Strategy
We want to end
homelessness
Our Vision
Our vision is that everyone has a place where they belong, so that Worcester is a place where homelessness is rare, brief and seldom re-occurring.
We recognise that ending homelessness is a tall order and requires it to be a shared national priority but only alongside changes to national government and local policies. Locally we want Worcestershire to be a leader in the ending of rough sleeping and ‘designing out’ homelessness. We recognise that our vision may mean a moment in time when some or all of our services are no longer needed.
Our mission
statement
Our mission is to help people live through homelessness in order that they have a place where they belong. Integral in achieving our mission that we must always keep in mind our four core tasks;
Prevention
The prevention of homelessness is fundamental and we cannot achieve this alone. Preventing homelessness is constrained by government and local policies, the quantity and quality of affordable local homes, affordable rent, the capacity of health and social care services and these are not within our control. We will work with partners to ‘design out’ homelessness but we recognise the limitations of local prevention – there is only so much that can be done. For those who arrive at our door, the first three core tasks will stop a person’s situation worsening and then we will build emotional and practical resilience to prevent another homeless episode. A person should leave St Paul’s with the life skills and self-sufficiency to prevent another episode of homelessness. If they need help in the future, they use universal, not homeless, services.
Our
Values
Our People
St Paul’s has a clear mission that contributes to our local community and to wider society. Our Theory of Change captures people – residents, employees, volunteers and the wider public because these are all important. Our mission is a rewarding one and our work will be organised purposefully and efficiently. We will empower staff telling them not how to do a task but what to achieve and allow them to work out ‘the how’ with the resources they have. This will create a workforce that is adaptable, flexible and we will recruit and retain only people who can operate as a team and work in a trauma-informed way. Our ethos will empower people and cultivate an attitude of mind where the doing the ‘near impossible’ is the routine. Our staff and volunteers are an asset not a cost and we will anticipate change and build a skills plan for them so they have tomorrow’s skills and we stay ahead.
Residents, past and current, are the reason why we exist. They matter most. The vast majority come from within Worcestershire and many are from the deprived or tough parts of the county. We must capture insights from these “citizens with lived-experiences” of their homelessness journey to improve our own services and lobby for policy change. The people we help often have multiple needs and many do not receive the help and treatment they need. This results in substantial costs somewhere in the public purse. Through our work, we seek to enable a person to change so they can contribute and give to the local community bringing positive benefits for all.