Letter From Cricklewood
Week Ending 16 November 2012
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Hello folks,
Route 18 Winter Shelter: The 5th Annual Winter Shelter opened this week on Monday 12th November, helping 10 people off the streets in the first week alone. This year 13 venues are providing urgently needed emergency accommodation for rough sleepers in the cold winter months. This is extremely beneficial not only for the clients but taxpayers, as without the shelter our only option of emergency accommodation for these clients would a B&B placement funded by housing benefit. For more info see www.route18.org.uk
The winter shelter client group has so far consisted of two females and eight males from England, Poland, Germany, Iraq and Kuwait, seven of whom were new to the streets. One winter shelter client had been encountered by outreach sleeping rough twenty-six times over the last seven years, and had been successfully helped off the streets into hospital, leading to a seamless transition from his hospital bed to the shelter on the opening day of the shelter.
In the coming weeks we will be working with these clients to ensure that they have a comprehensive support plan and leave the shelter with the skills required to sustain long term accommodation, obtain gainful employment and address underlying issues, meaning that they never have to return to this situation again.
In work: We are delighted to report that since April to September 55 of our customers have gained employment. Much of this success is down to Murad who uses his football expertise and our sports project as a way of engaging young people in to sports and then onto employment
Winter fest: Put our first ever Cricklewood Winterfest in your diaries. 1 – 6PM on Saturday 24th November on the green space on Cricklewood Lane opposite B&Q. See our advert in the Brent and Kilburn Times
Tickets still available for “A Servant and Two Masters “ Saturday 17th November at Our Lady of Grace Junior School, Dollis Hill Lane, starting at 8.00 p.m Tickets are £5.00 each and can be bought on the door. Profits will go to Cricklewood Homeless.
BIS: We welcomed Robert from Business Innovation & Skills Department as part of the NCVO Shadowing programme. Robert was shadowing Carmen this week and finding out what we do here in Cricklewood. Carmen will be arranging a similar day at BIS
More football: Carmen met with the Chairman of the FA (Homelessness) this week to discuss how we can work together to use sports as meaningful way of engaging young people
Best Wishes
Danny Maher
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