finding Futures, based in Hastings, has secured £497,000 from the Reaching Communities Programme of the Big Lottery Fund and a new contract with East Sussex County Council;
• First Base Day Centre has undergone a major refurbishment. After twelve months, restoration work to the building, St Stephen’s Hall has been completed and the centre is due to be formally re-opened at an event on Thursday 7 July 2011;
• The Accommodation for Work Project was in the running for the 2011 National Lottery Awards’ “Best Voluntary/Charity Project”. While the project did not make it through to the final round, it was nevertheless well-deserved recognition for this service.

At the beginning of April, BHT left the Affinity Sutton Group The move, which was supported by Affinity Sutton, is designed to allow BHT to thrive as an independent organisation by being ‘fleet of foot’ in responding to new opportunities presenting themselves to us.

One of the most exciting plans we have is to take client involvement to a new level, building on the co-design and co-production of services to spread co-delivery across the organisation. This will include the BHT Intern Programme which is attracting much interest and media coverage.

The main challenge facing BHT is the future of our Legal Services. The Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke MP, recently published the Sentencing and Legal Aid Bill that contains proposals to reduce the legal aid budget by £350 million. Much of the work that our three advice centres undertake (in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings) will no longer attract legal aid funding. In Brighton alone, we are currently funded to take on around 1,400 housing cases. This is expected to drop by more than 500 cases each year. There will no longer be legal aid funding for any welfare benefits work and face to face debt advice will by telephone only, and as with housing, only be available for those at imminent risk of losing their home.

The impact on these cuts will see an increase in homelessness, family breakdown, and general hardship. With the loss of around £0.5 million funding, our advice services will see considerable contraction and, nationwide, there will be a de-skilling of the sector as advisers, with many years experience, will move elsewhere.

BHT has been campaigning hard to oppose the cuts to legal aid and will continue to do so. I would encourage you to write to the five Members of Parliament in the areas where we have advice centres urging them to support funding for independent advice services. The MPs are Simon Kirby (Brighton Kemp Town), Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion), Mike Weatherley (Hove), Stephen Lloyd (Eastbourne) and Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye).

If you would like to support the campaign to save Legal Aid, please view the short film on the Justice For All website and sign the online petition. The government has listened on a number of issues; there is no reason why they should not listen on this occasion and reverse these measures which will lead to an increase in homelessness along the coastal south east.