2021-22 Review

The charity has experienced unforeseen challenges, disruptions and delays brought about by the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent variants of the virus. The vast majority of Residents have co-morbid health vulnerabilities so strict COVID Mitigation measures were implemented when it has deemed necessary to do so. We have ensured that services remained accessible to all Residents, adapting delivery in accordance with national or local COVID guidelines at any given time. We have been working cohesively with Public Health England and the local authorities and successfully implemented a COVID vaccination program ensuring that all residents were given 1^st & 2^nd vaccines and we continue to support residents’ access the booster programme. Where required, Residents have been chaperoned to appointments by our new role, a Residents’ Peer Mentor. This provision is also available to all new residents to ensure that everyone has access to vaccinations. Having access to vaccines has been welcomed by residents and very well attended.

The hostel, resettlement accommodation and our County wide Housing First pilot service, remained COVID free until December 2021. Given the close proximity of living in the hostel setting, the prevalence of addictions, this was an extraordinary achievement. Staff were quick to respond, and all cases were isolated quickly with procedures put in place to collect shopping, medication and provide meals. The infection also affected staff members, although not all positive cases were due to hostel cases. During this time, we employed the services of agency staff to ensure the day-to-day running of services.

St Paul’s continues to be at the forefront of innovation, performance, leadership, and influence; remaining key members of the Worcester Cares Alliance, an informal group of street-based services, including Soup Kitchens who collaborate by sharing information and donations. Worcester Cares will become the City’s Homeless Forum in the new County Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy due to be published in Jan 2023. Additionally, St Paul’s is part of an exciting new and innovative alliance known as the Worcester Grass Roots Alliance. This is a charitable cooperative – a community benefit society (CBS) with other City based charities. It is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and combines the benefits of charitable status (taxation concessions). The programme of work includes an aspiration to create a new City Centre Hub akin the Fred Winter Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon and enhancing biodiversity and environmental conservation across the city.

Jonathan Sutton, CEO (Chief Executive Officer), remains the VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) Reflector on the County Health and Well Being Board working with colleagues to shape the new Health and Well Being Strategy that now takes a Health Inequalities and Primary Preventative approach. He has been co-opted to the Board of Healthwatch Worcestershire. The Substance Misuse Treatment Grant and the Rough Sleeper Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant (RSDATG) are two new services that St Paul’s have helped shape and are partners.

Our expertise places St Paul’s as a natural partner with Worcester City Council and Citizen Housing in developing and implementing the new Rough Sleeper Accommodation programme (RSAP). This programme is a result of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities capital investment funding. It will see 8 new self-contained accommodation units, for the purpose of people who experience long-term or recurrent homelessness.

St Paul’s reduced hostel room occupancy from 46 to 42 changing all double rooms to single occupancy as a result of the infection risk that emerged during Covid, we have an increased pressure on staff resources due to illness & use agency staff when required and the cost of living increased also impacts on the charity’s expenditure. We do not take for granted the dedication & commitment of our loyal workforce & recognise the impact the economy has on day-to-day living. To this end, and to ensure that we retain & continue to attract the right calibre of employee, Trustees adopted the National Living Wage rather than the National Minimum Wage and increased other pay grades, accordingly, aligning their roles & responsibilities’ and maintaining a differential.

We are deeply saddened by the recent death of one of our residents, Ben Kriesler. Ben was well known locally, well liked, respected and was determined to change his life and was working hard to achieve this goal. There have been many articles in the local Worcester News, but I feel the most relevant and impactful are those from our CEO, Jonathan Sutton and David James, Housing Officer Senior Support Worker at St Paul’s hostel.

Jonathan Sutton, CEO comments: Worcester News
David James, Housing Officer comments: Worcester News

• 90 referrals received
• 75% from local authorities within Worcestershire; 25% from external agencies including CCP, Maggs Day Centre, probation and an unusually high number of referrals from YSS
• 33 were declined due to high and complex support needs, often with violent offences or not able to be accommodated due to physical health needs; 33 DNA pre-assessment and therefore application is ‘Pending’
• 21 residents have left our service
• 28% were Service Exit due to antisocial behaviour, violence towards, complex needs not able to be met in a hostel setting and prison recall; 28% Moved to their own tenancy or St Paul’s Resettlement accommodation; 14% Abandoned placement; 1 person was recalled to prison & 1 person was admitted to hospital
• There are occasions when residents are asked to leave due to high rent arrears. This is a last resort and is only implemented when all other avenues of support have been exhausted. During this period 4 people left the hostel due to high and increasing rent arrears.

We provided 16 hrs p/wk. Resettlement Support working with 13 residents across 3 of our resettlement properties. 265 individual visits provided accommodation support, benefits/rent/budgeting, health, general well-being & emotional support, volunteering, employment, and education.

We have learned that although there is a need for on-going support for resettlement tenants, there is also a desperate need for support for those who have moved on to their own tenancies, the family home, or friends. To this end, we are working on are consulting staff and residents with a view to develop the post of ‘Progression Coach’ The job description will include the areas where we have identified an on-going need.

Revenue grants from Public Health supported our in-house Counselling, refurbishment of the front-garden, staff, and resident well-being sessions. This included £38,509 COVID Mitigation Fund & £29,000 Public Health England. At the end of September 2022, we received successful notification that additional funding has been secured for Counselling, Mindfulness Sessions, our Residents’ Peer Mentor and Personalisation, to the amount of £23,951 for the remainder of 2022-23 & 2023-24 fiscal year. This funding has been awarded through the Rough Sleeper Drug and Alcohol Training Grant RSDATG

Direct Access Counselling:  This programme continues to be a vital element of our delivery model. Its successful outcomes attracted statutory funding. In the last 12 months, 578 hours of counselling has been delivered to individuals and 80 hours to groups.

Mindfulness sessions: Funding was secured from Worcester City Council COVID Mitigation Fund which enabled us to provide Mindfulness sessions to both staff and residents. These sessions commenced in May 2021 and delivers 3-4 hours per week. The purpose is to give clients an understanding of mindfulness and how it can be incorporated into daily life to help with stress, anxiety, depression, pain management. It also emphasises the practice of living in the present and not worrying about the past and the future. The coaching sessions also help clients to work on what is important to them and to give them some tools for managing their lives. 19 staff & residents have benefited from sessions with Outcomes including, ability to handle stress & manage panic attacks, smoking cessation, grief support, severe depression, relationship problems, work pressures and a 24hr off-site Retreat for 8 residents

Working with Christian Dowle Landscaping, we re-developed the external areas, specifically the entrance to the hostel, to make it a more inviting and therapeutic environment. In addition, we created a Memorial Garden dedicated to our late Trustee, Robyn Sykes and those who have lost their lives whilst experiencing homelessness.

At the beginning of this year (2022) we saw our Chef & Catering Manager of 6 years, move on to pastures new, leaving some very large boots to be filled! As well as usual recruitment avenues, we also took to social media in an innovative way. We published a video of our ‘out-going’ Chef & Catering Manager explaining about the job, being more than the role of Chef.

We were delighted by the response and indeed by the calibre of the candidates. In April 2022, we welcomed Joanne to the team as our new Chef & Catering Manager. Jo comes with a wealth of experience as a former Chef in the RAF and from working in a care environment. We followed up the recruitment video with an introduction to Jo and update on how she was settling into her role.

2021 also brought us the fantastic news that we were successful in our application for funding from the Nationwide Community Fund. The grant award for this project was £50,000 over 2 years. We have spent a lot of time over the months working with the grants and media teams and the result is a moving and inspiring video “Steve’s Story” which was used in their media announcement of the awards granted.

Along with this, we also have a close relationship with the local Nationwide Building Society branch, who will also support the charity with fundraising, attending events, and assisting with bank accounts for beneficiaries.

The project continues in its success and has increased the number of participant capacity from 28 to 48. Since 2020, 3 participants have surrendered tenancy and there have been 2 evictions. A majority of participants have sustained tenancy and engaged well with the project. Support includes engagement with a Housing First Case Manager & Substance Misuse teams; registering and attending medical appointments, accessing the correct benefits, opening bank accounts, and managing finances, addressing anti-social of offending behaviour, improving cooking skills and engaging in new physical and recreational activities.

Our Peer Mentor program aims to provide a transition for residents, from volunteering to paid employment as part of their journey of recovery. The roles use ‘lived experience’ of homelessness (or addiction or bereavement) to engage & encourage other residents to change. Practically they help staff every day & take on important tasks. They are an important part of the ‘toolbox’ to help a person’s recovery. Our Resident’s Peer Mentor helps new residents settle into the hostel or new home, accompanying them to GP (General Practitioner) and/or other appointments. Our Bike Maintenance Peer Mentor oversees the day to day running of our residents’ Bike Maintenance Project. Working with a professional bike mechanic, he is learning the skills required to maintain & repair bikes which in turn he teaches & supports other residents. We employ a former resident as Peer Support Worker on our Housing First service, the second Peer Support worker, went onto secure work in Domiciliary Care.

We also work closely with Healthwatch Worcestershire & since September 2021 we have created a ‘Community Link’ to facilitate deeper & richer Healthwatch engagement. This role carried out by a long-term hostel resident. This is not without its difficulties, to broadcast Peer Mentoring as simple would be disingenuous. We must work hard to listen & to explain what we can change & what we cannot, whilst retaining an authentic relationship with the people we help.

Residents are also encouraged to attend meeting with funders & other services to share their experiences. Their testimonies are hard-hitting, real & bring to life the challenges and barriers that are faced daily. Their testimonies create change.

We launched our first Crowdfunding appeal to secure funding towards the launch of our Bike Maintenance project. The appeal successfully raised £13,302.45. Of which, £6,000 was awarded from Worcestershire Crowdfund, Worcester City Council, £4,000 from Sanctuary Housing Group and £500 from Thursfield’s Solicitor Worcester Branch as part of their Charity of the Year support. The remainder of the funds were from individual donations. A further £200 was given in-kind by Halfords. The Bike Maintenance Peer Mentor oversees the day-to-day running of the project, receives training from a professional bike mechanic and in-turn teaches those skills to residents.

We encourage residents to do purposeful things with their time. This could include social and/or physical activities and social activities. all of which are essential in their journey to recovery. They build trust and emotional resilient, reduce isolation and improve their physical and mental health and well-being. These include weekly Yoga & Boxing sessions, Themed supper nights at the hostel, BBQs, and Trips out.

Following the cancellation of our 2020 event due to COVID, we were delighted that the 2021 event took place. It was held at Sixways stadium, home of the Worcester Warriors RFC on 14th October 2021. The event was attended by 36 people. This was less than the number of people who had registered and less than previous years. COVID-19 had an impact on the number of people who registered and the number of people who attended on the night. People also had the opportunity to take part virtually and although this had ‘light touch’ marketing, a small number of people participated. Company sponsorship for the event was significantly less than in previous years, again due to the impact on business from the pandemic. However, the event raised over £19,000 which was an acceptable outcome given the challenges of the pandemic. For those that attended, there was positive feedback regarding organisation, safety, information awareness and facilities provided.

Our 2022 event took place on 14^th October at Sixways Stadium. 66 people took part which is an increase of 67% compared to 2021; 47% of which were first time participants. To date we have raised over £12,000.

Read more on Worcester News

2021-2022: Thursfields Solicitors, Worcester Branch

As their chosen charity, their support included fundraising activities, attending the Sleep Out 2021 and supporting the Bike Maintenance project.

2022-2023: Hewett Recruitment

We are delighted to have been approached by the team at Hewitts to be their chosen charity for 2022-23. As well as raising funds for the work of the St Paul’s they are proactive in the additional support they give. This includes employment workshops for residents, connections for employment and placements, and practical help as you can see from the image. Some of the staff, gave up their Jubilee weekend to volunteer and help re-paint some of the hostel rooms in preparation for new residents to arrive the following week. Laura Hewett, Owner, and Director at Hewett Recruitment commented

“St Pauls is such a great charity partner for us – it’s refreshing for our team to be able to help in such a practical way, as well as the usual fundraising. We are also looking to support them with our recruitment knowledge – offering residents a series of employment workshops.”

Worcestershire Advanced

Providing sponsorship for Bike Mentor and additional fundraising activities. WA are a non-profit organisation, a group of like-minded local businesses who support local charities. “We at Worcestershire Advance are proud to partner with St Paul’s Hostel as our Charity of the Year for 2022. We are always keen to support tailored, local causes within Worcestershire and could think of no charity more deserving than St Paul’s Hostel at present. They provide integral support, guidance and help to those without a home, security, and warmth – things we all take for granted. We were impressed by the words from Jonathan and Annamarie who explained how we can support this worthwhile cause and the difference the funds we raise will make. It is with this in mind that we have committed to funding a peer mentor for 12 months, who will help provide residents with the skills and resources they need to keep their bikes well maintained. Our partnership is more than just raising funds though. It is also about raising awareness in a bid to help those that St Paul’s Hostel so diligently and sensitively support.” James Osborne, Chair

(Pictured below: Martin Hannay, Director Worcestershire Advance & Jonathan Sutton, CEO St Paul’s Hostel)

Two staff members were presented with the High Sheriff Award. Ginette Sadler, Service Manager for our Housing First Worcester project, received her award for exemplary leadership and dedication to the vulnerable. Ginette has led the service from the start, which has grown from 3 full-time staff to 9 and led the support during the National ‘Everyone In’ effort, bringing rough sleepers in during the height of the pandemic. Despite receiving a diagnosis of Breast Cancer in 2020, Ginette continued to lead her team and hardly missed a day from work throughout her treatment.

Libby Tunley, Housing Officer has worked at St Paul’s for 4 years and always goes above and beyond to support the residents and her colleagues. She excels in her role as Housing Officer, and but Libby is the first to step up to cover where needed, often without being asked and is no stranger in our Kitchen where she stepped in and covered when our Catering Manager had COVID.

Aside from those listed within this report, additional funding successes include The Albert Hunt Trust, with additional funding for 2022-23; The Archer Foundation; Arnold Clarke Foundation, again with additional funding for 2022-23. Awards for All funding enabled us to dedicate Resettlement hours whilst monitoring and evaluating the need for support, B&Q Foundation supported the refurbishment of some of the hostel rooms and Garfield Weston awarded a grant towards our core costs.