Spotlight On... Housing Justice and the Citadel Project
At Housing Justice, our mission is to mobilise Christian action on homelessness through love, justice, advocacy and nurture. We believe that everyone has the right to a decent, stable home that truly meets their needs.
We have a number of projects to support people experiencing different forms of homelessness / at different stages of homelessness, ranging from temporary night shelters to long-term accommodation arrangements.
After long periods of homelessness, moving individuals into a new home is often just the beginning. A lot of the people we work with (particularly those who have been sleeping rough for a long time) have great difficulty transitioning into a new home and a new life, and many will return to the streets within 2-6 months if the appropriate support is not available.
As such, we work closely with individuals who are recovering from / at risk of homelessness, so that they have the support needed to keep their home and avoid homelessness. The support we provide is entirely tailored to the individual. It begins by finding out what kind of support the individual wants and needs and can include emotional support, meeting for a chat, accessing a food parcel, practical help with things like paying bills and setting up standing orders, help finding employment and much more.
Charlie's Story
Charlie (not his real name) is a young man that was referred to our night shelters back in February 2020. Charlie has long suffered with poor mental health and low self-confidence, and he was very quiet when he first arrived at the shelter. Charlie is a particularly vulnerable young man and has been forced to give up a number of tenancies after being a victim of significant bullying and intimidation.
Volunteers at the Housing Justice night shelter showed Charlie compassion and love, and developed trust and friendship with him. With the continued encouragement, emotional support and friendship of night shelter volunteers, Charlie was able to move into a new tenancy. But transitioning into a new life after long periods of homelessness can be very difficult, and tenancies often break down in the first 6 months.
Since moving in, Charlie has been receiving the ongoing support and guidance required for him to maintain his tenancy. Our volunteers helped him to discover his hidden strengths, identifying what matters to him and have helped Charlie to build a 'Circle of Support', that will enable Charlie to maintain his tenancy when pressures arise.
The main support Charlie was looking for was emotional support, such as help with building confidence and improving his self-esteem. Charlie also said he'd like to get back into his main hobby, cycling.
"I'd love to get back into cycling. When I go cycling all of my worries just go, they just disappear"
Nigel from Housing Justice has been working with Charlie since February 2020, and has supported Charlie in a number of ways since then. Recently Nigel supported Charlie with his banking and paying his rent via standing order. These are the sort of issues that, without the appropriate support, can often lead to a return to homelessness.
"It's the little things I need help with, things that I shouldn't struggle with but I do”
The support we provide reaches far beyond administrative tasks. In addition to guidance and material items such as food hampers, a toaster and a microwave, our Citadel project intends to support the individual with their emotional health and wellbeing.
In the middle of lockdown, communication with Charlie was not forthcoming. We learned that he had been feeling depressed, and we knew that in the past he had used cycling to make him feel better. Nigel found a bike for Charlie and supported him throughout the lockdowns, for which he was -and continues to be- incredibly grateful.
Since then Charlie has supported Housing Justice with our Citadel Film and other projects. He has been really enthusiastic about giving back and doing something meaningful for others.
In October Charlie and Nigel cycled 55km together to raise money for tackling homelessness. They managed to raise over £300 and have said that next time they want to cycle 200km from North to South Wales!
"To be honest if it wasn't for Citadel I don't know where I'd be"
Charlie has been receiving support through our Citadel Project, which currently only operates in certain parts of the UK. To find out what’s going on in your area and how you can get involved, please get in touch via email or visit our website:
