Welcome to our blog post for June. It’s been another busy month here at Cyrenians so read on for all our news.

Older Homeless Service

Our Older Homeless Service supports over 20 people aged 50+ who have their own tenancies, mainly in social housing, but who are at risk of becoming homeless. Project worker Lucine finds that a common concern amongst this group is loneliness, an issue that has been highlighted during June’s Loneliness Awareness Week, this is what she had to say:

“My clients have come from street based homelessness into shared houses before moving into their own tenancies. I offer my service to those who struggle with that transition to independence. I visit once a week and I’m often the only person they speak to in that week. After moving into their tenancies, they can feel abandoned by the street community – who they may consider as family. Some don’t leave the house at all. By seeing or speaking with my clients in the week, I’m able to help recognise issues that may have gone unnoticed otherwise and provide some healthy company. I’m able to respond to changes in income, increased substance or alcohol misuse, tenancy concerns and lots more. ⠀

Isolation can have serious consequences on housing for the homeless community who are unsupported. It can quickly lead to tenancies breaking down. It’s quite a hard thing to battle, and many services that help are at maximum capacity. I’m happy to be able to help fight loneliness.”

National Voluenteers Week 2019

National Volunteers’ Week happened from 1 – 7 June and we were delighted to welcome groups from Cambridge businesses PROWLER.io and Allia Ltd who got stuck in to two projects at the allotments. They helped to build a new beach themed garden and also made two hedgehog habitats in the wild life garden.

We are very grateful to a team from the Legal Department of AVEVA Group plc who spent a day transforming the garden in one of our move-on houses. They worked alongside the residents, who also made pizza to keep everybody’s strength up!

We are always happy to welcome volunteers and have plenty of opportunities, either to take on one-off projects like these or to give more regular help as we work to support and transform the lives of homeless people in Cambridge. We’d like to introduce you here to a couple of our current volunteers.

Dave has volunteered with us as a Trustee since February 2018. Moved by the visible homelessness in Cambridge and wanting to help but not sure where or how to begin, Dave contacted Cyrenians. He realised that the Trustee role fitted his skills and would allow him to make a positive difference. Dave has seen at first hand the therapeutic effects of our allotment project and spent time with residents in the ex-offenders accommodation and a couple of short stay houses. He now plans to spend time with our staff to experience the complexities of our day to day work so as to better understand the challenges that we face. Dave also volunteers once a week at Cambridge Food Bank and comments “From personal experience, I can only say that the opportunity to volunteer and support local charities can be rich in its rewards. In some small way I can, hopefully, make a difference to those who need support but can also enjoy the work and the chance to meet new people with the same motivation.”

Jo began volunteering with Cyrenians after retiring 10 years ago and enjoyed her 6 month placement in one of our short stay houses. She has helped with our allotment project since its earliest days and, working alongside Ruth (our allotment horticultural therapist), she has watched the project grow and adapt to the needs and wants of our clients, whatever their gardening knowledge or green fingered ability! Jo believes that the allotment project fulfils many different needs for our residents. She’ll feel the vibes at each session and use that to decide how she’ll communicate with the group. It might be a chat and a catch up or providing an empathetic ear for someone who’s struggling. Jo feels there are many benefits to volunteering, highlighting particularly the sense of community and the bonding with a wide range of people who may not cross paths elsewhere but who come together to enjoy the allotment space.

#ScrapTheAct Campaign

Homeless charity Crisis, supported by ourselves and many other charities, is spearheading a campaign to get the Government to scrap the Vagrancy Act. This law dates back to 1824 and makes it a crime to sleep rough or beg. We firmly believe that nobody should be criminalised just because they have nowhere to sleep. If you’d like to add your voice to the campaign by signing the petition, head to www.crisis.org.uk/get-involved/campaign/scrap-the-vagrancy-act/ and keep an eye on social media for updates on #ScrapTheAct.

Other news

A resident who’s been with us for 18 months, latterly in one of our move-on houses, now has his own tenancy. We helped him to move in and set up home, provided white goods and a move on pack and we also successfully applied for a couple of grants by way of extra funding for him. If you’d like to make a donation in support of setting up our residents as they move into their own tenancies, you can do so through our website https://cambridgecyrenians.org.uk/support-us/

We were very happy to meet so many people who called in to our stall at Strawberry Fair on 1 June. Plants raised on our allotment project proved to be a very popular buy and we raised £200 on one very hot and sunny day.