Our new homelessness campaign demanding urgent change

A large part of our work is supporting people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness, whichever of our charity’s services they come to for support.   

In the run up to World Homeless Day in October, we’ll be highlighting just some of the ways we work alongside people in Greater Manchester and Lancashire as they transform their lives. 

We’ll also be shouting loudly about ways you – and decision makers in our area and locally too – can help. 

Here, our director Patrick O’Dowd tells us more… 

From the person who came to us as they had experienced changes in their personal circumstances which led to them rough sleeping near their place of work, to the individual and their young family who having been victims of domestic violence were seeking a new start and a safe, secure place to call home, there are so many people in our area that need support at a time of crisis. 

Many often say that they never dreamed they’d become homeless or be at risk of homelessness, yet that’s something that could happen to any of us at any time. 

Our charity supports people in a huge range of ways, both at a time of acute crisis but also for the long-term too.  We do that through our dedicated homelessness services such as supported accommodation and day centres, as well as through our other services such as our Lalley centre, community pantry and allotment or Aspire Education service. 

The goal, however people come to us, is to listen to them as individuals and be there to support them in achieving their own wishes and goals.

We want to make sure that people have the help they need in a way that’s accessible to them, that they are prevented from becoming homeless or if they do become so that they are helped to safe, secure accommodation as soon as possible.  We help to make sure they can make a new home, and our aim is that no one has to sleep rough. 

Health and wellbeing is a huge part of our work. 

Everyone is individual and we aim to provide holistic wrap around support that helps and empowers every part of them. 

We help people access specialist support services, take up education, training, volunteering and employment opportunities – all of which helps sustain positive housing outcomes. 

In the last year alone, 103 people who our homelessness services have also volunteered to help run them, enabling them to gain skills and confidence and to give something back to others. 

Our homeless health hubs, which we have developed in Manchester, Bury and at Loaves and Fishes in Salford, aim to increase access to health services and address health inequalities for people experiencing homelessness.

612 people have attended 188 health promotion sessions in the last year, with 307 attending 196 health clinics run by health professionals at our hubs.  These are so important and make a huge difference to the lives of the people we work alongside. 

We’re also continuing to improve the quality of our buildings, including earlier this year when we opened a brand new, accessible accommodation project, Caritas House. 

We’ve also created emergency rooms at our Morning Star hostel to enable us to accommodate additional people at times of very cold weather, and created a new activity and education space at our Cornerstone day centre where we can run classes and creative activities to help people improve their skills. 

There’s so much more going on across the organisation, but one thing remains key.  We want to continue to advocate and shout loudly for change.

We want to ensure that we live in a world where no one becomes homeless or is at risk of becoming homeless. 

It’s a lofty ambition and one that our charity alone can’t solve.  But it’s one that we won’t give up striving towards and we’re committed to continuing to advocate, lobby and be there for others at a time they need it most. 

This isn’t a nice ‘extra’ have.  Safe housing provides not only a sense of personal dignity and the secure place everyone deserves, it also allows families and individuals to flourish. 

There are far from quick-wins.  The reasons why people become homeless are many and often very complex.  But by working alongside charities like ours and others who are also experts in their field, decision makers really can deliver true, lasting change. 

There are lots of ways you can get involved: 

From volunteering in our services to sharing our news, to signposting people who might need help, to joining our advocacy work and taking action in your community. 

You can find out more on our homelessness campaign webpage where you can also download a range of free resources, read more information or make a donation to support our work if you’re able. 

We can’t do this alone, so please do help us to drive change in Greater Manchester and Lancashire.  We’d love to hear from you if you can help. 

Thank you for your support, we really appreciate it – and most importantly, however you choose to help, every positive action really does help people locally transform their lives with dignity.

Click here to make a donation now to support our work with people experiencing homelessness locally.