The Night Shelter is not ‘the’ means to an end – of simply helping homeless people out of the cold. It is an instrument of a much wider piece of work carried out through the partnership with Turnaround, (a project of The Renewal Programme).
Once the Service Users / Guests are in the Night Shelter it provides a platform to enable both volunteers and staff of Turnaround to engage with them on a one-to-one basis. The former Resettlement Worker can then discuss issues and make appointments for individuals to be assessed.
Volunteers Probation/Induction:
We have valued the involvement of Volunteers, who play a major role in the running of the Night Shelter each night for the homeless people to come here. Volunteers bring with them the unique quality and broad diversity of experiences and knowledge from their own lives. New Volunteers will undergo a one month initial ‘induction’ period which is for the first four night shelter evenings attended.
It provides a mutual opportunity for both the Volunteers to see, at first hand the work and to enable an objective decision abut making a long term commitment, without a sense of 'obligation' having started, or feeling invidious about saying that this is not for them. Volunteers, like anyone else, have a life and it is therefore understands and acknowledges that there may be times when other priorities and activities prevents someone for attending on a given evening or evenings. In these events, all that is asked for is to let the duty Co-Ordinator know so they can plan accordingly.
Volunteers Unique Gift of Broad Diverse Experiences
Volunteers can develop a unique relationship with Service Users/Guests of the Night Shelter that is less power biased. Volunteers are also members of the public, part of the world outside Night Shelter life. Volunteers’ openness and willingness to be involved can bring a new perspective to entrenched views held by some Service Users/Guests.
In so far as our Night Shelter is concerned in the Parish at St Bart’s, none of what has been achieved could have again happened without the work, commitment, dedication and Christian love of all the volunteers who have been involved, be it setting-up, in the kitchen washing-up, cooking, serving, clearing-up, reception, engaging to the Service Users, dealing with then occasional turbulence, or Saturday mornings – each and very bit of work, (irrespective of whether small or large), collectively make the difference between things happens in a organised fashion, or total ciaos!
I have again been proud and privileged to have worked along side so many, many volunteers this year to whom I extend my thanks.
MISSION STATEMENT:
• To engage + involve vulnerable and isolated Service Users;
• To build-up Service Users self-esteem;
• To provide stimuli through the provisions made at Turnaround and the Night Shelter’s;
• To provide a warm, friendly & non-judgemental environment for Service Users;
• To provide a safe, conducive and congenial environment for Volunteers - to feel valued and to provide a platform where the broad diversity of background, skills/abilities and experiences can be positively channelled;
• To provide Christian witness and outreach through the love, care and commitment shown by Volunteers through actions and deeds;
• To promote positive links between Night Worker staff; the Turnaround™ Team, and other Night Shelter’s in Newham, maximising the benefit to the Turnaround and Newham Night Shelter Service Users.
EQUATION
Total Expenditure continues to provide good value when equated. The shear logistics in terms of resources and equipment you will understand is considerable. Put this into perspective when one considers that this equates to just over £207 per head for an entire season of 20 weeks = a little over £10 per homeless person per night, inclusive.
To translate this into tangible figures per season, (at lowest estimates), lighting • wear & tear • repairs & maintenance etc – 14 hours @ £10 = 140. Donations – Food & Money - £35 per night x 20 nights = £665. Volunteer Helpers – 25 Hours (if bought in labour) @ just £6.50 = £625. Premises • Food • Equipment etc = £300. It is calculated that between the total seven church centres who provide the Night Shelter for one night per week x 20 weeks contributes in total in the region of some £45,900 towards the overall cost of the Project with our Partners of some £90,900.
A meeting took place early this year between the CEO & Senior Co-Ordinator and Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Newham following all the volunteers of Newham Night Shelter being nominated for an Award. There have been thousands of worthy nominations in London alone apart from the whole of the Country. As people with have read in the press, we are pound to announce that Newham Night Shelter volunteers were one of the first groups ever to receiving this prestigious Award. The Senior Co-Ordinator accompanied by three Co-Ordinators from other venues subsequently attended Buckingham Palace and a formal presentation was also made at Newham Town Hall by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Newham, together with the Mayor of Newham and other Dignatories and attended by representative from the 14 other ecumenical Centres who have provided Night Shelter over the 10 years, staff from Turnaround/The Renewal Programme, Officers from the Board of Management from TRP, and Service Users.
Parish of East Ham Night Shelter – Annual Report 2002-2003 – [In PowerPoint .ppt format]:-
Parish of East Ham Night Shelter Brochure & Donation/Gift Aid Form – [In Acrobat .pdf format]:-
NOTE: Simply highlight/copy and paste the above hyperlinks to web address brower and click return or click on the respective logis. The file will automatically download. Dependant upon the Server/ISP used it will take some little while to download owing to the size of the above data file(s).
