Mental Health

St Mungo’s
frontline
CHRISTMAS 2011
Endell Street residents
Paul and Jack
National Outreach
Worker survey
Improving the health
of homeless people
Women and
homelessness
Welcome
As we approach the
winter months, our
emergency services
become more and
more vital for
homeless people
left out in the cold.
Sadly, the number
of people sleeping
rough has continued to rise. Across
the last year, nearly 4,000 people
slept rough on the streets of
London alone. We know that our
outreach teams will be working
tirelessly to bring more people into
safe accommodation.
But it’s not just the physical aspect
of being homeless that makes this
time of year so hard for homeless
men and women. It’s the emotional
issues too.
When most of us will be spending
time with our families, many homeless
people will be feeling isolated and
lonely. You can read about our work
reuniting homeless women and their
children on pages 8 and 9.
Your ongoing support means so
much. Thank you for helping us
give homeless people a better life.
Very best wishes for the festive season.
Frontline news
Congratulations to our apprentices
In our projects
There was huge interest in our
Apprenticeship Scheme this year, with
applications received from around
150 clients. After a tough assessment
process, 16 new Apprentice Project
Workers joined us in October. For
those that unfortunately didn’t get a
place this year, we are working with
them to let them know all about the
other volunteering, training and preemployment opportunities that
St Mungo’s has on offer. Well done
to everyone that applied and good
luck to our new project worker
apprentices.
In the kitchen
Big congratulations also go out to our
ten new catering apprentices who
started a six month paid apprenticeship
programme in September. The
apprentices will be working with top
London chef Simon Boyle at his new
restaurant Brigade. After completing
the programme, they will be fully
qualified chefs. Apprenticeship
Tanya English
Executive Director
Fundraising & Communications
Find us online
1. View this newsletter online at
www.mungos.org/enews
2. Join us on
Facebook.com/StMungosUK
3. Follow us on twitter.com/StMungos
2
www.mungos.org
2010 catering apprentice Ricardo
Coordinator Jan Seymour says
“They are all doing brilliantly.”
At Pret A Manger
We were delighted to have been
chosen by Pret A Manger as one of
eight organisations to benefit from an
apprenticeship scheme. Across the
different organisations, 25 people
were given three month paid
apprenticeships, working on the tills and
in the kitchens. About three quarters
of those who completed their
apprenticeship now have permanent
roles at Pret A Manger branches.
For many years, Pret A Manger have
distributed sandwiches and drinks to
hostels and homeless charities. Chief
Executive Clive Schlee came up with the
idea for the scheme as he felt it would
be better to help stop people falling into
homelessness in the first place by
providing people with jobs. We are
thrilled to be involved. Last year,
St Mungo’s supported over 2,000 people
to find, work, training, further education
or take part in a range of other activities.
FRONTLINE NEWS
Open House at
Spring Gardens
VoiceMail4All helps 3,000th person
We were delighted that VoiceMail4All was recently made available to its
3,000th user - Ian from Medway in Kent.
“I was very grateful to have the service and found it to be a real lifeline when I
was homeless. As the 3,000th person, it shows that the service is valid and
useful for people with no other form of communication,” he said.
Staff and residents at our Spring
Gardens hostel in Hither Green were
delighted to welcome 55 visitors in
September, who came to tour the
project as part of the Open House
London Weekend. There were even
some Norwegian students amongst the
group. After the tour, residents made
cream teas for everyone. Project
Manager Vicky Tunnicliff said “We really
value the support of our neighbours and
the wider community and all the residents
felt so proud to have taken part.”
Endell Street Studio
goes online
Endell Street’s
recording studio,
based in our Covent
Garden hostel, has now
launched its own website,
showcasing the diverse work of our
amazingly talented clients. You can
find out all about the artists and
their music projects at
www.endellstreetstudio.com
Take a moment to listen to LOCKED
ON, their exciting new radio podcasts,
produced in collaboration with
Camden Calling.
A year in review
St Mungo’s Annual Review 2010-11 has
now been published. Take a look at what
you’ve helped us achieve in the last year
and hear some incredible stories from the
people you’ve helped support by logging
onto www.mungos.org/annualreview
The service was initially developed by St Mungo’s to support clients using
our projects and services within London. We are really excited that
homeless people all across the country are now benefitting from the service.
(Left to right) Ian being presented with a certificate from the Mayor of
Medway Cllr Ted Baker, Phil de Montmorency, St Mungo’s Director of Skills
and Employment programme, and Cllr John Avey from Medway Council
St Mungo’s helps win London in Bloom award
Volunteers from our Putting Down
Roots (PDR) gardening programme
enjoyed some well deserved
celebrations recently after winning a
London in Bloom award. The PDR
volunteers work with Team London
Bridge on a number of community
gardening projects across South London
and won the Capital Growth award for
their work transforming the gardens at
Melior Street in Bermondsey.
enjoy. At the same time it can help raise
their self-esteem, improve health and
develop great ‘back to work’ skills.”
PDR volunteers with their certificates
Ian Kavanagh, St Mungo’s gardening
trainer said: “Our clients give hours of
their time back to their neighbourhood,
making the gardens at Melior Street a
lovely space for the local community to
Keep up to date with the latest news from
St Mungo’s at www.mungos.org/news
3
NATIONAL OUTREACH WORKER SURVEY
National
Outreach
Worker survey
Ending rough sleeping will require a concerted
effort from government, commissioners and
services like those provided by St Mungo’s to
work together to ensure that the right
support is given at the right time to the most
vulnerable of people.
“No-one should have to sleep rough in twenty-first century Britain. Our
vision is to bring an end to rough sleeping once and for all.” No One Left Out
The Government should be applauded
for making this commitment to end
rough sleeping, but it is clear that there is
much work left to be done. Last year
saw a rise of 8% in the number of
people sleeping rough in London. And
yet despite that rise, progress is being
made. We are delighted to host the No
Second Night Out project, for example.
Over the past couple of months
St Mungo’s has carried out a national
survey of outreach workers to better
understand the reasons why people
end up sleeping rough.
It can be very difficult to make general
statements as to the reasons why
people end up sleeping rough.
However, in our experience and from
the survey of outreach workers carried
out across the country, a few common
themes were noted.
certificate, everything went.”
Domestic violence
We found that 52% of our male clients
(aged between 25-54) who had slept
rough did so because of a relationship
breakdown. In addition to the
emotional distress caused by the
breakdowns, many of the male clients
we spoke to had lost their homes as a
result, which began the downward
spiral that led to their rough sleeping.
Among the most vulnerable people
living on the streets are women who
have experienced domestic violence
and who use drugs and alcohol
problematically. These women tend to
require high levels of support but it is
more difficult for them to access this as
many refuges will not accept women
with drug or alcohol problems.
Of St Mungo’s clients who left home
as a result of domestic violence and
have slept rough:
According to our Client Needs Survey,
44% of rough sleepers have issues with
their mental health.
• 56% use alcohol problematically
• 52% misuse prescribed or illicit drugs
Many of our clients had been in touch
with mental health services but had
not received sufficient support to avoid
rough sleeping in the first place. It has
long been the case that too many
people have not received appropriate
support for their mental health
problems until they enter our services.
Relationship breakdown
Results from the survey suggest that
the breakdown of a relationship is
amongst the most common triggers of
rough sleeping.
“I came home and the locks had been
changed. She’d got all my stuff out of
the house and had left it in bin bags.
The bin men came and took it all. I had
no clothes. I lost my passport, birth
4
www.mungos.org
Mental health
At St Mungo’s we believe that if we
can target the causes of rough
sleeping we can better support those
who need our help and work to
prevent people sleeping rough in the
first place.
EMERGENCY SHELTERS THIS CHRISTMAS
Emergency shelters
this Winter
The onset of the colder weather means that as most people look forward to
Christmas, rough sleepers are looking for ways to survive. For hundreds of people
across the country sleeping rough this Christmas, this is a time when the hardship of
their situation becomes even worse and their exclusion and loneliness even greater.
St Mungo’s runs emergency shelters
throughout the year which can
accommodate rough sleepers for up
to three weeks. During these three
weeks we help clients to sort out
their housing benefits so that they can
move on into more appropriate
accommodation. However, during the
cold winter months we have
additional procedures in place to
further support rough sleepers should
the temperature drop below freezing.
“St Mungo’s has in
the past provided
extra emergency
provision for those
who could die if
left on the streets
during the freezing
weather.”
Severe Weather Emergency
Protocols (SWEP) are in place to
Communal areas within our
hostels are set up with extra
beds to provide additional
emergency shelter to those
rough sleepers who are
most in need
protect the most vulnerable, who
are sleeping rough on the streets,
from extreme cold. Communities
and Local Government (CLG)
guidelines suggest that the provision
for severe weather should be
triggered by a weather forecast
predicting three or more
consecutive nights of temperatures
of zero degrees or below.
Working in partnership with CLG,
St Mungo’s has in the past provided
extra emergency provision for those
who could die if left on the streets
during the freezing weather. Our
residents, workers and volunteers
convert communal areas in our
hostels to allow our outreach
workers to bring more people into
our projects giving them a refuge
from the cold. Here they can get
access to an emergency bed, clean
clothes and a hot meal. St Mungo’s
then works to find them more
permanent accommodation, or an
alternative place to stay.
The primary aim of these severe
weather emergency shelters is to
prevent the loss of life, with an
important second aim of using the
opportunity to engage with long
term and entrenched rough sleepers
who might normally avoid assistance,
perhaps because of mental health
issues. More than 100 people used
St Mungo’s severe weather
emergency provision services during
last year’s harsh winter. Working
closely with the Greater London
Authority, we will be ready to help
again this year, if necessary.
“These shelters
offer a lifeline for
the extremely
vulnerable living
on London’s
streets during the
coldest days.”
Luton Sinfield, Group Manager for
Community Services, said: “These
shelters offer a lifeline for the
extremely vulnerable living on London’s
streets during the coldest days. As
temperatures drop there is a real
danger that people will lose their lives
if they sleep in the open.
Our workers will be out on the street,
making contact with rough sleepers
who really need a roof over their head.
We are committed with our partners
in the voluntary sector, central and
local government to making sure that
no-one is out in such cold weather and
that before too long no-one is sleeping
on London’s streets whatever.”
5
IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF HOMELESS PEOPLE
Improving
the health of
homeless
people
It may not come as a shock to hear that homeless people
tend to suffer poorer health than the general public.
We know that people who are homeless or living in
inappropriate housing are much more likely to have significant
health problems that are going untreated. However, it is the
rough sleepers who face the most severe health problems.
Over 60% of St Mungo’s clients who
take up our services have an untreated
medical condition and many have had
a poor experience in trying to access
healthcare in the past. As a result, they
just stop trying to seek the help that
they need.
This is particularly worrying when
some of the physical ailments that are
more typically associated with our
clients who come in from sleeping
rough include:
•Pneumonia
•Bronchitis
• Trench foot
•Frostbite
• Wound infections
• Respiratory and cardiac problems
Recovery from these conditions not
only improves their physical wellbeing
6
www.mungos.org
but in many cases has a positive
impact on their mental wellbeing.
That is why having access to good
healthcare is vital if we are to help our
clients begin their path to recovery
from illness and homelessness.
St Mungo’s has been campaigning for
better and more tailored healthcare
services for our clients and all
homeless people. We have run pilot
programmes and shown how real
changes can be made when services
are delivered to homeless people as
opposed to expecting homeless
people to fit into existing support.
Mental Health
However, it’s not just the delivery of
physical healthcare that needs to be
looked at when working with
homeless people. We also need to
help our clients with any mental health
problems they may be experiencing.
Around a third of rough sleepers have
a diagnosed severe or enduring
mental health problem. But unlike
physical ailments mental ill health is
much harder to identify. It is fair to
assume that there are many more
homeless people who are living with
poor mental health problems that may
not be severe enough to merit a
formal diagnosis.
But that does not mean that their
feelings of anxiety, depression or stress
are not having a detrimental effect on
their wellbeing, their relationships and
their ability to cope with life’s
everyday stresses and strains.
“The doctors don’t listen they just offer
pills. Sometimes you need to talk to
someone to try to get to the root of the
problem instead of just dishing out
medication.” St Mungo’s client.
We know that there are many factors
that can impact on a homeless
person’s mental health, the most
important being the situation they find
themselves in. Just as homelessness
IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF HOMELESS PEOPLE
can cause mental and physical ill health
it also works the other way around –
physical and mental ill health can lead
to homelessness. Left unchecked,
poor mental health can be as
damaging as a physical ailment.
How we help
That is just one of the reasons why
St Mungo’s introduced Healthcare
Champions to our accommodation
projects.
These are members of staff who have
the additional responsibility of helping
our clients with their healthcare issues.
They work in partnership with public
services to ensure that clients are
accessing all services available, and to
raise awareness of the health issues
affecting homeless people.
In October 2010 we launched
‘Homeless Healthcare’, a community
interest company established in
partnership with Great Chapel Street
GP surgery, as a way of improving
access to healthcare services for
homeless people.
Our Lifeworks project runs across
London and provides counselling and
psychotherapy with qualified therapists
for people who are homeless or are
at risk of becoming homeless.
This pilot project has shown some
real successes in the three years it has
been running. 75% of clients who
attend regularly have shown an
improvement in their mental
wellbeing. It has also had a positive
impact on a range of social outcomes
too – 42% of Lifeworks clients were
in employment or training at the end
of the therapy.
“But we know that
there is still so much
more that we can do
to ensure that all
homeless people
have access to the
health support that
they need.”
As we approach the end of our first
ever three year health strategy, we have
made great progress in the services
that we can offer our clients to aid
their recovery. Many of these services
would not have been possible without
the help of you, our loyal supporters.
But we know that there is still so much
more that we can do to ensure that all
homeless people have access to the
heath support that they need.
Further research
St Mungo’s, along with Homeless Link,
has recently been commissioned by
the Department of Health to carry
out some research into homeless
people’s experiences of hospital
admission and discharge.
We feel that it is vitally important that
each and every patient is discharged
to an appropriate home and that they
have access to appropriate support.
In the event that a homeless person is
admitted to hospital this should be
viewed as an opportunity to link that
person into accommodation and
support services.
“We feel that it is
vitally important
that each and every
patient is discharged
to an appropriate
home and that they
have access to
appropriate support.”
We want people to receive the
treatment that they need and not be
discharged too soon. We also do not
want to see homeless people
discharging themselves only to be
readmitted further down the road.
From this research, we will make
recommendations to the Department
of Health on how they can improve
and help integrate the health services
that are accessed by homeless people
across the country.
For more information on our health
services, visit www.mungos.org/health
7
WOMEN AND HOMELESSNESS
Women and homelessness
Homelessness services have historically been aimed at men.
Today, however, women make up around a quarter of
St Mungo’s 1,700 residents - a percentage which also
reflects national figures.
By talking to our female clients, we
know that there are many reasons
specific to them as women why they
became homeless. Common issues
include domestic violence, difficult
relationships with children and family,
reproductive health and sexual abuse
or exploitation.
St Mungo’s carried out some research
in 2008 which showed that overall,
female clients were coming into our
services needing a higher level of
support and were progressing more
slowly than the men in our projects.
It was clear that women needed more
personalised support to help them
recover and rebuild their lives, which is
why this year St Mungo’s appointed
Esther Sample, our Women’s Strategy
Coordinator. Esther’s main goal is to
help us further develop the support
we offer our female clients.
8
www.mungos.org
What support do
homeless women want
and need?
Over the last couple of years, we have
conducted extensive peer research
with female clients in our projects
looking at the specific issues they face
and what support they require.
• A wide variety of activities and
training, and opportunities for
women’s client involvement were
seen as important
• Improving relationships with family
and children was identified as a key
recovery goal for many women.
Further research found that many of
the underlying issues affecting women’s
progress are related to family, whether
it be childhood abuse, domestic
violence, a history of exploitative
relationships or issues around children.
Invisibility
We found that:
• A high percentage of women at
St Mungo’s have experienced
domestic violence and/or childhood
or adolescent abuse and need
support for these issues
• Women want a choice of
accommodation - some prefer
women’s only projects and some
prefer mixed, preferably with a
similar ratio of men to women
Provision for homeless people tends to
focus on the ‘single homeless person’.
However, there are a significant
proportion of homeless women who
are mothers and still have some
involvement with their children, but as
they are using services for single
homeless people, their family issues
may be unknown.
Our 2010 Client Needs Survey found
that 50% of women in St Mungo’s
WOMEN AND HOMELESSNESS
projects are mothers. Of this group,
60% had children who were currently
in care. In addition, more than a
quarter of women surveyed had
experienced domestic violence which
contributed to their homelessness.
“He kept hitting me all the time. I had to
keep running away and hiding and going
to my sister’s. My sister was a nervous
wreck ‘cause she thought he was gonna
kill me eventually’.” Joanne, 32.
Reuniting mothers
with their children
As previously mentioned, improving
relationships with their children is
hugely important to many of the
women we work with. Of course at
this time of year, with Christmas fast
approaching, most of us will be buying
presents for our loved ones and making
plans to spend time with our families.
Sadly, many of the women in our
projects may not have had contact with
their children and families for a very
long time, making this an extremely
difficult time of year for them.
domestic violence. This includes
helping them access other services
such as GPs, substance use support or
education providers. The staff also
encourage residents to build on their
relationships with their children, with
the help of external services, as well as
enabling family contact within the
project. Keyworkers also provide
emotional support around their
relationships with their children.
Are we making
a difference?
In 2010/11, we found that:
• 88% of women leaving our services
who had difficult relationships with
friends, family and other external
groups, developed more positive
relationships
• 80% of women who came to us
with a learning difficulty made
improvements in this area whilst
staying with us
Esther Sample,
St Mungo’s Women’s Strategy Coordinator
How does
St Mungo’s help?
In addition to our mixed services for
men and women, we run a number of
women only projects. One such
project is our North London Women’s
Project, a hostel which houses 29
vulnerable homeless women
supporting them with their needs
around physical and mental health,
drug or alcohol issues, sex working and
• 70% of women who came to us
with mental health needs took up
support in this area.
The future
St Mungo’s Women’s Strategy aims to
ensure all our services are meeting the
personal, emotional and social needs of
women. Our Women’s Strategy
Coordinator post has been funded for
three years, by the Esmee Fairbairn
Foundation, during which time Esther
will be implementing a number of
changes to help improve the recovery
of our female clients. Some of the key
points include:
• Improving support around children,
including legal support during care
proceedings, ensuring clients can
safely facilitate access to children,
and providing emotional support to
women who have lost their children
• Taking forward our peer research
recommendations in relation to
gender ratios in mixed projects
• Developing strong partnerships
with specialist women’s services
and relevant voluntary and
statutory agencies, exploring
possibilities for new services
• Strengthening policies and training
for staff to effectively support
vulnerable female clients who are
experiencing issues related to areas
such as domestic violence, sexual
abuse or exploitation, pregnancy
and contact with children and family
• Working with female clients to find
out what activities, training, education
and employment they would like
and improving access to these.
We will of course continue to talk to
our female residents through our
Outside In Women’s Group, to ensure
that we are providing the support and
services they want and need to help
them make positive changes in their lives.
For more information about
St Mungo’s work with women, visit
www.mungos.org/women
9
LETTER FROM THE FRONTLINE
Letter from
the frontline
Andy Williams,
Client Involvement Manager
St Mungo’s is passionately committed to making sure the
aspirations, needs and wants of our clients are at the heart of
everything we do. Here we take a brief look at a week in the
life of Andy Williams, St Mungo’s Client Involvement Manager:
Monday:
My week starts with a
meeting about the delivery of client
involvement training to St Mungo’s staff
and managers. I deliver the training
with our clients, some of whom are
active members of Outside In, our
client representative group.
Tuesday: Part of my role involves
supporting clients who want to get
involved in training opportunities,
volunteering and getting back into
work. I meet some clients who are
thinking of applying to St Mungo’s
year-long apprenticeship scheme.
The last meeting of the day is about
an exciting programme of peer
training we’re developing with the
charity Groundswell. We get the
go-ahead to deliver this to the
St Mungo’s services we manage in
Bristol, Bath, Oxford and Reading.
Freddie from Outside In speaking at the
2010 Client Involvement conference
Wednesday:
This morning
there’s a regular workshop at the staff
induction, where all new staff at
St Mungo’s hear from clients about
what Outside In does. It’s then on to
a film screening at the Curzon cinema
in Soho, where clients from the Reel
Deal Film Group are showing their
latest work. It’s also a great
opportunity for me to speak to our
partner, the Workers’ Educational
Association, about plans for future
courses and funding bids. Only about
4% of our clients are currently in
work, but last year we managed to get
over 2,000 people into activities,
education, training and work.
Thursday: It’s the deadline for our
client apprenticeship scheme. The team
and I have been helping several Outside
In members over the past year to gain
the confidence and skills to apply. I have
my fingers crossed because I want as
many Outside In clients as possible to
get one of the 16 places. About 7% of
our staff have experienced
homelessness - we want to be more
inclusive and increase this percentage.
“Only about 4%
of our clients are
currently in work,
but last year we
managed to get over
2,000 people into
activities, education,
training and work.”
Friday:
I round off the week with
a rewarding visit to an apprentice
project worker who I’m mentoring.
He’s doing really well and I’m hoping
this position is just the beginning for
him - a great way to end the week.
Next month:
“Every year, Outside In hold a client
involvement conference where clients
and staff get together to talk about how
St Mungo’s should be run and how
clients can become more involved. The
group are currently busy planning their
next conference which will take place on
Friday 9 December. I’m really excited
about it and can’t wait to hear
everyone’s ideas about how we can
improve the way we work with and
support our clients” says Andy.
To find out more about client
involvement at St Mungo’s, go to
www.mungos.org/clientinvolvement
10
www.mungos.org
WHY I SUPPORT ST MUNGO’S
Why I support St Mungo’s A Christmas thank you!
We are so grateful for all of the support we receive from our loyal supporters. Here are just
some of the reasons you have told us why you support St Mungo’s work with homeless people:
“Homeless people are excluded from society
and they need to have chances in life.”
Kenia Martins, Wandsworth
“In our society, such work is crucial.”
Aileen Garden, Brixton
“St Mungo’s are totally inclusive and non judgemental.”
Richard & Ann Cutler, Cricklewood
“St Mungo’s allows people to bring in their dogs.”
Mary Callaghan, Mill Hill
“I work in the crime field and often see very
disadvantaged people in court which is distressing
and I want to help.” Nicola Bielicki, Middlesex
“St Mungo’s provides a very necessary
safety net.” Vivien Tuley, Wimbledon
A huge thank you to everyone for your support. We would like
to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a fantastic year ahead.
Christmas Carol Concert
Join us for St Mungo’s Christmas Carol Concert
at 6:30pm on Tuesday 20 December at the beautiful St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street.
We are delighted to welcome our patron, HRH The Duke
of Kent as a special guest, and actress Juliet Stevenson who
will be giving a reading. We hope you can
join in the festive celebrations.
We are asking for a suggested donation
of £30 per person for the Carol Concert
and £60 per person for the Carol
Concert and Champagne Reception.
www.mungos.org/carolconcert
Collections
We are looking for volunteers to help us
with bucket collections at a number of
London train stations during November
and December. No previous ‘collecting’
experience is needed. If you think you
can help, we’d be delighted to hear
from you.
Christmas ecards
St Mungo’s clients have been getting creative once again
to design our Christmas ecards. Keep a look out for the
winning designs at www.mungos.org/ecards
Shopping
online this
Christmas?
Don’t forget you can order some unique
gifts for your loved ones this Christmas which
can help change a homeless person’s life. Visit our online
Christmas gift shop at www.mungos.org/shop
Also, thousands of stores, including John Lewis, Sainsbury’s,
Waterstones and M&S, have signed up to donate money
to St Mungo’s when you shop with them. Help us raise
money, at no cost to you, every time you shop online.
Find out more at www.giveasyoulive.com/stmungos
Santa Run
Join hundreds of other Santas on Sunday 4 December in this sponsored fun run. At just 5km, you can run, jog or walk around the
Greenwich Park course. Anyone can take part - all ages and
abilities are welcome and
your free Santa suit is
provided.
To find out more about our
events or to offer your help,
email events@mungos.org or
call 020 8762 5582.
11
St Mungo’s outreach workers assist a
rough sleeper (photo shown is not Clare)
“When I moved into St Mungo’s Cedars
Road I weighed about six stone, I was
skin and bone. And I hadn’t had a
shower for about six months.”
As Clare herself says it has taken her
a long time to get to where she is
now - a mother of two, in her own
flat and about to be a volunteer
mentor for young offenders.
Clare asked that we didn’t show her
photo with this story.
Originally from Sussex, Clare was
given up for adoption at birth and
lived with her adoptive parents until
she was 11. Then she was moved
into a care home and lived there
during her early teens.
“The people at
Cedars saved my life.
When I relapsed I
went back and they
didn’t judge me.”
At 16 she had her first child and
another at 18, both of whom she in
turn gave up for adoption. She had
another baby at 20, who now lives
with the father, and with whom she
only has limited contact.
“By that point I was into serious drugs,
injecting heroin, using crack. I came up
to London and ended up in squats
around Brixton for about six months.”
That was when a St Mungo’s outreach
Clare’s story
team found Clare and asked her if she
wanted to go into a hostel. At first
Clare was reluctant to, but the
Outreach team eventually persuaded
her to accept help.
Clare moved into a St Mungo’s
project in Cedars Road. It was there
that she had her first shower in half a
year. Over the next five years she
went into detox services and relapsed
a couple of times but persevered.
Clare stopped using heroin and
succeeded in getting clean through a
harm reduction programme. One
turning point was finding a friend who
had overdosed and turned blue.
“The people at Cedars saved my life.
When I relapsed I went back and they
didn’t judge me. If I felt like using again,
I’d talk to the workers and they would
try and talk me round. The key was
always talking and telling someone.”
Clare had been off heroin for about
three years when she became
pregnant again. “I didn’t want my
child to grow up without a home, so I
got myself together and on the list to
move into my own flat. I was really
lucky and was offered a good one that
even had a garden. Since then, I’ve not
looked back.”
Clare has never had paid work but
has now been accepted as a mentor
helping young ex-offenders. This is a
great opportunity to build up her skills
and CV and improve her confidence.
As well as her five year old, she is now
a mum to a three year old and so
“I shouldn’t be here.
If St Mungo’s
outreach and Cedars
hadn’t come along, I
would have still been
on the streets.”
she’s looking for volunteering and
flexible work to fit around childcare.
“I shouldn’t be here. If St Mungo’s
outreach and Cedars hadn’t come along,
I would have still been on the streets.”
Our largest hostel Cedars Road,
which has been home for up to
120 homeless people, is sadly
closing in March 2012 due to
Government funding cuts.
About Frontline
Frontline is produced in conjunction with staff
and clients at St Mungo’s. The aim is to keep
you informed of the issues that homeless
people are facing today, and to show you how
your support is making a difference. If you
have any comments or suggestions about
this or future issues, please send them to
Zoe Flynn at St Mungo’s, Griffin House,
161 Hammersmith Road, London, W6 8BS.
020 8600 3000
www.mungos.org/donate
St Mungo Community Housing Association is a
charity exempt from registration
I&P Society No.20598R Housing Association No. LH0279
Thank you to all the St Mungo’s residents,
volunteers and staff whose photographs and
histories appear in this publication.
© St Mungo’s 2011